24h Le Mans
One may believe the winning cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - whether overall or in their class - are all indexed and easy to track with numbered chassis, engines, etc. Not necessarily! The Lotus Eleven, winner in the S 1.1 class in 1956 and 1957, has disappeared into thin air, even though recently it might have been traced...
Sporting the No. 36 - like the winning sister car in its class in 1956 - the Lotus Eleven up at auction by Bonhams at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California this week may not be what we thought it to be: the Lotus Eleven entered by the factory outfit and brought to victory by Brits Reg Bicknell and Peter Jopp in 1956 and by American drivers Herbert MacKay-Fraser and Jay Chamberlain in 1957 (No. 62).
By request of the owner, a known expert took a look at the chassis of the lovely Brit adorned in an English green livery, as one would expect since he believed he had found the original chassis. Unfortunately, the chassis shows none of the indelible traces that would have been left by mandatory equipment and era photos. Other experts on the other hand have confirmed the chassis now up for auction is indeed the number 210 that Colin Chapman sold in Florida shortly after its wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Sebring...
Though the mystery continues in terms of the origin of the Lotus Eleven estimated between $325,000 and $425,000, its restoration is impeccable, like the winning Aston Martin at the 1948 24 Hours of Spa, estimated between $600,000 and $900,000 dollars. What estimate would the Lotus have reached had its origin been proven certain?
Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, JULY 28-29 1956. Is it the No. 36 Lotus Eleven that will be up for auction in California?
