Colin Chapman/Jimmy Clark Lotus 23 stolen!

[Daryl DeArman]

Reposting from Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1279...5230288500554/

[dc]

Not everyone has a Facebook account... here's a translation of the post:

Urgent: Monday morning at 3am from Sensor Systems, 8929 Fullbright Avenue, Chatsworth, CA 91311, this blue 1963 #32 Lotus 23 was stolen from Si Robin after returning from Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. It is historically connected to Jim Clark and Colin Chapman. The trailer is a double-decker, open trailer painted white.

[glenn cooper]

Holy crap - I will keep my eyes and ears open!
PS I must have read that wrong - that car was transported on an open trailer?
THAT car?
Whoa...

[TimH]

The thieves probably have no clue what they stole. Let's hope they don't just trash it when they realize it can't be sold.

[racerdad2]

Time to install the GPS trackers on your toys !

[Daryl DeArman]

Holy crap - I will keep my eyes and ears open!
PS I must have read that wrong - that car was transported on an open trailer?
THAT car?
Whoa...

Yes, Si is old school. Great man. Hope they find this car soon!

http://airportjournals.com/19-the-inventor-si-robin/

[tstrong]

WTF I can't believe this. I talked to Si as he was leaving the track at Spring Mountain. As mentioned above he is the one of the nicest and most giving people I know in racing and the Aircraft industry. Donates tons of money and time to all kind of charities related to the aircraft industry and education of young people wanting to pursue careers in aerospace. Also continues to drive his Lotus 23 and Titan mk6 FF even now in his 80's. Please get this message out to anyone you know in the industry. We have to get this car back.

[mdwracer]

I shared to my Facebook... I urge everyone to put the word out and /or share on their timeline...
A very sad thing to happen, a definite piece of history taken...
Mike W

[Roland V. Johnson]

The car was found, still on the trailer and intact. Someone called and said he thought the car they were looking for was in a remote parking lot in the Valley. Si sent some of his people over and they brought the car home. It sounds like whoever stole it suddenly realized just how hot a car they had and just wanted it to go away. Great news for a great gentleman.

[racerdad2]

That's VERY good news !

[dc]

Fantastic!

[Rick Kirchner]

At Octoberfest Si told me a great tale about this car. I didn't know it was Jimmy's until he told me. I have a picture of Jimmy sitting in his red Lotus at Indy sitting on my bookcase at work. Now that the car's back, I think it's a great time to tell this story. I'm sure Si would if he was on Apexspeed.

Evidently this car is the reason why Lotus never ran LeMans after 1963. In pre-testing, Jimmy was something like 1:20.00/LAP faster than everyone else. Lotus had it covered, until tech inspection. In those days the cars had to carry a spare. The 23 had 5-lug fronts and 6-lug rears, but the spare was only a 5-lug.

The French decided that since the wheel couldn't be used on all 4 corners, it wasn't a legal spare. Chapman had the boys back in England hurriedly make 5-lug rears and ship the parts over. When Chapman took the car back thru tech, they declared the car unsafe, because it must have needed 6-lugs, and now it only had 5!

Chapman withdrew the car and Lotus never returned.

Flash forward 50 years. Si decides to enter the LeMans Historiques. The entry fee was something north of $30K. The French refused his entry, carrying the feud all the way to the 21st century.

[Albatross]

Great news to be shared by all. Not to steal the thunder of the great news. How 'bout some recommendations for purchase of a suitable GPS tracker. And, will the tracker be capable of transmitting its signal out of the roof of a garage or even a warehouse?

[mdwracer]

My Lotus 23 story is around the 1991 time frame. My Dad and I attended our first vintage race at Mid Ohio to spectate. Not knowing who was who , we were amazed by how fast this white/orange Lotus 23 was lapping the track. We walked over to the driver and he was very modest in that he said he was fast because he had been driving that car since it was new. If you have not guessed this driver thus far... it was Charlie Gibson. He drove in a true momentum style and could run down and pass the high HP stuff. I like to think he drove a 23 like Clark drove a 23...

Mike W

[stonebridge20]

My Lotus 23 story is around the 1991 time frame. My Dad and I attended our first vintage race at Mid Ohio to spectate. Not knowing who was who , we were amazed by how fast this white/orange Lotus 23 was lapping the track. We walked over to the driver and he was very modest in that he said he was fast because he had been driving that car since it was new. If you have not guessed this driver thus far... it was Charlie Gibson. He drove in a true momentum style and could run down and pass the high HP stuff. I like to think he drove a 23 like Clark drove a 23...

Mike W

Charlie did hustle that 23 pretty good. I miss that guy!

[glenn cooper]

I love it when these things come to a happy conclusion!

[Rick Kirchner]

If you come off a corner in a FC at the same speed as the 23 in front of you it is unlikely you can beat it to the next corner. No drag to speak of and about the same weight as a FC, about 30HP more.

[glenn cooper]

Cossie BDA?

[Charles Warner]

Should be a Lotus TC.

[Roland V. Johnson]

It's a good strong Ivey Twin Cam, and yes Si can be hard to pass in a FF. Jay says he deserves the power since Si is well past 80.

[TimH]

The only reason I can think of to pass that car would be to get a better look at the side. Otherwise, I'd rather just watch the back. One of the prettiest cars ever made.

[David Ferguson]

At Octoberfest Si told me a great tale about this car. I didn't know it was Jimmy's until he told me. I have a picture of Jimmy sitting in his red Lotus at Indy sitting on my bookcase at work. Now that the car's back, I think it's a great time to tell this story. I'm sure Si would if he was on Apexspeed.

Evidently this car is the reason why Lotus never ran LeMans after 1963. In pre-testing, Jimmy was something like 1:20.00/LAP faster than everyone else. Lotus had it covered, until tech inspection. In those days the cars had to carry a spare. The 23 had 5-lug fronts and 6-lug rears, but the spare was only a 5-lug.

The French decided that since the wheel couldn't be used on all 4 corners, it wasn't a legal spare. Chapman had the boys back in England hurriedly make 5-lug rears and ship the parts over. When Chapman took the car back thru tech, they declared the car unsafe, because it must have needed 6-lugs, and now it only had 5!

Chapman withdrew the car and Lotus never returned.

Flash forward 50 years. Si decides to enter the LeMans Historiques. The entry fee was something north of $30K. The French refused his entry, carrying the feud all the way to the 21st century.

I think this is a great story, but I notice that in the picture of the car at the top of this thread it has 4-lugs on the front, and 6 on the rear.

[Lola_Bruce]

Yes David Si races it as it was. That being said Si bought this car when he was young and has raced it from then till now. Why on a open trailer well that is the way it was done then and Si raced and still races that way.

[fitfan]

It's a good strong Ivey Twin Cam, and yes Si can be hard to pass in a FF. Jay says he deserves the power since Si is well past 80.

i can attest that you need to pass this car on brakes, because you won't pass it on throttle!

The only reason I can think of to pass that car would be to get a better look at the side. Otherwise, I'd rather just watch the back. One of the prettiest cars ever made.

i can also attest to being perfectly content to sit behind and enjoy the view with little desire to pass!



glad the car is back with Si - that would have been a devastating loss