Description
Chassis 515 – 24H du Mans 1958
In May 1958, Lotus Engineering finalised the construction of chassis 515.
The Lotus XI is then at the zenith of its technical maturity. Chassis 515 was delivered new to Bill Frost, owner of the Car Exchange dealer in Brighton. The car is registered 2411 HP. Its configuration is explicit: Le Mans Series 2 specification, with a tall windscreen and a “High Tail” rear, magnesium wheels and Coventry Climax FWA engine no. 7701 coupled to a close-ratio MGA gearbox. Everything indicates that the destination was already known.
A few weeks later, the Lotus was entered in the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans under number 39, by Car Exchange. The crew brought together Bill Frost and Bob Hicks in the highly contested 1100 cm³ category.
The 1958 edition was marked by particularly testing weather conditions. Under persistent rain, the small Lotus demonstrated the intelligence of its design. Light, precise, well-balanced, it led its class in the early hours of the race. But Le Mans remains unpredictable. On the Mulsanne Straight, the car misbehaved in precarious grip conditions. Immobilised, it was subsequently rear-ended by an Alfa Romeo. After three hours of competition, retirement was inevitable.
The records of the Historic Lotus Register formally confirm its identity: chassis 515, Car Exchange entry, number 39, retirement after three hours.
Like many endurance cars of that era, the 515 did not disappear after this episode. It presumably returned to Brighton where it was rebuilt. Elements suggest it could have raced at Goodwood shortly before Le Mans during the Whitsun Meeting 1958, a hypothesis coherent with Bill Frost’s activity in Sussex, though this remains to be definitively documented.
Over the years, the car left the United Kingdom and crossed the Atlantic. In the 1980s, it belonged to Harold Phillip Javetz, in Savannah, Georgia. Amateur racing driver and passionate collector, Javetz maintained the Lotus in its period configuration. In 1985, the car appeared in the American specialist press, notably in Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, where Innes Ireland is photographed alongside the XI — a high moment that helped rekindle its Le Mans past.
In 1988, the Lotus was sold to Ed Henning, also in the United States.
In 1991, chassis 515 returned to the United Kingdom in the hands of Bill Harding. This milestone marks a turning point: the Historic Lotus Register officially confirms its chassis number, its original registration, and its participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1958 under number 39.
That same year, the car was acquired by Carol Spagg. Inspected and documented by Graham Capel, it resumed its path on British and European historic circuits during the 1990s. A 1998 correspondence attests to its FIA compliance in 1098 cm³ configuration.
In 2006, the XI 515 joined the collection of a French amateur driver. It notably took part in the Le Mans Classic editions in 2008, 2014 and 2016, revisiting the track that had seen it take off half a century earlier.
In March 2022, the car was acquired by its current owner.
Today, chassis 515 retains the essential elements that define its identity: its Le Mans “High Tail” configuration, its 1098 cm³ engine, its historical coherence, and a continuous traceability spanning more than six decades.
Chassis 515 is not merely a Lotus XI.
It is a car commissioned new for Le Mans, entered in one of the most demanding editions of the era, rebuilt, preserved, handed down from enthusiasts to collectors, then returned to race on the circuit that forged its legend.
It has recently been entered by its current owner in the Le Mans Classic, at Goodwood, or in the Gentlemen Challenge by Peter Auto. Perfectly maintained with an engine freshly rebuilt and bench-run, compliant with Weber DCO3 carburettors, it perfectly embodies the late-1950s Lotus spirit: technical intelligence, mechanical elegance and on-track courage.
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Summary of owners
• 1958 – Bill Frost / Car Exchange (Brighton)
• 1960s – Probable competition activity
• 1984 – Harold Javetz (USA)
• 1988 – Ed Henning (USA)
• 1991 – Bill Harding (UK)
• 1991 – Carol Spagg (UK)
• 2006 – Eric Leroy (France)
• 2022 – Current Owner
It is eligible for the greatest automotive events: Goodwood, Le Mans Classic, the Tour Auto, the Gentlemen Challenge by Peter Auto, in Motor Racing Legends or in the GTSCC of Flavien and Vanessa Marçais... to name but a few!
