Beschreibung:

The Lotus-Climax 15 is not only one the finest front-engined sports-racing car designs by the British marque’s legendary founder, Colin Chapman, but it is also surely one of the most beautiful competition cars ever created. . This model was the big-engined successor to the immortal – and sublimely beautiful – Lotus Eleven, the 1100-1500cc sports-racing model which really established designer Colin Chapman’s Lotus Engineering Company Ltd as a serious manufacturer of customer production competition cars. After some 150 Eleven ‘Series 1’ cars had been produced, a ‘Series 2’ variant was introduced in the Spring of 1957. By the end of production during 1958, some 270 Lotus Elevens had been completed. They combined an extremely lightweight yet rigid multi-tubular spaceframe chassis designed by master-stressman Colin Chapman with the ageless aerodynamic bodywork styled by De Havilland Aeroplane Company aerodynamicist Frank Costin. The Lotus 15 had followed for the 1958 season as an uprated sports-racing car – wearing broadly similar Costin bodywork – but strengthened to exploit the added horsepower and torque of Coventry Climax FPF 4-cylinder racing engines in 2-liter, and up to 2½-liter contemporary Formula 1 configuration. It is believed that only 27 Lotus 15s were manufactured and sold in period, 1958-59 – several of them being supplied to private owner/drivers in ready-to-assemble component form. Just as the 1100-1500cc Lotus Elevens had absolutely dominated the sports-racing class in which they competed, so the Lotus 15 came to emulate much of their success. They had a hard time when confronted by the very latest rear-engined Cooper Monacos using identical Coventry Climax 4-cylinder racing engines, but these sleek, low-slung and nimble cars in a good driver’s hands proved supremely competitive…then, and now. This particularly fine example of Colin Chapman’s finest front-engined sports-racing car design was first assembled from factory-supplied parts by David Buxton, a good friend and customer of the London-based car constructor who would create Team Elite, campaigning the moulded glassfibre Lotus Grand Touring car Internationally through the early 1960s, and whose cars would shine brightly at Le Mans during that period. We can find no record of race appearances by David Buxton in this car, but it was quickly purchased from him by future British Touring Car Champion Driver Roy Pierpoint, who had previously raced a 1958-built Lotus 15 and wanted to upgrade to a newer (3rd series) chassis such as ‘622’s offered here. Roy Pierpoint was a prominent competitor in the UK in club, national, and international events during that period, and was also seen frequently in major British hillclimbs. He completed this car with a 2-liter 4-cylinder twin-camshaft Coventry Climax FPF engine and – most notably – adopted a ZF 4S/12 gearbox. This precision-made, low friction loss transmission was used as standard equipment on the Team Lotus-entered work Type 15’s but was not commonly used on ‘customer cars’. We are advised that FIA Historic racing regulations do not accept this gearbox unless fitted to an original Team Lotus works car, but in the US context it is important that Roy Pierpoint had made this upgrade in period, so that ‘622’ as offered here has claim to using the ZF transmission. Back in period, Roy Pierpoint raced his Lotus-Climax 15 for two seasons during which he contested – amongst others - the following events: • Snetterton Eastern Counties Motor Club Meeting, over 1600cc race • Bentley Drivers Club Hillclimb at Firle, Sussex, 9/16/1960 • Shelsley Walsh and other period hillclimb events • It is noted that Pierpoint often raced the car with wire wheels mounted on the rear suspension of his car and cast-alloy wheels up front. It appears that during the winter of 1961-62 the Lotus-Climax 15 was sold to George Dixon as a rolling chassis, less engine. Mr Dixon installed a Ford engine and subsequently raced the car in club events as well a