The Origin Story

TL;DR : a car with a story

While the Origin Story with the Caterham was about how I first got interested in them -I find it outstanding how many Lotus Seven S2 were in my image collection-, this time it's all about the pedigree of that specific Seven.

I will present its history as a timeline, with sources ranging from official documents and shared memories, to informed speculation on my part.

Documenting those 60 years was greatly helped by the support of Mr Watson of the Lotus Seven Register, and the gracious sharing of memories by Mr Mark S. of Arizona who owned the car from the 80s to 2000.

🏭 The factory record :

    Lotus Super Seven 1500 Cosworth, left-hand drive, Navy Blue.

    All the serial numbers (chassis, frame, engine, carburetors) do match the car as it is today.

    It was equipped with a 116E standard 4-speed Ford gearbox and a "Standard-Triumph" 10 axle with a 4.11:1 ratio.

    Originally supplied with a tonneau cover, rollover bar, heater and oil cooler as extras. The latter two are not under the hood anymore.

🚢 4th February 1966 :

    The car left the Lotus factory premises in Delamare Road, Hertfordshire, UK (ex-works).

    It was shipped to West Side Cars, Amsterdam, Holland via Tower Shipping.

    West Side Cars was a Lotus importer that was in operation between 1965 and 1969.

    I have read the personal account of an American gentleman who saw one of their advertisements and mail-ordered a Lotus Elan on December 30th, 1966. The price was significantly more advantageous than buying from an importer based in the USA. His car reached the New Continent on May 4th 1967.

    My best guess (highly speculative) is that it is more likely for my Seven to have a similar story than having been the object of a second-hand sale from an individual owner in the 60's.

📒 15th March 1966 :

    Date of first registration, as found on Belgian registration forms. Place unknown.

 🌎1966-1989 : 

    Between 20-25 years I know nothing about. Most likely in the American west.

🇺🇸 At some point in the (late) 80s :

    Mr Mark S. of Phoenix AZ acquired the Seven from what he describes as a "collector investor" in Englewood Colorado (near Denver), and doesn't think he owned it long or drove it himself.

    With Google coming to the rescue, we might be talking about "Classic Investments", on Mariposa Street in Englewood. They specialize in classic European cars and the provided photograph could have been taken on the private driveway behind the building. I did send an e-mail to the founder, still in charge today.

    The photo (above) shows that, by that moment, the car was already equipped with the "ribbed" Minilite wheels we see today. We also recognize the small black leather steering wheel, as well as the enamel Union Jacks and the US-spec red rear turn signals.

    The car came with a "Detroit locker" differential (that can have some qualities on race cars that mostly drive straight, or for an off-road use), which was replaced by a Quaife unit, that he describes as much better suited. I can only approve the choice, and it's good that I know before buying a new Quaife for nothing...

🏜️ 3rd October 1992 :

    Participation in the 9th Annual Governor's Cup Rallye, Grand Canyon National Park lodges (see photo below).

🔧 A few years later in the 90s:

    Another rally to the Grand Canyon, a valve broke and jumped into the engine, the car was towed to civilization by a friendly couple who got their MG TD out of their trailer for the Lotus. The lady drove the MG following the RV and trailer. They found a rental truck and drove back to Phoenix (see photo below).

    An engine rebuild was needed. I should ask if it's got "unleaded" valve seats fitted.

💥 Second half of the 90s (about 30 years ago) :

    They were rear-ended at an intersection while waiting for the traffic lights to turn green.

    The lady driving the Suburban said she forgot they were in front of her when she floored it the instant the light turned green.

    Quite a scare to end up with the front bumper of a Chevrolet Suburban just touching the back of your head. Mr S. is happy to have suffered only from whiplash, but the car was badly damaged.

    It was sent to Butch Gilbert of Westley, California for repairs. He re-created the tubular rear frame and aluminum body skin.

    From what I have been able to find, Butch Gilbert was an actual legend, his name appearing on multiple auction sites, where high-value sought-after British classic cars are put up for sale.

    He was particularly renowned for his master metalwork on historic racers, famously restoring everything from ex-works Sebring Sprites to lightweight MG Bs.

    I still have to confirm that indeed they just stripped the paint to turn the blue Lotus into the bare-aluminium and black car we see today.

🌞 Date TBD in 2000 :

    The car was sold to Mr George G. of California. The "certificate of title" is in the folder that comes with the car.  On the Lotus Europa registry, we learn that Mr G. also owns other Lotus cars. Sadly the e-mail address found on that website is not in service anymore.

🗓️ 23rd June 2008 :

    Odometer read 47 570 miles at the time it was put up for sale.

🚢 7th July 2008 :

    "U.S. Vehicle Export" stamp from the Port of Houston (Texas).

🇩🇰 Between 2008 and 2009 :

    The Seven is thought to be in Denmark.

🇳🇱 8th October 2009 :

    Pictures and information provided to Simplesevens.org by Mr Ron Koks, an importer of classic and special cars in the Netherlands. We learn it looks very original (stock) and was bought from someone in Denmark who bought it from California.

🇧🇪 27th October 2011 :

    The car is sold by Anglocars  (Diksmuide, Belgium), a specialist of British cars. It's unclear why there are two registration forms referencing each other as well as the USA title from 2008.

🛣️ 19th December 2011 :

    The car was registered by Legend Drive (Uccle, Belgium) and destined to be a rental. Price was 395€ per day, for a maximum of 300km. Extra fee of 0.9€/km over that. It appears on Facebook in October 2012, and disappears from their catalog in 2015. After 2016 the website was taken down completely.

🏖️ Date TBD 2014 : (most likely Aug 16th)

    Someone drove it at the Knokke Out Classics rallye, maybe in its rental life ?

🔚 3rd July 2015 :

    Technical inspection (MOT) for resale, the Legend Drive registration set to end on 3rd September 2015. I'm surprised there is no trace of mileage on those papers.

🏎️ November 18-20 2016 :

    It's exposed at Interclassics Brussels by Hangar 125 and sold to House of Speed, where it had been driven a few times but mostly kept on display in their Lotus/Caterham show room for ten years. 

    Provided (undated) documentation shows pictures of the accessories (full hood, sidescreens, tonneau cover, toolkit) as well as close ups of the VIN plate and engine number. We also have a picture of the odometer that read 48 719 miles at that moment. I got the confirmation that those pictures were not taken by House of Speed, they were provided to them.

2nd February 2024 :

    My first contact with the car was on the day I found out there was a Caterham dealership in Belgium. Although I didn't mention the Lotus in the original story and made the right call by buying the Caterham 170 first.

🚩 22nd August 2026 :

    I'm (again) with the Caterham out of service, I have a garage that can host the two of them and I make an offer that is accepted. 
    Mileage at that time was 48 766. It has been driven a grand total of 47 miles (75km) in 10 years.

    On the next week I meet Stephen at HoS, getting is Caterham back after having been stranded with a clutch cable failure at the end of July. While he looks at that fine piece of motoring history, he's told that it's nearly sold. I tell him that I could be the next owner, and that he should sit at the wheel to get a feel.
    I was as surprised by his question about the modalities of getting rid of my 170 as he was when I told him there would be no way I'd part with the yellow one, that I have space for the two of them.

🌲 5th September 2026 :

    We took it for a test-drive (shown here) and drove 100 miles on the afternoon. We did visit my uncle, went to Signal de Botrange to have our usual soup of the day for lunch, and got back through Malmedy and Stavelot.

📎 25th September 2026 :

    Registration in my name.

to be continued...