The Lotus 23 was one of Lotus’s most successful racing models, introduced in 1962 to comply with FIA Group 4 racing. It was mid-engined and ultra-lightweight, and ostensibly a ‘road car’ despite being built purely to race – hence its two-seater layout and luggage space.
Tipping the scales at a mere 454kg, it was a bona fide featherweight, but one that packed a punch, too. Especially in 23B guise with the twin-cam 1.6 litre Cosworth developed engine. The term ‘giant killer’ may have been thrown around more than once or twice.
Of course, the 23B of 1963 is not what we’re looking at here. What we’re looking at instead is a modern take on one of Chapman's greats. This is the Tiger ERA 30, and it’s about as close as you can get to the original without needing to sell a vital organ.
The ERA 30 takes its design inspiration from the Lotus 23 although the car has been designed to be slightly larger with wider tyres and bigger brakes. In fact, the front end is more like the Lotus 30 than a 23.
The ERA 30 is so named because it is only 30 inches from the ground to the top of the screen, whereas the Lotus 23 was 23 inches.
In factory-finished form the ERA 30 normally uses a Ford 1.8-litre Zetec engine, but this one is a little bit different as it was built by the owner and director of Tiger Racing for his own use, with an authentic 1960s Lotus Twin Cam engine. It’s as close to a Lotus 23 as you’re likely to get.
THE HISTORY AND PAPERWORK
UK V5C
Registered as J300 ERA
Has covered less than 10 miles since completion
Based on 2008 ERA 30 but built as a new car
Featured in an oil painting and book
Sold as it stands, has not been MOT’d in current form but has all legal MOT-required components
THE INTERIOR
Racing seats with four-point harnesses
Wood-rimmed Mota-Lita wheel
Stainless steel dash
MSA roll cage
The Tiger ERA 30 might be a road car on paper, but don’t think there have been any road car compromises. The easiest way to categorise this car would be to think of it as a race car with a registration plate - just like the Lotus version of old.
The ERA’s body has drop-down ‘doors’ either side, which are secured in place by sturdy locking clips. Slide into one of the two GRP bucket seats and you’ll find yourself sitting low in a sea of raw metal and rivets. No carpets, no heater and most certainly no stereo.
The seats are each complemented by a set of four-point harnesses.
Other features include a low, wraparound Perspex screen, lightweight wing mirrors, rear view mirror and MSA roll-bar for safety.
THE EXTERIOR
Galvanised chassis
Body resprayed in BRM Colours
Brand-new alloys and tyres
Moulded in fibreglass atop a lightweight alloy spaceframe, the ERA 30 is a beautifully engineered machine, the engine sitting amidship inside the chassis frame, with a rear-hinged clamshell cover.
This one is finished in traditional BRM racing colours, a tribute to ERA founder Raymond Mays, and is as fresh as they come – it was completed a few years ago, but has been stored in Tiger founder Jim Dudley’s private collection since. Indeed, it features several times in his recently published autobiography, and is central to an oil painting given to Jim as a 70th birthday present.
The underside is covered in flat alloy plates for optimal aerodynamics and it sits on an unused set of ‘Image’ Minilite-replica wheels with road legal Toyo semi-slick tyres.
THE MECHANICS
Lotus Twin Cam engine
Built by Tiger Racing from genuine 1960s engine
Double wishbone suspension and Spax dampers
Four-pot callipers
The two big ticket items here are the engine and transmission. The engine is a genuine 1960s Lotus Twin Cam, rebuilt by Tiger Racing and in perfect running order. The transmission, meanwhile, is a genuine Hewland Mk 9 Historic Racing gearbox, which requires some warming up before use. It alone cost £11,000 and has covered just a handful of miles.
Under that fibreglass body is a spaceframe chassis. There is double wishbone front suspension with wishbone and trailing arm rear suspension. Steering is handled via rack and pinion, and is just 2.2 turns from lock to lock. The brakes are better than those of the Lotus, with beefy four-pot callipers up front and single-pot out back. There is a full complement of Spax dampers for each corner.
SUMMARY
This is a unique car. There are other factory-built Tiger/ERA 30s out there, but none quite like this. It was built by the company for the boss, who had a very hands-on part to play.
The car was completely rebuilt and restored at a cost of £31,000 in parts alone, plus 180 hours build time. If you can imagine the total cost of that in real terms, it’s a pretty penny. But then, what do you pay for the closest thing you can get to a genuine roadgoing Lotus 23, complete with a period-correct powertrain? There won’t be another…
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