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LOTUS 7 REGISTER |
| Chassis #400, the first Lotus Seven, commenced manufacture at 7, Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, London N8. | |
| The Brighton Speed Trials which was the Lotus Seven's first competitive event. | |
| First Ford 100E engined Seven - Chassis #401, the factory demonstrator. Later known as Lotus Seven "F". | |
| The first Lotus Super Seven was announced. Coventry Climax engine on SU's, BMC gearbox, Nash Metropolitan rear axle and drum brakes all round.Also known as Lotus Seven "C" | |
| Factory at 7, Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, London N8 closes. | |
| New factory at Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire opens. | |
| First BMC "A" Series (A35/Austin Healey Sprite) engined Seven known as Lotus Seven "A" and for U.S. market as the Lotus Seven "America". | |
| First Series Two car. Chassis #1000 | |
| Ford 105E engine introduced. | |
| Ford 109E engine introduced. | |
| Ford 116E engine introduced. | |
| Ford 2255E crossflow engine introduced as the Lotus Seven Series 2 1/2. | |
| First Series Three car. Chassis #2311 | |
| Lotus Twin-Cam engine introduced. Known as the Seven Twin-Cam SS. Only 13 made by the factory. | |
| First Series Four car. Chassis # 2650 | |
| Series Four production taken over by Caterham Cars. |
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First Competitive Event for Lotus Seven - Edward Lewis and the Brighton Speed Trial of 1957. Boxing Day at Brands Hatch 1958 - Graham Hill wins against the streamline cars. 1960 750 Motor Club 1172 Formula Rules Mark VI and Seven racing rules of 1959 and 1960. The Rand and Natal Grand Prix of 1962 - A Seven vs Lotus and other Grand Prix cars of the day. Operation "Jeunesse" - The French one-make series of 1964 and 1965. |
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1. - FIRST FORD 105E ENGINE INSTALLATION - Caterham Car Services Ltd. fitted the first Ford 105E engine in a Seven as early as May 1960. The car would have been a Series One as the Series Two was not due out until the middle of July 1960. Lotus themselves only started offering this engine option in January 1961 2. - FIRST TWIN-CAM ENGINE INSTALLATION - The first official Twin-Cam engined Seven left the Lotus factory in Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire in March 1965 and was bound for Leo Geoghegan in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It was to be used for racing. It was not for another 4 1/2 years that the first of the Twin-Cam SS cars left the Norfolk factory. 3. - FIRST FORD 109E ENGINE INSTALLATION - The first 1340cc. Ford 109E engine to be installed in a Seven was carried out by Warren King, the company accountant at Lotus. The engine had a single SU carburettor and a Cosworth camshaft! The car was the first production Series One Seven, #401, and at the same time Warren also fitted the first side screens and also a heater in an attempt to make the car more civilised for daily use. |