Lotus 23B Rotorvic

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#339933" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Lotus 23B  Rotorvic</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=175 BGCOLOR="#336600" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B><U>Museum</U></B></div> <div> <B>Lotus 23B</B></div> <div> <B>Rotorvic</B></div> <div> <B>1963</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23 1962 1966"><U><B>23 Main Page</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23 History"><U><B>Lotus 23 History</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id105.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The LeMansLotus 23 Debacle"><U><B>1962 LeMans</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23C"><U><B>Images:23C</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Xanthos Type 23"><U><B>Images:Xanthos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23 Historic Images"><U><B>Historic Images</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id265.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus Cars for Sale"><U><B>For Sale</B></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="83" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 58 WIDTH="71"><div> <B>Click on image to enlarge</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFF66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="608" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 164 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id116.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23B"><U><IMG SRC="2869b9e0.jpg" border=0 width="155" height="158" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23B"><U><IMG SRC="288c29e0.jpg" border=0 width="194" height="158" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23B"><U><IMG SRC="28ac29d0.jpg" border=0 width="194" height="157" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 146 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23B"><U><IMG SRC="28cc28c0.jpg" border=0 width="194" height="140" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23B"><U><IMG SRC="28ec28a0.jpg" border=0 width="194" height="138" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id121.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus 23B"><U><IMG SRC="290c28b0.jpg" border=0 width="194" height="139" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=3 HEIGHT= 708 WIDTH="598"><div> <B><U>History of the Rotorvic Lotus 23B</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >During the early 1960s this Lotus 23B chassis was purchased from Lotus and was fitted with  </FONT><A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lotus Rotorvic 23"><U>Six Ariel motorcycle engines</U></A>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >in tandem to form a type of V-12 motor. It was thought that more power could be produced from the six high-revving two-cycle motors than with a conventional four cylinder engine. Starting in 1964/65 the car was track tested and run in competition with only limited success, as the complicated setup was difficult to control. </FONT></div> <bR> <div> This same Lotus 23B chassis was purchased by Mike Rawlings in 1968 from Cheshunt Service Station, where Lotus typically re-sells racing cars. Under Mike Rawlings' ownership, a  4-cylinder Twincam engine set up by Holbay was installed and the car was campaigned for a number of seasons with altered bodywork as a  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rawlson 23"><U>Rawlson</U></A></FONT>.  Later it was sold to someone in France. </div> <bR> <div> Roger Hurst in England bought the chassis from the then-current French owner in 1984 as a restoration project. In 1989 Barry Sheppard of Rawlson verified in writing that Hurst's chassis was the ex-Rotorvic and Rawlson chassis. Not having found the time to restore the car, Hurst sold the chassis in 1992 to Henry Tombs. </div> <bR> <div> In 1999 the Utah Lotus Museum owner purchased the car in an agreement with Henry Tombs that he would completely restore it, before delivery, to original period specifications with a 180-hp Lotus Twincam engine. This historically significant, if somewhat maverik, Lotus 23B now sits beside its companion, a Lotus 23C, at the Museum. </div> <bR> <div> For additional historical and technical information on the Rotorvic, see Anthony Pritchard's book, "Lotus Sports Racers" and the above links provided within this page. </div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>