Lotus 23
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| Lotus 23 | |
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| Manufacturer | Lotus Cars |
| Production | 1962 |
| Similar | Elfin Mallala |
| Designer | Colin Chapman |
The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as a small-displacement sports racing car. The closed-wheel design could theoretically take two people, but was actually purpose built for racing with a single seat. The Lotus 23 used a wider version of the space frame of the Lotus 22 with the same suspension. Originally intended for engines of 750cc to 1300cc displacement, the revised model 23B had stronger chassis tubes to take the power of Ford-based 1.5/1.6 litre Lotus Twincam power plants.
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[edit] Debut at the Nürburgring
The debut of the 23 was at the Nürburgring Nordschliefe May, 1962. The tiny 100BHP Lotus 23 shot away from the field of Porsches, Aston Martins and Ferraris with Jim Clark at the wheel. Even though some cars had four times the horsepower of the Lotus, after the first lap Clark was 27 seconds ahead of Dan Gurney in a Prototype Porsche. Extending his lead on each lap, Clark was overcome by exhaust fumes from a damaged manifold on lap 12 and was forced to retire.
[edit] Lotus 23 Banned from LeMans
In June 1962 two Lotus 23s were entered to compete at LeMans. Due to political pressure brought to bear by the opposing teams, the 23s were banned from racing on spurious technical grounds.[citation needed] A furious Chapman vowed "We will never race again at LeMans!" - and no Team Lotus entry has ever been made again.
In spite of these early problems the Lotus 23 proved to be a competitive, durable, and popular race car. Over 130 were produced in three versions: the standard 23, 23B, 23C. Today these cars are a mainstay of vintage racing in Europe and the United States.
[edit] Resurrection of Lotus 23
A firm favourite with the Lotus Fans, the Lotus 23 has several replicas in production today.
[edit] Xanthos 23
The Xanthos 23 is the most accurate reproduction of the original car using the same design and materials as the 1960s original. Powered by Lotus twincam it is still built by Xanthos Cars in the traditional way near Bristol, UK.
[edit] Noble 23
Following the success of his Ultima GTR project, Lee Noble created a Lotus 23 replica with a wider track than the original to allow for true two seater use. It proved very successful in racing, with over 60 cars produced using either Lotus twincam or Renault V6 engines. Noble's version continued in production, first by Auriga Design using an Alfa Romeo engine and transaxle, and now by Mamba Motorsport near Oxford, UK using Ford Duratec Engines.
[edit] External links
- Utah Lotus Museum - Lotus 23
- Xanthos
- History of Lee Noble Component Cars
- Mamba Motorsport
- Lotus 23 with a SAAB V4 engine
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