Sold | c.1962 Lotus 23B Sports-Racer

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£48,875 (Est: £40,000 - £50,000)

c.1962 Lotus 23B Sports-Racer

United Kingdom • 13 Sept 2025

Vehicle Details

AI Listing Summary

This 1962 Lotus 23B Sports-Racer, exported new to South Africa in kit form, boasts a 1,600cc Lotus Twin-Cam engine and a rich racing history. It returned to the UK in the early 1980s, has been under Portuguese ownership since 2007, and is now offered with fresh FIA HTP, making it eligible for prestigious events like Goodwood and Spa 6 Hours.

Condition

7

The car has been raced extensively, but it is eligible for Goodwood, Spa 6 Hours, Masters and HSCC. It has been thoroughly inspected by RP Motorsport and comes with fresh FIA HTP, suggesting it is in a solid, race-ready condition with slight wear visible.

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Transmission:

[Transmission]

Chassis No:

23R-871

Odometer:

[Odometer Reading]

Reg Number:

[Reg Number]

RHD/LHD:

LHD

• Exported new to South Africa in kit form • 1,600cc Lotus Twin-Cam engine • Brought back to the UK in the early 1980s • Present ownership in Portugal since 2007 • Fresh FIA HTP A small-capacity sports-racer, the Colin Chapman-designed Lotus 23 debuted in 1962 using a widened version of the contemporary Type 20 Formula Junior chassis.

The design had originally been intended for engines of up to 1,300cc, but such was its popularity that a 23B version with stronger chassis was introduced to cater for the 1.5/1.6-litre Ford-Lotus Twin-Cam engine.

Over 130 of all types were produced and today these versatile little cars are enormously popular in Historic sports car racing worldwide.

The Lotus 23's international debut is the stuff of legend.

In May 1962 at the Nürburgring, Jim Clark in a works-entered, Coventry-Climax-engined '23' drove away from a field of much more powerful Ferraris, Porsches and Aston Martins in wet conditions, only to be forced into retirement on lap 12 having been ...