KIT LOTUS. In this issue of Kit Lotus Editorial Modelers 1:20 Lotus 101 Marsden on Models Book review Lotus Indy & F MFH Updates

Transcription

1 KIT LOTUS Volume 5 Issue 1 February 2012 Modelers 1:20 Lotus 101 superbly built by Simon Parsons - more inside In this issue of Kit Lotus Editorial Modelers 1:20 Lotus 101 Marsden on Models Book review Lotus Indy & F MFH Updates It is a golden anniversary this year, fifty years since the Lotus Elan, designed by Ron Hickman and released as the Lotus type 26 was born. The year couldn t pass without building a model of the roadster version and so a 1:24 Gunze example has been moved onto the Kit Lotus priority build list. The Elan has been well covered in previous issues but this significant year has to be celebrated. Also having a significant birthday is the ground effect Lotus 78, 35 years old in Like the Elan, the 78 has been well covered but expect a couple to come up the list and find themselves on display at the next Club Lotus Show. Sports Car International magazine listed the Elan as the sixth best sports car of the sixties. I would wager the five cars above it, including the E Type, The Shelby AC Cobra, The Corvette Stingray, the Porsche 911 and the Lamborghini Muira have not had as many models replicating them than the Lotus Elan. Unsurprisingly, the lists of best sports cars was determined by the opinion of magazine editors so I guess my opinion of the number of Elan models over the other models warrants the same gravitas.

2 Editorial Volume five already! Who would have thought it? Four years and still going strong and with lots still to write about. Whilst subscription interest in Kit Lotus remains fairly static, the involvement by those who share the same hobby continues to grow. Contributions for the magazine are international and this has been one of the highlights of the whole venture. Sharing a hobby with people on different Continents has been a revelation. In fact I go so far as to say that the biggest Lotus model car collections in the world reside away from these shores, proving time after time how popular the Lotus story is. Kicking off this Issue 1 of Volume 5 is the usual mix of builds, diecasts, kits and news but now in 12 pages. New for next time will be spotlights on some of you, the Lotus model collector so don t be surprised if you get a request from me to answer a few inane questions about your hobby, how it all began and where is it heading. Hopefully you will allow me to share your thoughts with Kit Lotus followers. As theories go, this one is quite benign, but hands up everyone who knows what time is displayed on a watch or clock when it is featured in an advert? The answer is ten minutes to two o clock. Next time you see a Tag Heuer or a Breitling in a magazine, check the time. My point is that certain things seem to be portrayed the same way in every advertising campaign despite the maker. Take a look at the cover and notice that the 101 is positioned and photographed north east to south west. Now take a look at the Minichamps newsletter On a brighter note, correspondence from Club Lotus announced that there would be no Lotus Show this year. However, it will back in its usual April slot at Donington Park in 2013 which means, the preparation starts now. I think it is a wise move by the Club Lotus Team to defer until next year, they can t get Donington for this year and overwhelming feedback from the 2011 event was that whilst August was OK, the original April date is the preference of those who support the event. It may be cooler so more reason not to be placed near the door next time!! We had a little difficulty keeping the display in one piece each time the roller door was raised. Either way, fourteen months to get more models built is just a bonus. Formula One kicks off again in March with the Australian Grand Prix, sadly for UK fans, if you don t subscribe to a Sky Sports channel, you won t see a live race until April when the circus arrives in China. The first and second races, Australia and Malaysia will be part of the ten races the BBC will only be broadcasting as highlights. Only 10 live races are on the BBC calendar. If like me you have cable TV, it will cost an extra per month. I don t think so, I ve never been a Bernie fan and I m not about to contribute any more of my hard earned cash to his mega million bank balance. I recently read his biography and my impression darkened even further, the whole concept of the business behind Formula One is best dealt with by shutting your ears and just getting with being a fan of the teams, the drivers and the cars. Indy Car has 25th March as its start date for the 2012 calendar with the first race at St Petersburg Florida, a road race, it will see the debut of cars powered by Chevrolet, Honda and four teams powered by Lotus, more inside. MEA have a new Lotus Elan, the Whitmore racing version (see photo) with the 1963 Goodwood version depicted. I think if I were MEA, I would have chosen a better PR shot than this which features some crude painting around the windscreen depicting a two inch (scale) sealing rubber. Neither does the vac form windscreen appear to be a good fit. Chances are the kit is as good as any MEA model and will reproduce a fine example with the correct finishing. MEA 1963 Whitmore Elan or the Spark press pictures. They always appear the same way. Is it a conscious choice, a standard marketing method or just coincidence. Following on from our theme about some of Pete Lovely s cars, Jim Marsden shares some of his Lovely collection along with a resume of recent acquisitions in his latest Marsden on Models. The Goodwood Festival of Speed this year has Lotus as it s signature marque. Remember the magnificent E Type sculpture in front of the Hall? Can t wait to see which Lotus takes it place! I ve already asked Goodwood about bringing Kit Lotus to the masses by allowing us to exhibit. Guess what, they think we are a trader and want us to pay 2000!!!!!!!, maybe we won t be in attendance. This month sees the return of Race Retro, the International Historic Motorsport Show, to Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. Within easy reach of the M6.M69,A46 the show charges a 20 admission plus 2 booking fee on line and takes place Friday 24th, Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th February. Not renowned for its Lotus coverage, there is usually something to find at the large indoor Autojumble. Kits, diecasts and books are plentiful and there is normally one vendor who specialises in upgrade parts. There is usually some Lotus exhibits and I will be keen to seek them out but this year the headline marque is Porsche. Full report next time. Mike Serrurier is still beavering away down there in South Africa perfecting his 1:18 Lotus 1, hopefully by the time you read this Mike will have torn himself away from the hot Durban sunshine to let me know the progress. It had slowed due to Mike needing surgery on one of his hands. Reports are that the surgery went well and on behalf of Kit Lotus Mike, we wish you a speedy return to full fitness and we all look forward to reviewing the final product.

3 Modeler s Lotus 101 in 1:20 scale Built by Simon Parsons Back in 1991, I traded with Modeler s in Japan through a third party, exchanging my Mitsubishi diecast models for an equivalent value of Modeler s produce. This included excellent 1:24 scale plastic kits of sports and GT subjects and a particularly nice Tyrrell. I also imported their accessories and resin kits. Then as now, Japanese specialist models and accessories were expensive and the kits never sold particularly well, probably due to the subjects being aimed at the Japanese domestic market rather than having an international appeal. My legacy from that early trade is a stock of wire, cord, pipes etc all in 1:20 or 1:24 scale sitting in my tool box. On the kit side, I have a very nice resin Lancia Delta Integrale (1:24) sitting in the non Lotus section of my cabinet. Any subject from Modeler s guaranteed a quality very similar to what we expect from Studio 27 or MFH although most models were curbsiders without much engine detail. Now rare, if a Modeler s Lotus appears on the internet, my advice is to buy it if you can. This model of the Lotus 101 came to light at the Club Lotus show last August. Steve Griffith, who you may know through Anglo American Autocare in Newport, brought his real version of the Judd powered 101 to the Donington Park show and came to visit the Kit Lotus display. He asked if we could build his Modeler s version which he had owned for some time but without the confidence to assemble it. Unlike his obvious confidence in running, racing and maintaining the real thing! He had come to the right place and the end result was Simon Parsons, renowned for his skill and talent building 1:43, taking up the challenge to go to 1:20 and build the model for Steve. Simon takes up the story This is a resin model by the now defunct Japanese company 'Modeller's.' I don't seem to be able to find any information about the kit, so if any readers know anything about it, I would be very interested in hearing from you. The only info I have is that the model is very rare, so I was keen not to mess it up. I spoke to the owner of both the model and the actual car at Donington, for the Lotus show and a nicer guy you would be hard pressed to meet, but even so, Steve Griffiths would not be a happy fellow if I ruined it!! The model arrived by post in September and I had already said to Steve that I didn't think the kit would be finished until next summer as I have no indoor painting facilities. Then October arrived and we had one of the hottest fortnights on record. The kit was a basic curbside model, with a one piece resin body and white metal wishbones and suspension, front and rear wings, including endplates ( which makes for a heavy model) and white metal wheels with rubber tyres. To conclude,a rudimentary gearbox made of resin supports the rear suspension. The usual painting and polishing was undertaken using Tamiya Camel yellow, which I think is a very good match for the real car. I bought a sheet of carbon fibre decals for the interior of the car, all the bits that aren't yellow are carbon fibre, and got to work with gallons of decal softener. The model didn't come with any instruments or seat belts, so Virage do a nice, useful sheet of clocks and dials and the Willans seat harness was care of Tamiya. Apart from having to use quite a lot of filler on the front and rear wings, where the end plates join on, the model went together like a dream and if any one can get hold of this model in the future, I would strongly recommend it. As you see from the photographs, Simon is equally talented when it comes to 1:20 as he is with 1:43 and the word is an expansion of his collection into this larger scale is on the cards with a Studio 27 Lotus 91 already being prepped. I think I will gather up all of my 1:20s and throw them in the bin!! Owner Steve has already received and admired pictures of the model but a post Christmas shipping is probably a good move. About the car itself, Lotus Chief designer, Gerard Ducarouge had departed in 1988 and his place was filled by the ex Williams aerodynamicist, Frank Dernie, who became the new Technical Director at Lotus. As well as replacing senior members of the Team, other changes were afoot. With the departure of M. Ducarouge, went the 1.5 litre turbo era, which was replaced by all new 3.5 litre normally aspirated engines. As with the change from 1.5 litre to 3 litre engines back in the 1960s, Grand Prix racing was caught on the hop and Lotus had a matter of weeks to build a new car which incorporated the new size...continued

4 Modeler s Lotus 101 Continued.. of engine, Judd came to the rescue, but Lotus was only a "customer", Judd's main contract was with the March Team and the engine in it's current form was under powered, so engine designer, Tickford built a new 5 valve per cylinder head. The compactness of the engine allowed Frank Dernie and Chief Designer Mike Coughlin to design a very small, narrow and light racing car, indeed such was the narrowness of the cockpit, that a special steering wheel had to be designed to allow room for the driver to squeeze in. Even with all this lightness, the car's power couldn't live with the all conquering Honda V10 of McLaren and the best results that Lotus could manage in 1989 for their two drivers, Nelson Piquet and Satoru. Four Lotus 101s were built for the 1989 Formula One season with Nelson Piquet expressing his delight with the car when Snetterton 2010, heading to the assembly area for that famous grid photograph Steve s car is chassis 3, the car Nakajima drove. The last Team Lotus driver to drive the car in a test session was Johnny Herbert in January The real thing, Judd power plant of Steve s car driving it for the first time. However, the season was six races old before Piquet put his first points on the board with a fourth place in Canada then a similar score in the British Grand Prix. From then on, things got steadily worse with the odd fifth and sixth place, only a fourth for Nakajima in Japan and for Piquet in Adelaide kept TL in a lowly sixth championship place.

5 Marsden on Models - Recent Acquisitions and Other Lovely Lotus Cars Some of the following replicas have gone scarce from dealers since my last installment, but are definitely noteworthy for the record. Diecasm.com contributed all of the Spark Models, and has new variations all the time for the discriminating collector. Spark Lotus Type 56-P&W Turbine/ Indy Tests was a tumultuous and momentous year in many ways (see Tom Brokaw's "1968" if you weren't there), and I have many memories, too. Among them include finally graduating from college, rewarding myself with a three-year mortgage to buy a new Lotus Europa (460587) after securing a good job in my discipline, and following the career of Jimmy Clark. I had been a Lotus buff for a long time, generated early by my dad's automotive interests, including weekends at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver where he worked daily and General Curtis LeMay's abiding interests in racing obtained, giving local fans a chance to see Fifties Floggers flail about "Lowry No. 2," which was east of the main runways, but had its own hangars, strips and taxiways which were made available for the likes of Cad-Allards, Healey-Silverstones, C-Type Jaguars, MG-Cs, Arnolt -Bristols, Oscas, Maseratis, Ferraris, et al, and the occasional Lotus VI, Seven, Mks. VIII, IX, X and Eleven. There was serious destruction of temporary hay bales goin' on by those weekend warriors Later, Continental Divide Raceways, south of Denver near Castle Rock, was developed into a purpose-built facility having a road-racing layout (2.7 miles) incorporating an oval (halfmile) and (4,200 feet) dragstrip where I attended lots of SCCA, USRRC, and USAC events (and flagged a few, later). The competition was intense, and my interest in sportscars grew to the point where I pretty much figured I'd be having one someday. Came 1964, and I got a used '58 Healey (BN6) in Colorado Red (of course), driving it to New York City twice and back, once. In 1965, I sold it to a nice lady in East Hadley MA who would only drive it on weekends, and used the money for a summer sojourn to Paris, returning destitute via Greyhound to a starving-student existence, but still maintaining a fervor for another cool continental. During my senior year, I sketched too many drawings of Jag XK-Es and Lotus Elans in my class notebooks, but survived somehow. Jim Clark was winning in everything, including the new Lotus 49, which was uncatchable when reliable for him and Graham Hill. At that point, F1 drivers were also assumed to drive F2 cars for their teams, as well as up-andcoming hotshoes prepping for the big show. It was fairly traumatic for most racing enthusiasts when Clark mysteriously crashed and died at Hockenheim in his Type 48-Cosworth F2 that spring. At the time, my interest in fixed-head Jaguars had veered (no more ragtops, thanks) to Elans (cheaper, also), but encountered two S1A Europas owned by a couple preppie-playboy grad students, and promptly decided that the less-than-comely look of the car was overcome by the location of its motor and hard top (and lower price), and my own commitment to the 1965 Indy win by the Clark-induced "Rear-Engine Revolution" began--my kind of revolt in '68. In 1966/67, Andy Granatelli, used his STP ("Stop That Ping," according to my dad, another Curtis) discretionary funds to sponsor Team Lotus in the USAC series, including uprated Types 38 and 42F-Fords in "Rocket Red," but the latter was too slow and wins eluded Clark and Al Unser in the Types 38. At the same time, the wily impresario had developed an amazing concept for Indy: A side-mounted turbine-powered "whooshmobile" which was entered as an Hal Wallis-designed, Parnelli Jones driven, "STP Paxton Turbocar" which led the race, only to break down 3 laps from the finish. In his book, Andrew Ferguson must have a good story on its secret mission, but it really caught the Indy "railbirds" by surprise. It took USAC 2 years to figure out how to ban it (what are organizers going to do when the racers are electric? Try the old playing-cards-in-the-spokes trick? Anyhow, for 1968, Lotus commissioned Maurice Philippe to design a radical "wedge-shaped" (no radiators needed), 4-wheel driven car with inline turbine. Eventually, there were to be seven drivers for the race, including Clark, who actually tested it at the track, Graham Hill, Mike Spence, who died after a crash testing one, causing Parnelli Jones to back out of his drive; Jackie Stewart was injured at the time, and veterans Joe Leonard and Art Pollard were tapped for drives. Colin Chapman abandoned the effort in grief for his two lost drivers, and Granatelli got two cars on the front row (Leonard and Hill) and Pollard in the sixth. Hill crashed out when a wheel came off, and both Pollard and Leonard had identical "eight-dollar" fuel pump shafts shear on acceleration after a yellow-flag slowdown. Leonard was leading at the time with nine laps to go, and Granatelli's bad luck continued. Watch this space for a feature on the 1969 Indy STP Lotus Type 64-Ford for Andy's mixed results. For years, there were all sorts of models for the T56 qualifiers, but one had to "scratch" anything resembling Clark's car, except for one builder who used the 1:43rd SMTS (UK) white-metal kit for a limited edition (Ghost Models) at a very dear number for each. Spark's example is fairly devoid of the usual Indy/NASCAR sponsor labels, except for prominent "STP" and occasional "American Oil" ovals. For the race, the T56s became state-of-theart virtual billboards, including an ACBC Lotus roundel about a foot and a half in diameter, much larger than the self-same enameled nose badge. Other noteworthy details of the Spark (S1760) is the addition of a driver (as Clark in GLTL coveralls with billed helmet), an absence of rear-view mirrors ("don't need no steenkin'...for tests"), and curious Halibrand silver mags, which were replaced by black "Lotus" 4-spoke alloys by race time. Another suggested variation for the lads and lassies at Spark would be the Joe Leonard finisher (#20) as driven at Goodwood, 2011 by Parnelli Jones (as lettered in script at the cockpit) who never actually drove the car intended for him.

6 Clark had won the first GP in 1968 (South Africa) and his last race. The 1967 Team Lotus car had been repainted in the red, white, and gold of Gold Leaf cigarettes for that venue, and not much else. For the year ahead, Graham Hill, five other drivers, and the ill-fated Type 63-Ford 4WD car, loosely based on the T56 -Turbine, tried to fill the large gaps in the team. The cars grew wings, high and low, front and rear, in an attempt to gain more ground force and to stay ahead of the competition, since they now had the formerly exclusive use by Lotus of the Cosworth DFV, which had won its first try out in the Dutch GP the year before in Clark's hands. The ersatz team was successful as "Manufacturers" winning that category, and Graham Hill won the "Driver's" title. The Type 49 was to be among the most successful cars in history, with wins in four seasons, and the DFV was the best. One of them had a second life in the hands of the late Pete Lovely, a Lotus enthusiast par excellence. Clarko Models Type 49B-Ford "Pete Lovely" Gerard Carlton "Pete" Lovely was one of those guys who seemed to be able to pick a winning car the season before it was really fast, from reviewing the stable that he amassed in his career. The main subject here is, of course, the Type 49B which he finally squeezed out of Chapman for the 1969, thinking that he'd gotten a "new" chassis (R11) intended for Mario Andretti, but which, as current legend has it, was actually the 1967 winner at its inauguration at Zandvoort (R2). It was in GLTL livery when delivered, and raced that way as number 15, without the cigarette patch, but was changed to US racing colors of white with a blue stripe (salute to another great American sportsman, Briggs Cunningham), re-numbered 25 and raced like that until restored later as GLTL 25. Lovely entered very few races with the car through 1971, with even fewer successes, but nobody would trade any of those experiences. Such was his shoestring effort that he converted one of his sales stock, a Volkswagen Samba T1, into a transporter for the car, him, his wife, and a mechanic, I think. They were the only three "team" members. Was there a dog, too? Anyhow, Martin Mayor, who is "Clarko," is a Lotus aficionado who can actually pronounce that word correctly, being a suburban resident of Madrid. He also is an amazing model builder, especially in "transforming" existing built replicas into what Europeans call "Code 3" works (non-factory production). In this case, he took a fairly economical Chinese diecast by a Spanish producer, "RBA" (nobody knows what that means), which began as the high-winged 49B GLTL car for Graham Hill in his 1968 win in Monaco, stripped the paint, reworked the rear wing and collaborated with a pal in France, Roger Dutemple, who produces many models, kits, and, in this case, decals for Pete's car. As "Axel'R," Roger created a sheet for it and 2 other Types 49, including replacement cast resin wings, as well. Not to relax at that point, Martin also "chopped" another Chinese diecast, "Cararama" by Hongwell, added braced "shelves" for the extra length of the T49, and transformed a Volkswagen Bulli pick-up into the "Pete Lovely Volkswagen" [team] Samba T1 transporter, including wooden tracks. Jochen Rindt & The T45 Elan S4 Sprint by Spark The ironic and sad part of this T69 car was that its driver went on to win the F1 Driver's and Constructor's Championships for Lotus in 1970, posthumously. I saw an F5000 race at Hockenheim during a Clark pilgrimage there, which featured Rene Wisell in a Team Lotus T68/70 Lotus (I think), and was still in Germany the day after Rindt died at Monza, where he was deeply mourned. Early in the next year, I saw the GLTL Type 72C -Fords (Fittipaldi and Wisell) at the ill-conceived "Questor Grand Prix" at Ontario Motor Speedway which pitted F5000/A cars against the F1 circus where the latter zoomed away from the former, including Follmer's Lotus T70 FA, the winner of both heats being a future F1 champion for Lotus in a Ferrari 312B, Mario Andretti. The Fittipaldi T72 and Follmer's T70 tied for fastest laps, however (WooHoo!). Jochen Rindt also figures in another twist of circumstance here, too. He was used as the face of Lotus marketing in the 1970 launch of the new and uprated Types 36 (FHC) and 45 (DHC) Elan S4 "Sprint" series. They were shown in the Earl's Court Motor Show in a curious matte black over yellow scheme (see John Bolster's book) and Rindt's car was LHD. Later, as is well -known, the car was fitted with the "Big Valve" TC, 5-speed box, gearing tweaks, etc., and the car was sold in a variety of colors (Regency Red, Carnival Red, Lagoon Blue Mt., Lotus Yellow, Pistachio Lime, Colorado Orange, other?) as solids or over Cirrus White divided by a waist trim line and bumpers in gold similar to GLTL livery in obvious tribute to Lotus and Rindt championships. Spark has issued a number of Elans recently (see past "remarque" copies), including an RHD variation of the 1971 T45 Sprint DHC in red (ref. S1240) which has 3-eared knock-off wheel nuts, unlike US Federal spec non-spikey ones. Their Type 36 FHC Sprint is imminent in Lagoon Blue over Cirrus (ref. S1242). There are many other variations of Sprints by other model manufacturers, but don't bother.

7 Marsden on models Pete terrorized much of US sports-racing with his Cooper-Porsche 1500 ("Pooper") until he had drives in the Lotus Eleven in 1958, when he shared a drive at the Sebring 12-Hours and later with Innes Ireland in his Le Mans car during the Reims 12 hour enduro at the French GP. Examples of two Elevens are shown similar to each of the vintage white-metal GPM Classic 1957 LM 750cc #55/ Stacey-Dickson (ref. 15), and a resin-bodied car, without headrest, as raced at Le Mans in 1956/ Chapman & Mackay-Frazer (Provence Moulage, ref. K403). This latter car is similar to Pete's more recent S2 vintage racer. He also shared a similar Mk 15 with the late Jay Chamberlain at his own Le Mans try in 1958, simply adorned with thin white and blue stripes. This Provence Moulage model is actually shown in its "before" condition: Chamberlain crashed and was injured in the race (ref. K404). Lotus fans will always be indebted to Jay for his unlimited contributions to our passion, too. In 1959, Pete shared a drive with Colin Chapman in the #45 Mk A Scaled Retrospective of Pete Lovely Racing During cursory browsing of the internet, I discovered various notes about some of the racecars owned, raced and/or repaired-restored by Pete Lovely, in addition to the Types 49B F1 and 69 F1/2 mentioned above. The following models described and pictured are only similar to his actual collection over the decades, and it will be years more (if ever) that keen builders like Martin Mayor might take an interest in producing correctly-detailed replicas. In any event, the ones listed here are for general interest, as well, and not intended to be an exact or complete chronology; corrections and additions are welcome and encouraged. After an open house some time ago by the Evergreen Lotus Car Club to his shops in Puyallup, WA, a report was filed by "Kiyoshi" who listed a number of Pete's cars, past and present, and others were mentioned in various books, race records, and internet sites. Apparently, the first Lotus raced by Lovely appears to have been a Mark "8/9" which makes some sense in Lotus development, but not to me. I have some fairly common Mks IX, but only one Mk VIII, as scratch-built for me by Mike Serrurier of South Africa, whose work is also seen in The Lotus Book Collectables by William Taylor, editor of "remarque." Mike's replicas generally start with a resin casting from his own master, and adding bits and paint afterwards. 14-Elite FWE L at the Sebring 12-Hours, and probably other venues with it or others of the first "proper" Lotus road car. The model example is the Exem resin-bodied Car (ref. RLM 025) as driven by Chapman and John Whitmore at Le Mans in The cars both secured 2nd in class finishes behind Ferrari Thunderboomies.

8 The sharp elbows probably came out in 1962 when the smart 1991 Historic RAC rally (MotorPro/Corgi D708). Apparently, Pete money obtained Marks 19 roadsters for USRRC competition from drove one for Alan Mann racing at the Mid-Ohio USRRC-GT in Nassau to Riverside. Lovely secured a ride with John Mecom's 1964, so it might have been in red & gold. "Rosebud Racing" for Laguna Seca, pushed around the twisty circuit with a 2500cc Climax like the Starter Models example of Innes Ireland's similar mount. I believe that team originally had Ferrari V12 power; others used Maserati, Ford, and probably tightly-wound Kelvinators, too. According to Doug Nye in The Story of Lotus, , Pete also drove a new Mk 22 Formula Junior that year for Mecom, as well, for which I have a another scratch-built in resin by Mike Serrurier in "presentation" BRG, and not so attractive as the blue metallic of the Texan. Mike's model is also closer to 1:38, has no front or rear "Chapman Struts," and the front "wobbley-web" wheels have six "spokes" for the eagle-eyed. Pete Lovely Shops "Kiyoshi," in his visit, also noticed a number of projects underway, including Ferrari motors, and some Lotuses which may not have been owned by Pete, but worth noting for the scope of his work. Mentioned were Marks 18, 26R, 35, the T49B restored to GLTL livery, and a Type 77F1. Doug Nye briefly mentioned in his book that Pete actually raced in "an older Mk 18" in the US in 1961, and it seems appropriate to show a shot of the first Lotus to win an F1 race: Stirling Moss' Rob Walker Team Mk 18-Climax at Monaco in 1960 by SMTS in white-metal (ref. RL27B), which had its side body panels removed for driver-cooling during the race. Also pictured are other 1:43rd examples of an ancient "JPS II" white-metal model of Mario Andretti's winner at the Japanese GP of 1976 by FDS Automobili (ref. 53) on the Samba (barely), an older diecast of a generic Mk 26R hardtop by Kyosho of Japan (ref G), and shown against "Pete's Paddock" of many of his the racers mentioned above. Lovely. Spark has issued the JPS II and many Marks 26R in the past year, but collector history may be important here for a few readers. In 1995, Pete won his class race at Laguna Seca in a Type 23CLotus TC, but I'm not sure whether it was the same one that he drove in European Championship events or in the 1962 LA Times' Continental events in California alongside Jim Clark. Whether he competed otherwise head-to-head with Clark during those years is not clear to me, as isn't their competition in the Mark 28 Cortina-Fords. In any event, I've pictured two models from the same era, including a Mk 23B-BMW in yellow as raced in local vintage races (RMVR, etc.) by a late LOCO member, Ernie Weil, and as built by another RMVR racer (Rob Brown/ Alfa GTA) from a British white-metal kit (SMTS/'Voiturette' ref. V.1). Ironically, Lovely's car was in BRG, as was Ernie's before he comprehensively erased every landscape detail, chased a few spectators, and rolled the car into a ball at the end of the back straight of the defunct vintage layout among the condos and shops at the foot of Mt. Werner in Steamboat Springs. Pictured as a tow car is a 'Code 3' Mk 28 as driven by Roger Clark in a

9 Marsden on models The Tasmanian Lotus 32B-Climax & Team Lotus T127 These two models are world's apart in age and production, but both were issued recently. Villa Models of Italy is a very small operation and handbuilds its works in limited production with cast resin bodies and zamac bases. My Mole-in-Madrid, Martin Mayor, has been able to rescue some unusual Villas Lotus Mks 33 and this 32B 2.5L FPF for me. The car represents Jim Clark's 1965 winner at the Levin "Gold Leaf International Trophy" (prophetic for GLTL?) in January, where he was "triple crown" for pole, fast lap and win Another amazing thing has occurred, too. The overall shapes, sizes and refinement of Formula One cars have changed gradually over the past forty years to the point where a comparison of the 1965 Mk 32B-Climax 4 and the 2010 T127-Cosworth V8 seems almost unreal. The two models are both to 1:43rd scale, but about 1.2 inches difference in length, which checks out pretty closely, and may be a tad short (I actually used dimensions for a 2011 Group Lotus R31-Renault). Incidentally, PMA Minichamps has issued a model of Petrov's car (ref ), and Spark's T128-Renaults/ China 2011 (refs, S3020/21 have just been issued. Jim Marsden A young friend of mine - well, I say young, he is younger than me, just - used to work as an Engineer for John Player & Sons at their Nottingham Horizon factory. He was there when Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson took their 72 s for a few laps of the car park to celebrate the 1973 Constructors Championship. The other recent arrival is by Spark and is the 2010 "Team Lotus Caterham" backed car as driven by Heikki Kovalainen in the Monaco Grand Prix (ref. S3007). It represents the latest in mass-production, but uses similar construction materials. What's quite remarkable is how elegant the presentation of these new Spark models are in every aspect for collectors, and how comprehensive is their line, leading me to believe that I've spent over forty years scrounging for the very best replicas only to have this company and its artisans supplant nearly most with better ones. Whereas the first were Dinky and Corgi diecasts clearly intended for children, and the later expensive handbuilts and kits were limited in production for collectors (viz: "They are not toys and unsuitable for children under fourteen years."), these new pieces are better. Since then he has had in his possession these little gems, three unused books of matches which were handed out like the black stickers after every race win. These are all celebrating Ronnie s victories at the French, Italian and United States Grands Prix of that year. He has very kindly donated them to my collection of Lotus memorabilia. I think they are quite neat. JT

10 Book Lotus William Taylor is responsible for some of the most significant books about Lotus in recent years, not least the Lotus Book. Four Years in the making, when first published in 1998, the Lotus Book was one of Taylor s first titles. Much of the time was spent locating some of the rarest Lotus cars in order that he could photograph them for the book. By 2005, the Lotus Book was in its 3rd series and won a prestige major award Best Corporate Branding Book of the Year from the Independent Publishers Group in the USA. It was also listed as one of the top ten automotive books published that year. Published by the Coterie Press, William Taylor s latest Lotus offering is 1965: Jim Clark & Team Lotus the UK Races. Lots of words have been published about the Lotus story, but this book concentrates purely on the 1965 UK racing season and covers Formula 2, 3, Sports Cars, Saloons as well as Formula One. It takes a long look back into some of the halcyon days of Team Lotus often through the lens of Peter Darley who adeptly captures, all in monochrome, the atmosphere of the period. Many of the shots are familiar to us but the book contains many previously unpublished pictures of familiar subjects in relaxed mood. It shows the camaraderie of the era and accompanies Taylor s easy style text describing race meetings in the UK. As often the case in those long ago days, star drivers would race in other formulae at the same meeting. Jim Clark was setting the world alight with his Indy 500 win and winning six Grands Prix on the bounce to which he was entered. The following week he would be winning 100 in F2 race. Other race meetings seemed to be the relaxation for top drivers away from the World Championship but in fact was probably much further from the truth. Clark won both the European and British Formula Two championships on top of his Indy 500 and F1 World Championship success. Several saloon races succumbed to the Clark magic as well as the Levante Cup, claimed by Clark in the much maligned Lotus 30. Taylor faithfully describes the action from all the formulae including the lesser F3 races, backing them up with grid diagrams, practice times and race results. The frustration of some drivers comes across in their quest to dislodge Clark in whatever class he was pitched into. The saloons for example may, it could be argued, have been a Clark walkover but the big banger US Fords couldn t be caught. The argument that there is no substitute for CCs may be the only valid reason why the Ford Mustangs were vying for overall honours. The book also captures most of the life of the Lotus 30, Chapman s passport to big engined sports car racing and a lucrative deal with Ford. Sadly Ford chose Eric Broadley s Lola outfit and the record shows that the Lotus 30 was in the minority with a just a handful of privateers choosing the model over the more prolific Lola T70. However, only in the hands of Clark did the 30 make any impression. Later in the book the Lotus 40 emerges but fails to make an impression and Clark s frustration shows through but is tempered by going out and terrorising the big American bangers in the saloon car races. The book gives a portence of what was to come in the form of commercial sponsorship when Ford provided a pair of custom built Thames Traders to use as transporters and workshops for the Lotus Cortina Team which was run by Bob Dance. The Team Lotus mechanics running the monoposto and sports car teams were justifiably envious. I think the book also gives an insight into the arguments of who is the best driver ever. Whilst I firmly believe that comparisons can t be directly made between eras, the amount of races our heroes were involved in has to have a bearing. With only a driver s best total over a limited number of races counting toward the ultimate Formula One goal, it gave drivers the opportunity to take part in lesser formulae and saw them racking up many more career race wins and as such, keeping them in the spotlight almost as much as a current Formula One driver might by taking part in 19/20 Grands Prix ensuring they became household names. I really enjoyed this book, it is very well laid out doing justice to Peter Darley s wonderful photography without which William Taylor would have had a much more difficult job as author. JT This familiar figure is available from your specialist model stockist. From E.Jan. This prolific manufacturer of detailing parts has seen fit to add a 1:20 scale figure of Colin Chapman in equally familiar pose. Ideal for a 1970 s diorama just the thing to pose in front of your Lotus 72, 77, 78 or 79. At around 23 the only thing you need to go with it is the patience to paint great figures. That wouldn t be me then!

11 Lotus Indycar and Formula One It is sleek so it must be a Lotus Indycar 2012 in test- LOTUS MOTORSPORT BECOMES LOTUS RACING In order to reflect the broad range of Lotus competition activities, Lotus Racing becomes the new umbrella name for Group Lotus racing division. All of our official works teams will now race in the evocative black and gold livery. These include the Lotus F1 Team, GP2 and GP3 team Lotus GP (formerly ART) and Lotus Dragon Racing. Partner teams, such as the Lotus-engined IndyCar teams Lotus Herta Autosport, Lotus Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will also run in black and gold with Lotus HVM Racing running in predominantly green, yellow and white. Customer teams have the option of running other classic Lotus liveries, such as Lotus Sport UK s Gold Leaf red, white and gold, which was raced to victory in the British GT Championship last year. The Lotus Formula One challenger for 2012 will be launched on February 5th at 5.00pm on the official Group Lotus website two days ahead of the test at Jerez, so no pictures in this issue. What is confirmed is the driver line up. With Bruno Senna moving to Williams, Kimi Raikkonen will lead the line with Romain Grosjean as his number two. Jerome D Ambrosio will back up the team as reserve driver having signed for Lotus after being dropped from the Virgin team late in the 2011 season despite finishing ahead of his more experienced team mate. The new car is to be named after the Enstone factory where it is made as a tribute to the staff there. The E20 will drop all links with Renault who have no longer any links with the team other than supplying the engines. Enstone has been the home of Benetton then Renault securing championships for both. Lets hope some of that success rubs off and puts Lotus at the front end of the grid for the first time in two decades. The factory was initially built in the early nineties for Reynard s fruitless attempt on Formula One. Like the Indycar series, the 2012 season looks like the best chance since Senna in Detroit for Lotus to pass the chequered flag in first place. The E20 will be the 20th Formula One car built at the Enstone factory Spark have amazed us once again with their first ever 1:18 Formula One diecast in the shape of Jim Clark s 1963 INDIANA CLONES AND THE FAST CRUSADE In 2012 no less than four teams with an anticipated minimum eights cars will be packing Lotus power in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The company s all-new twin-turbo V6 has its first shakedown today at the Moroso circuit in Jupiter, Florida, with Lotus HVM driver Simona de Silvestro working the loud pedal. The engine program, which was announced in November 2010, has come together quickly without teething problems, and fire-ups away from the track have ticked all the boxes. Lotus Dragon Racing, Lotus HVM Racing, Lotus Bryan Herta Autosport, and Lotus Dreyer & Reinbold Racing are all confirmed as engine partners. The Autosport International Show marks the first public appearance of this ambitious powerplant. Claudio Berro, Group Lotus Director of Motorsport: The engine has performed extremely well so far, and we and our partners are very pleased with the results. We had our first fire-up in a Dallara chassis in Palma, Italy on December, then the engine was sent to America, and today we re having our first on-track shakedown, at Moroso, which is very exciting. On January 1 st we opened a Lotus facility in Indianapolis which will be our US engineering and logistics hub, so it s all go. We ve still got a lot of work to do before the start of the season, but I couldn t be happier with the progress we re making. Italian GP winning Lotus 25 in which he clinched the championship. Fabulous detail even down to weathering on the wheel centres and the visible gearbox and engine parts. Through the fine mesh and gaps of the engine cover, wiring is visible. The brakes are plumbed in and the ends of the exhausts are opened out. The cockpit looks lived in and even many fasteners are visible. If anyone is going to do justice to a diecast it is Spark and hopefully this will be the first of many more big scale F1 cars. Although nothing in the suspension is designed to move, it even has proper springs on the shock absorbers. Price tag is around 150 but I don t expect them to stay in stock at your favourite supplier for very long.

12 MFH News With it s infamous H16 BRM engine, the Lotus 43 was a stop gap between Coventry Climax and Cosworth power. Used only in the 1966 season, it was fast but unreliable and after a season of frustration, Jim Clark nursed the car to its and the H16s only victory at Watkins Glen to round off a miserable (by Clark s standards) season. 80 pages of highly detailed photographs with Gold Leaf Team Lotus as the subject is volume 12 of Joe Honda s amazing grand prix photographic record. The publication features the 49, 56b, 63 and 72. Just the job for modelling these subjects. Published by Model Factory Hiro Model Factory Hiro are in the spotlight again following their big scale Lotus 77 and 79 releases they have two more 1:20 delights for us. The Lotus 72E from 1975/75 and more spectacularly a 1:20 scale model of the Lotus 43 BRM. Very rarely modelled especially at this stage, the 43 is one of those models that has only one version. No different decal or team options due to it s one season history with only the works team operating the chassis. Clark s 1966 US GP Victory will ensure a sell out based on that nostalgia alone. MFH have crafted a masterpiece yet again. At around 330 it will just be on the wish list of the average modeller. The Lotus 72E rounds off the offerings from MFH this month, this prolific manufacturer continues to delight Lotus fans Legal stuff - Kit Lotus is copyright and published by J Thornhill, Nottingham, NG16 3DQ. Contact us at mail@kitlotus.com or visit Kit Lotus is copyright and may not copied by any means either mechanical or electronic, without the expressed permission of the author. Kit Lotus may contain images that are copyright to third parties other than Kit Lotus. There is no deliberate intention by Kit Lotus to infringe any copyright and any such infringements will be removed immediately on request. We welcome links to appropriate websites but we will not be liable for damages of any kind arising out of such access to third party websites or to our website, or any inability to access third party websites or our website or your reliance on the information contained within our website or third party websites Clicking on links from will take you to other websites of which we take no responsibility. We will use every reasonable effort to include accurate and up to date information, in all of our publications but neither make nor imply any warranties or representations as to the accuracy or completeness. Kit Lotus has no affiliation, implied or otherwise, with Group Lotus and its companies or any other official or unofficial group or entity.