One to Buy: ex-Jim Clark 1967 Lotus Type 36 Elan S3 SE
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In addition to his two Drivers’ titles and 25 wins from 72 World Championship Formula 1 starts, Jim Clark’s remarkable career saw him collect an additional 19 non-championship F1 victories, a win at the 1965 Indianapolis 500, three Tasman titles, the British Saloon Car Championship and a British F2 crown.
Having begun racing as an enthusiastic but evidently gifted amateur in 1956, Clark joined up with Team Lotus for the 1960 season. He delivered Colin Chapman’s outfit its first Drivers’ title in 1963, a feat repeated in 1965 which was the same year Clark won the big money Indianapolis 500. By this time Clark, having demonstrated an ability to win in practically any discipline, was regarded as the finest driver of his generation and perhaps even the greatest of all time.
Unfortunately, in April 1968 Clark’s career was cut short owing to a fatal accident at the Hockenheim European F2 Championship race when his Lotus 48 mysteriously veered off the track and crashed into the surrounding woodland.
Between 1963 and ‘67, Lotus supplied Jim Clark with a trio of Elan company cars.
The last of these, a Special Equipment S3 painted Lotus Yellow, will be going under the hammer at Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival auction on September 13th.
Chassis 36/6778 was delivered to Clark by Lotus Cars (Sales) Ltd. on March 22nd 1967. Owing to Clark’s decision to relocate to Paris as a consequence of Britain’s punitive new tax system, the car was configured in left-hand drive.
During the course of the next twelve months, Jim Clark drive chassis 36/6778 to races all over Europe. On April 3rd 1968 he arrived at the Heidelberg airstrip in Germany and handed the keys to Gerard ‘Jabby’ Crombac whose Parisian flat he shared. As was normal practice, Crombac would drive the car back to Paris, but on this occasion Clark told his friend to keep the car as he was imminently expecting delivery of a new Elan Plus 2.
Tragically, Clark was killed at Hockenheim four days later.
Jabby Crombac went on to retain chassis 36/6778 for nearly 40 years.
