One to Buy: ex-works 1969 Brands Hatch 6 Hours winning Lotus 62
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Lotus created the Type 62 for a works campaign in the 1969 two-litre Group 6 Prototype class. Two chassis were built and they appeared in the same Gold Leaf colours as the Team Lotus F1 cars.
Using a brand new tubular spaceframe enhanced with riveted alloy sheet for a semi-monocoque effect, Lotus incorporated the latest F1-style suspension and wheels along with a 240bhp fuel-injected Vauxhall-derived inline ‘four’ hooked up to a five-speed ZF gearbox.
Even though Lotus was only able to run one Type 62 until the second half of 1969, the model ultimately collected six wins from nine outings that year. Highlights were class victories at the Brands Hatch 6 Hours and Oulton Park Tourist Trophy plus of course outright victory at the Brands Hatch Guards Trophy.
With just two examples ever built, opportunities to buy a Type 62 are understandably rare, however, one is currently on offer at the Grand Prix Classics showroom in La Jolla, California.
Chassis 01 was raced throughout that successful 1969 campaign, picking up the Brands Hatch 6 Hours win and another at the Zandvoort Dunes Trophy.
More recently, the car underwent an exacting high end restoration during the mid 1990s. Since that time, chassis 01 has made appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Monterey Historics.
