A Brief Bit of 11 History ...
The Lotus 11 was the culmination of Lotus' aerodynamic, all-conquering sports racing cars of the mid 1950's. The light-weight and fast Mark VIII of 1954 and the finned Mark IX and X of 1955, all with aerodynamic bodies, preceded the Lotus 11. A Mark IX is pictured below.
The 11 was a 1000-lb Chapman-designed space frame car with an alloy stressed skin, sporting a beautiful, aerodynamic body the form of which was designed by aerodynamicist Frank Costin. The 11 surpassed these earlier Lotus cars both in its competition successes and number, some 270 units, produced. The Lotus 11 came in three versions: the LeMans for international racing, the Club for club (amateur) racing, and the Sports, intended for road use. Coventry-Climax engines from 750 to 1500 cc were used for the racing versions,
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while the road cars had the less expensive Ford 1172cc engine with 36 hp. In competition the Lotus 11 set the closed-course world speed record at Monza, Italy in 1956 for the 1100cc class at 143 mph (pictured below).
At the LeMans 24-Hours in 1956 an 1100cc Lotus 11 was first in class, 7th overall and 4th in the Index of Performance (pictured at left). In 1957 five 11s were entered. The Lotus 11s were 1st and 2nd in the 1100cc class (9th overall), 1st in the 750cc class, and 1st and 2nd in the Index of Performance.
At the 1957 Sebring 12-Hour enduro, an 1100cc Lotus 11 finished in 11th place, first in class.
Although 46 years have passed since its introduction, the visually stunning Lotus 11 remains the fastest, most successful front-engined, small displacement sports racer ever built.
Lotus Mark IX photo from "Lotus Half-Century" by Graham Capel.LeMans Photo from unknown source.
World Record Lotus 11 photo from the book "Colin Chapman: The Man and his Cars," by Gerard Crombac (pictured beside car).
