Lotus announced a car with the same name as one planned for the 1970 Can-Am championship, but it was never built. Ten cars will be made in a run, and each one will cost seven figures. The track-only version will have a modern sequential engine, anti-lock brakes (ABS), and a V-8 that fits the period. The Lotus Type 66 is different from other “Continuation” cars because it is a new copy of a classic car designed by well-known companies but never made. The British sports car business has said it wants to make ten copies of an updated version of a car that was initially meant to be a Can-Am race car. Each track-only car will cost well into the seven figures and will be as fast as a modern GT3 race car. Last year, Lotus gave us a sneak peek at this car, and at the same time, we learned that it will be made by the company’s new Lotus Advanced Performance branch. The Type 66 was shown off for the first time recently at The Quail in Monterey. Lotus considers it a “testament to the brand’s desire to reimagine the best parts of its heritage and update them in the most exciting way possible.” Lotus’s removal from the Can-Am series is an apparent mistake in history. The Canadian-American Challenge Cup started in 1966 and quickly became one of the most exciting racing series when racing was at its most exciting (and dangerous). It had raced in both Canada and the United States on its schedule. Can-Am was controlled by Group 7 rules, which were for two-seater cars that didn’t have many mechanical restrictions. Regarding how much power a car has for its weight, Can-Am vehicles quickly beat Formula 1 cars. After 53 years, it comes true Lola and McLaren ruled Can-Am early on, but in the late 1960s, Lotus thought about making its car and entering the race. Geoff Ferris, a draftsman for Team Lotus, was asked by Team Lotus founder Colin Chapman to build a Group 7 racer. That only got as far as technical plans and scale models, but 53 years later, the Type 66 has brought it to life. Clive Chapman, Colin’s son and the executive director of Classic Team Lotus, came up with the ideas and designs that made it possible to make the new Type 66. Some of these have been found in a fireproof box with 28 rolls of microfilm, some of which had pictures of the Can-Am project from September 1969. Because Lotus was too busy with other things, they were never made into full-size cars, but if the idea had gone further, it would have led to the Type 66. Because Lotus had a groundbreaking marketing deal with a tobacco company then, the new car has the same red, white, and gold colors as the Formula 1 team. Other changes, like radiators on the side, are also used on the team’s F1 cars. Lotus says that more than 1000 hours were spent on the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models of the Type 66. At 150 mph, the maximum downforce is more than 1,764 pounds, more than the car’s weight. Even though the first Lotus Can-Am plan never got far enough to include an engine, it would have followed competitors and used American V-8 power to participate. Throughout its reign, McLaren used Chevrolet engines. The big-block 8.3-liter engine in the 1971 M8F is thought to have made more than 800 horsepower. What is the number of engines? Even though Lotus hasn’t said who will make the Type 66’s engine, it has said that it will be a “period-representative V-8 pushrod.” This engine is made to produce 819 horsepower at 8800 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 7400 rpm, thanks to a beautiful pair of unique intake trumpets, forged aluminum pistons, con rods, and a crank. The new car will have a carbon-fiber tub in the middle and a shape that is less true to the past. It will look a little modern because it will have aluminum body panels. Lotus says it will have electric power steering, a current sequential race transmission with an anti-stall system, and even an ABS. In simulated tests, it did about as well as a GT3 race car, and Lotus says it should be faster on tracks like Laguna Seca. Are you tempted? Lotus says there will only be ten made, and each will cost “more than £1 million.” Don’t wait too long to put your name on the list. At the exchange rate right now, that is about $1.3 million.
