Mail Box – October 2013

18 Reasons Why a 65 is not a 47

Dear Editor.

Being the owner of an authentic Lotus 47 and in constant contact with at least half a dozen other owners around the world, I have an issue with the Lotus 47 picture you have on page 63 of the August 2013 issue of Vintage Racecar. This is not a picture of a real Lotus 47, but a later model Europa (type 65), which was made into a racecar. I have attached a couple pictures of real Lotus 47s for reference and I could send you many more including Bobby Rahal’s, which has been for sale in earlier issues of your magazine. The Lotus Europa racecar pictured in your article on page 63 doesn’t have the magnesium four spoke Lotus wheels with knock-offs (spinners), but instead uses aftermarket wheels with the stock four lug nuts, and this car is not right-hand drive. Also, it is obviously a later Europa body because of the horizontal door chrome door handles, the Lotus 47 has the original early type with just a chrome push button showing. The pictured Europa also has some sort of aftermarket duct behind the driver’s door, which is nothing like a real Lotus 47 (see the attached picture). The text that goes along with this picture is very good; except the original Lotus 47 came with 7-1/2-inch not 8-inch front wheels. Having seen the car in your picture at the race track on a couple of occasions, it also doesn’t use the Lotus 59 magnesium rear uprights, uses later CV joints in place of the original rubber donuts, has a full cage with an aftermarket brake/clutch pedal assembly that pivots from the floor, not above the footwell as in a Lotus 47. This is a very nicely built Lotus Europa racecar (actually more high-tech than a real Lotus 47), but definitely not a real Lotus 47. What bothers me is that some collectors may use your magazine to describe an authentic vintage racecar and get mislead.