Lotus 39

The Lotus 39 was a single seat racing car produced by Team Lotus. It was originally intended for use in Formula One, to be powered by the Coventry Climax 1.5 litre flat-16 engine. But the engine never eventuated, so the chassis was modified by Maurice Philippe to accept a 2495 cc Coventry Climax FPF engine, which produced about Auto bhp|230|0, and was used for the 1966 Tasman Series races in Australia and New Zealand. In the hands of Jim Clark, the 39 scored 1 win, 5 second places and 1 third place and Clark finished second in the series behind Jackie Stewart. [cite book| last = Nye | first = Doug | title = Theme Lotus | publisher = Motor Racing Publications | date = 1978 | isbn = 0-900549-40-8]

The car was then purchased by Leo Geoghegan who used it for several seasons, replacing the Climax engine for a Repco V8 in 1969 when it was used to a win the 1969 Japanese Grand Prix. The car was then sold to Brian Power who put a 1.5 litre Ford engine in the car. It was later rescued and restored to Climax specification by John Dawson-Damer. [cite book| last = Tuckey | first = Noel | title = The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix | publisher = R & T Publishing | date = 1986 | isbn = 0 9588464 0 5 | pages=312-314] It will be shortly offered for sale as part of Dawson-Damer's estate sell off of his Lotus collection. [cite web |url=http://www.bonhamsandgoodman.com.au/about_auction_news_view.php?article=213 |title=Sydney to Host the Sale of the Dawson-Damer Collection of Historic Lotus Race Cars |accessdate=2008-10-11 |publisher=bonhamsandgoodman.com.au |date=2008-07-25 ]

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