Eleventh heaven
Colin Chapman’s diminutive racer has long held a certain fascination for Rick Wilson and, with the help of a trio of recent large-scale resincasts by Best of Show, he tries to explain why.
The trio of 1/18 scale resincasts by Best of Show - to the left is BOS 150 (1957 Mille Miglia), to the rear is BOS 152 (1956 Monza speed records) and front right is BOS 151 (1956 Le Mans 24 Hours).
If ever those pesky lottery numbers finally come up for me, there are two cars that I would love to get my hands on. One is Porsche’s brutishly beautiful 906 Carrera 6, the other is this incredible little Lotus that was a bit of a giant-killer in the 1950s – the Eleven. Incorporating the latest in aerodynamic theory (with a body designed by Frank Costin), with forward-thinking engine, suspension and brake technology, the Eleven became the most prolific racing car of its time and, for several years, dominated its class in races all around the world. Whilst its predecessors – Marks 8, 9 and 10 – had been developed from the Mark 6, the Eleven was designed and built from scratch. Originally designated the Mark 11, it was frequently mistyped as Mark II, so the full word was adopted – and here began the trend for
Lotus cars beginning with the letter “E”.
Produced in great numbers to compete in the very competitive 1,100 cc and under class in sports car racing, the Coventry Climax engine preferred by Lotus was originally designed for use as a portable fire pump. It produced such impressive power, for such a small-sized unit, that a modified version quickly found itself under the bonnet of racing cars, starting with the 1954 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Kieft.
Around 150 were made up to early 1957, when a modified ‘Series 2’ version appeared for the 1957 season. A total of around 270 of both types rolled out of the Lotus works before production ceased in 1958.
There have been several excellent recent releases in 1/43 scale, notably from Spark, and a similarly-sized offering from Corgi Toys in period, plus an exquisite 1/18 model by Spark, but recently Best of Show
in the 1,100cc class, and was nearly as dominant in the larger 1,500cc class. It could also be competitive in the 2-litre class. On the right course, it could give any sports car a run for its money, regardless of engine size. Although its racing career didn't really get off to the best of starts at the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours, this was more than made up for at Le Mans, a few months later. Of the three cars entered, one (#36) finished an incredible 7th overall, winning the 1,100cc class, with both other entries acquitting themselves well too, despite #32, as modelled here, succumbing to engine failure with less than three hours to go. Car #35 was put out by an accident after 10 hours.
Best of Show's 1956 works' Le Mans entry was actually its second release. The Eleven's beautiful compound-curved body is perfectly recreated and the finesse of the screen is definitely to be applauded. There is a good level of detail to the sparse interior too – I particularly like the authentic seats that are very evocative of the period. The finish is top notch and the graphics, whilst simple, are still exquisitely applied. The famous “TEAM LOTUS” pinstripe to either side really makes this model for me.
BOS 152 – MONZA 1956 SPEED RECORD
Lotus made three trips with the Eleven to Italy's banked Monza circuit, in an attempt to set new closed-course speed records. The first trip was undertaken in September 1956, using an 1,100cc
production Eleven, modified only with restyled aerodynamics to the cockpit area and a fairing to the tail. The driver for this initial sortie was none other than Stirling Moss, whose best lap of 138 mph, and 50 km at 135 mph, were the highlights of a day cut short when the bodywork flew off at speed. A second trip was made with the same car just a month later, this piloted by Herbert "Mac" MacKay-Fraser, one of the team’s Le Mans drivers, who completed the planned laps and broke all the existing records, posting a fastest lap at 143 mph.
It would have been easy to churn out a run of similarly-bodied racers, but BoS, to its credit, took on a very significant variant that required some serious retooling. The final actual release depicts this famous car wonderfully, with the aerodynamic fairing behind the driver suitably enclosed by what must have been a very tricky canopy to replicate. Again, it is exquisitely finished throughout, and the even more minimalist graphics are perfectly recreated.
BOS 150 – MILLE MIGLIA 1957 #332
In terms of dates, this is the latest Eleven produced by Best of Show so far, although it was the first model actually released.
The editor of Autosport magazine, Gregor Grant, decided that he wanted to give the Mille Miglia a try in 1957. Many thought him mad to attempt such a gruelling event, with its arduous course of 1,000 miles of standard roads. Colin Chapman, however, was intrigued to see how his little car would fare on such an event, so prepared a car at the Hornsey works for the attempt. Despite this factory assistance, Grant would be responsible for everything else – entry, insurance, refuelling, transport and service.
It was an eventful run, with many teething problems and local ‘rules’ to circumnavigate, and the car proved itself well, but a split fuel tank with just 70 miles to go put paid to any hopes of finishing inside the time limit.
The full tale of Grant’s superb efforts was published at the time in Autosport, of course, but can be found in full reproduced on an excellent website, www.lotuseleven.org – it’s a great read! The car is very similar to the 1956 Le Mans car in terms of shape. The “9 EHX” registration number might fool you into thinking that this was the same real car too, but this was a trick commonly used by Lotus, whereby registrations would be moved between cars to simplify the paperwork when moving cars through various countries to races overseas.
It’s another wonderful model, with an identical cockpit to the Le Mans car, complete with fire extinguisher. Apart from the obvious change in terms of race numbers, subtle differences are apparent on closer inspection too, such as the lack of auxiliary driving lights on this version, and the style of number plate being very much a local Italian-style aff air, although this shouldn’t have the rounded edges as modelled.
Displayed together, all three of Best of Show’s marvels are absolute heaven for an Eleven enthusiast such as myself. Maybe one day I’ll get to play with a real one too.