1989 Sutol Lotus 23B Replica

The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as small-displacement sports racing car and although nominally a two-seater, it was purpose-built for FIA Group 4 racing in 1962-1963. Unlike its predecessors the Lotus 15 and 17, the engine was mounted amidship behind the driver in a similar configuration to the Lotus 19. A very attractive little sports-racer, it still looks 'right' over 50 years later.Sutol Motorsport Ltd. was a small company in the West Midlands established by Murray Lewis and a number of former Lotus employees in the late 1980s. They produced Lotus 23B replicas in kit form using a modified version of the original chassis and bodywork from the original moulds.According to the original sales invoice in the file, this car left the factory in February 1989 to be delivered to Mr Edward Chester of Berwick on Tweed. Mr Chester bought the car to race, but had it road registered so that he could enter road-going classes. He competed at Knockhill, Ingliston and Croft whilst running the car with an 1840cc BDA engine.In 1999, the car was sold, to a professional automotive engineer, Neil Vickerman of Huddersfield. In his care, the car was fully rebuilt with many new parts, all of which is well documented with a raft of photographs. To complement the rebuild, a newly-built high specification 1650cc Lotus Twin Cam engine was installed. Most of the work was complete, save for the bodywork, and the car was sold to another enthusiast. The car passed through one more owner before our vendor purchased it in October 2016.Since then, this fabulous little '23' look-alike has had further refurbishment work carried out including a full body respray in a lovely shade of pastel green. Other work includes a newly fabricated roll hoop to current MSA standards, a new set of Kumho super-soft tyres, retrimmed seats, new harnesses, and the engine has been properly set-up.The specification includes; a Van Diemen cast-alloy dry sump, big-valve cylinder head with unleaded inserts, QED 320 camshafts and Weber carburettors. Mated to the engine is a VW gearbox casing with Hewland internals built by PDS adjacent to a competition clutch, and the twin fuels tanks are set into bespoke fabricated aluminium side pods. The car has been fully rewired, fitted with a new race battery and cut off switch, and all new Smiths' gauges including an electronic speedo and rev counter. The brakes are a combination of Elan and AP Racing, whilst the suspension consists of 'Royale' uprights and fully adjustable Spax shock absorbers.Despite appearances to the contrary, this is a road car and is supplied with a UK V5c and a raft of invoices and photographs. This Lotus 23B replica is now in fine fettle and may perform well in local sprints and hill-climbs as well as turning a few heads on the high street.