Equipment
500hp Pratt & Whitney ST6N-74 turbine, single speed planetary gearbox, four wheel drive, inboard disc brakes.
Condition
Entered by Lotus with STP sponsorship at Indy in 1968, driven by Graham Hill. Sat in the middle of the front row behind Joe Leonard's Lotus 56 Turbine. Retired and credited with 19th place. Displayed at STP then sold to Richard Petty and the present owner some years ago for whom it was restored under supervision of Vince Granatelli and Clive Chapman. Demonstrated with its two other team cars at Indy in 2014 driven by Parnelli Jones. Good paint. Suspension has been redone and is crisp and clean same for the interior panels. The engine, though, is aged, but ran onto the auction block.
Market commentary
A piece of history, without doubt, but history carries value that is hard to quantify and the bidders and consignor were on very different pages in their history books. Had it won Indy its value would be immense; having lost a wheel and backed into the wall on lap 111 its value is in the eye of the beholder, or maybe the current holder who understandably elected to keep it.