£ POA

Lotus 76/1-JPS9 ex-Ronnie Peterson - SOLD

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Description:

We are excited and proud to offer this stunning ex-Ronnie Peterson Lotus 76 chassis 1 for sale. This car is also known as JPS/9 (JPS standing for John Players Special) as a follow-on from the latest Lotus 72 which was chassis JPS/8).

The 1st of only 2 Lotus 76 John Player Special F1 cars built

Driven by Ronnie Peterson during the 1974 Formula 1 season

Only 3 owners since leaving the Chapman family in 2002

Regular runner on the historic racing scene with multiple participations to the Monaco Historic GP

Sold in race-ready condition with fresh DFV engine and good spares

The Lotus team referred to the Lotus 76 as the “John Player Special Mark I”, as it was the first car to be built under the sponsorship of the John Player Special brand. It was developed by Colin Chapman and designed by Ralph Bellamy for the 1974 Formula One season. Powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV, only two models were ever produced. With the development of the Lotus 76, Chapman aimed to modernize the Lotus 72 which had already been in use during the four previous seasons. Keeping the main architectural elements of the 72, the main novelties of the Lotus 76 were a twin rear wing, the first ever attempt at creating an electric clutch and a V-shaped brake pedal allowing the driver to left-foot brake.

Our car, Lotus 76/1 was extensively tested by the renown Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson, who then went on to pilot the car four times during the 1974 Grand Prix season at Kyalami in South Africa, at the International Trophy at Silverstone, as well as at the Belgian and Spanish Grand Prix. 76/1 was also used in practice by the other Team Lotus driver, Belgian Jacky Ickx, at the Monaco and Canadian Grand Prix. The car’s last race was at the 1974 US GP where it was driven by Tim Schenken who was disqualified for starting illegally from the pitlane.

The two Lotus 76s were not seen at an F1 race again after 1974 and 76/1 was retained by the Chapman family until it was sold in 2002 to Jim Bennett, an American collector. Bennett commissioned Classic Team Lotus to completely restore the car and it appeared at that year's Goodwood Festival of Speed before becoming a regular runner in historic racing up to today evidenced by no less than 6 participations at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. The ownership history of 76/1 is simple as Bennett sold 76/1 to French historic racer Jean-Louis Duret in 2005 from whom the current owner bought the car in 2011. As such, Lotus 76/1 has only had 4 owners in the last 46 years.

The car has always been looked after by Classic Team Lotus with no expense spared and is sold in 100% race-ready condition with a fresh, zero miles Geoff Richardson DFV engine and current FIA HTP papers. The completely original chassis was re-rivetted a few years ago and the torsion bars were recently renewed together with the complete exhaust system. Lotus 76/1 can be raced tomorrow with nothing further to spend.

Spares include two sets of wheels, a good selection of gear ratios and miscellaneous running spares in addition to a spare nose cone and a single rear wing (as 76/1 raced with both single and twin rear wing, it can be run in both configurations).

This is a unique opportunity to own a stunning and important piece of Lotus F1 history which is ready to continue showing its beauty and performance in the historic F1 racing scene around the world.

History

Race History of Lotus 76/1-JPS/9

Race

Car

Driver

Result

South African Grand Prix
Kyalami - 30 Mar 1974