This is the remarkable 'lost' 2023 Lotus Type 66, finished in the duo-tone Red-and-Gold colour scheme that pays homage to the iconic Gold Leaf Team Lotus livery. Type 66 is a CanAm racer designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman in 1969, to support the brand's transatlantic ambitions. The Type 66 would likely have been piloted by legend Emerson Fittipaldi too, although the project never made it past the technical drawings. At that time Lotus was dominating international motorsports, from winning the Indianapolis 500 to pushing the boundaries of Formula 1. As Colin Chapman's team was fully invested in Formulas 1, 2, 3, 5000 and Ford, there just wasn’t the capacity to enter the CanAm series, hence Type 66 was never put into reality. Many years later, the original drawings were found by his son Clive as he was going through his father's old blueprints. Clive unearthed something he’d never seen – never even heard of before. Rediscovered and reimagined from the archives, now 53 years later, history is brought to life to celebrate the Lotus company’s 75th Anniversary. The car is fundamentally true to the original vision and carefully retains period features iconic to CanAm vehicles with its wide tires, large rear wing and V8 engine featuring exposed intake trumpets and an analogue cockpit layout. Modern racing technology and components have been introduced to make it both safety compliant and more user friendly, such as a motorsport power steering column, sequential racing gearbox, race ABS braking system, anti-stall multi-plate clutch and fixed rollover bar. Type 66 is engineered to deliver an unrivalled driving experience - with an emphasis on lightweight agility, aerodynamics and fun. It’s not historic and it doesn’t pretend to be, but rather it’s a contemporary homage to what Type 66 would have been back in the day.
How many: ultra-exclusive, limited to just 10 customer cars.
Engine: 5.8 L V8 race engine feat. exposed intake trumpets, producing 830hp at 8800 rpm, 750 Nm of torque
Debut: August 2023, ‘The Quail’
Top Speed: 180 mph (290 km/h)
0-62 (100 km/h): 3 seconds
Photo Credit: @lotuscars
Research: @rarecarsonly