Lotus Type 66: very pricey track toy

Old idea, but only now realized

Lotus founder Colin Chapman had in the distant past set his sights on the high-profile and commercially lucrative Can-Am series. Chapman commissioned Team Lotus illustrator Geoff Ferris to launch the Type 66 project to evaluate how Lotus design principles could be applied to this exciting racing class.

Chapman’s primary focus on Formula One, however, meant that the innovative Can-Am project never went beyond technical drawings and scale models. As many as 53 years after the first designs, the Type 66 comes to life. The Lotus Type 66 was developed in Lotus’ 75th anniversary year. Only ten units see the light of day, all equipped with a Lotus V8 engine. The price tag? More than 1 million pounds each.

Historically accurate colors

The car made its public debut in historically accurate colors: a reflection of the red, white and gold colors in which Lotus raced in the early 1970s. Among others, the Lotus Type 72 F1 also raced with the same colors. The V8 mid-engine produces more than 830 horsepower at 8,800 rpm. Torque is 746 Nm at 7,400 rpm.