Fantasy Junction

Description

**Please note that this car is not currently located at Fantasy Junction.***

1961 Lotus 18/21
s/n 918 engine no FPF 430-3 1099
Light Green with Red Interior

The Lotus 18 is an important car for Lotus, and for motorsports. Not only did Stirling Moss famously drive one to Lotus’ first ever grand prix win at Monaco, but was among the first to originate mid placement of the engine, a characteristic that remains a requirement for any serious race car to this day. Fitted with a Ford 105E series 1100cc engine the 18 was campaigned in Formula Junior events in the United States where they proved to be the dominant machine throughout the period. Fitted with a Climax FPF engine, the 18 was successfully campaigned in Formula II and Formula I, and was eventually superseded by the 21 for Formula I use.

One of the most successful teams to compete with 18s was UDT-Laystall, which was led by Reg Parnell. Because Lotus reserved all of the 21s manufactured for their team Formula 1 efforts, UDT converted their 18s to 21 specification. These cars featured the more aerodynamic body of the 21, which featured significantly reduced frontal area as well more reclined driving position. The rear suspension was also revised, and the newly formed Hewland Transmission Company’s HD-5 was fitted to replace the Colotti gearboxes previously in use. Apart from the upgraded 18s, UDT-Laystall also built from scratch brand new 18/21s of which this car is one. Interestingly, these cars were given Lotus chassis plates and Lotus sequenced 18 serial numbers.

This particular car has fascinating history and was quite successful in period races. Under the UDT Laystall banner, Moss won two races and placed second in two others in South Africa in December of 1961, marking the end of the last full year of his racing career. The first victory was on its first outing, driven by Stirling Moss at Brands Hatch in June of 1961. A week later, the car was to be driven by Cliff Allison at Spa at the Belgian Grand Prix, but during practice, he was involved in an accident that ultimately ended his career. The car was repaired and in August, it raced and won once more, again driven by Moss.

The car was traded to Rob Walker for the 1962 season, and won on its first 1962 outing as well, at the hands of Maurice Trintignant, at the Pau GP, a famous race in which Trintignant found himself in last place after a pit stop, and proceeded to overtake the entire field to win the race. The car was driven by several others, including Graham Hill and Olivier Gendebien. For the 1963 and 1964 seasons, the car was raced by a privateer named Jock Russell, who fitted a Ford V8(!) and unsurprisingly, crashed the car. It sat in disrepair for many years, eventually being fully restored starting in 1993.

Period Race History:
3 June 1961, Brands Hatch, 1st Place, Stirling Moss
Belgian GP, DNS, Cliff Allison
20 August 1961, Karlskoga, 1st Place, Stirling Moss
27 August 1961, Danish GP, 8th Place, Masten Gregory
3 September 1961, Modena GP, DNF, Henry Taylor
10 September 1961, Italian GP, 12th, Henry Taylor
23 September 1961, Oulton Park, 8th, Henry Taylor
8 October 1961, US GP at Watkins Glen, 11th, Olivier Gendebien
17 December 1961, Natal GP, 2nd, Stirling Moss
26 December 1961, South African GP, 2nd, Stirling Moss
23 April 1962, Pau GP, 1st, Maurice Trintignant
12 May 1962, Silverstone, DNF, Maurice Trintignant
11 June 1962, Mallory Park, 3rd, Graham Hill
17 June 1962, Belgian GP, 9th, Lucien Bianchi
30 March 1963, Snetterton, 7th, Adam Wyllie
27 April 1963, Aintree 200, DNF, Jock Russell
14 March 1964, Snetterton, DNF, Jock Russell

From 1993 to 1995, the car was meticulously rebuilt by Alan Baillie, being fitted with correct type Coventry Climax engine and returned to its original light green UDT Laystall livery with tartan flash on the nose. It raced in both the United States and the United Kingdom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Monterey, Goodwood in 2000, and Isle of Man and Silverstone in 2002. The car was run in Team Lotus colors (dark green with yellow wheels) during this period as well, and has since been returned to its original Laystall colors, including the number 26, which it wore when driven by Moss. In period, this car wore the Laystall livery, as well as Rob Walker and Belgium National team yellow liveries, making any of these a correct scheme that the car could rightfully wear today.

The car has been continuously maintained since its restoration. The engine block was damaged in 2000 during practice for Goodwood, and a new block was cast using the original Coventry Climax tooling. The car was not raced from 2003 to 2008, but has run several events since, including both the Sonoma Historics and the Monterey Historics in 2012. During this period, the car has been maintained by Jim Groom, with work to the gearbox, suspension, cooling system, driveline, oil cooler, rebuilt steering rack, new fire system, and respray.

The current owner has had a complete suspension arm replacement with arms from Chapman Racing. The brakes were gone through, and the water system rebuilt to assure flow to engine. The \"swirl\" pot was replaced, the Hewland gearbox gone through, replacing bearings and other parts as necessary. It is believed, according to the number on the box, that this is the 5th Hewland built. Regular maintenance and race prep was performed prior to Lime Rock 2016, where it was run in each session without issue.

The car is in excellent track-ready condition. The suspension and chassis are nicely detailed, and the paintwork is virtually unmarked since the car has almost no use since being repainted in 2012. The paintwork was done to good vintage racer standards and there are a few small cracks in the rear clamshell. The engine is equally clean, and the interior is also very clean and well-detailed, with vintage Smiths instruments and bucket seat trimmed in red with white piping. The steering wheel appears unrestored and has plenty of patina.

This is an exceptional opportunity to acquire a fantastic piece of motorsports history. This car has excellent provenance, having been driven by a veritable who’s who of Lotus racing drivers. It is very well-documented with period photos of the car being raced, magazine articles featuring the car, original race programs from the events in which it raced, as well as FIA papers and a Historical Technical Pass issued in 2008. Additionally, the car enjoys known and uncontested history, with no alternative claims to this serial number. The car also has a log book dating back to the late 1990s, as well as miscellaneous spares including spare oil tank, springs, one suspension A arm, gear sets, and a few other items. It is also worth noting that this car represents outstanding value as an opportunity to acquire a genuinely world-class vintage Formula 1 car, which offers a variety of prestigious venues at which to exercise the car such as Monaco or any other open wheel vintage event on the planet. To acquire a similarly significant sports car would require at least twenty times the expenditure, which serves to underscore the terrific value of this Lotus.

**Please note that this car is not currently located at Fantasy Junction.***

The above vehicle information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it is posted to this website. Corrections or additional information is always appreciated. All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any dealer document preparation charge, and any emission testing charge. Vehicles are subject to prior sale. All advertised to be true but not guaranteed. We assume no liability for errors or omissions.

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Fantasy Junction  •  510-653-7555  •  1145 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608