The First-Ever Lotus F1 car Is Headed to Auction

The first time Lotus competed in a Formula 1 race was at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix. Five-time Monaco GP winner Graham Hill piloted the race car, and while Lotus didn’t bring home the win, the car made a strong showing.

Shaped like a hot dog bun with an open mouth on one end, the streamlined 1957-58 Lotus-Climax Type 12 chassis ‘353’ holds an important part of racing history. And it will soon cross the auction block in the same country where it made its F1 debut, at Bonhams' “Les Grandes Marques à Monaco.”

Calling it “one of the most historically significant of all British Formula 1 Grand Prix cars,” Bonhams anticipates strong demand for this legendary racecar. Lotus founder Colin Chapman designed the single-seat Type 12 in 1956 with an eye on entering Formula 1 in 1958. Bonhams says that only seven of these skinny racers were built in 1957, and five became works entries.

Later, the Type 12 was sold to Maria Theresa de Filippis, an Italian racing driver and the first woman to race in Formula 1. After that, it was owned by several racers and was brought to Australia, where it was lovingly restored to running condition.