1970 Lotus Seven Series 3

Background:

The Lotus Seven was arguably Colin Chapman’s most successful work. Launched in 1957, to replace the multi-purpose Six, the Seven has defined open sportscar performance ever since. While many of his Formula 1 and sportscar designs are rightly lauded for their success and ground-breaking technical advances, it is the humble Seven which has been in production, almost uninterrupted, for more than 66 years, built by Caterham Cars since the mid-70s, when Lotus moved on to more sophisticated models.

For raw, stripped-down, analogue driving thrills, nothing comes close. The Seven complies with Chapman’s mantra of ‘simplify and add lightness’ and even in its earliest guise, with a mere 36hp 1,172cc Ford sidevalve for motivation, provided pace and handling that few cars could match, at any price. Vast horsepower has never been the Seven’s strong suit, rather, a flyweight body/chassis coupled to superb suspension and pin-sharp steering combine to produce a unique driving experience. By the introduction of the Series 3 in 1968 boasted the flexible and easily-sourced 1,599cc crossflow Ford.

The car:

This is the very last Seven S3 ever built by Lotus, as documented by the Historic Lotus Seven Register’s chassis records. It was sold to its first owner in kit form - as so many were, to avoid punitive Purchase Tax - in April 1970. Power came from a 1600 GT Ford engine, which was purchased from Lotus subsidiary Racing Engines in Hethel, along with the road wheels, suspension assemblies and other components required.

This outstanding Seven was restored by an engineer and Lotus specialist in 2020 and purchased by the vendor thereafter, since when it has covered only 500-600 miles. The original 1600 GT Ford crossflow - fuelled by twin Webers - remains in situ in the original chassis, coupled to the original 4-speed transmission and even the original, distinctive steering wheel remains with the car.

The car’s restoration has been carried out to an extremely high standard, entirely sympathetically, resulting in a period-correct Seven Series 3 that was featured in Absolute Lotus magazine buyer’s guide, as the example car. In its yellow-and-alloy colour scheme, it is guaranteed to put almost as big a smile on the faces of onlookers as it will on that of its driver.

This three-owner Series 3 comes with impeccable documentation, including the original Lotus invoice and that from Racing Engines, along with the original key and key ring and a copy of the buff log book. Doors, a tonneau cover and a roof are naturally included, as are a hub cap and nose-cone removal tool. All four road wheels, plus the spare, have virtually new tyres and the car is naturally MOT and Road Fund Licence exempt.

Summary:

An outstanding, historic and period-correct Lotus Seven Series 3, superbly presented and aching to be used. This is motoring purity at its finest and is not to be missed.

Seller: Private

Location: Worcestershire

Photography: Professional