Starting in 1963, Lotus attempted to win the prestigious Indianapolis 500 race held at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, or "The Brickyard" (so called because the original track surface was actually brick, a strip of which is preserved today at the start finish line). No rear/mid engined car had ever won at Indy which for nearly 20 years had been dominated by relatively crude front engined roadsters. Colin Chapman, owner of Lotus, felt one of his advanced F1 cars, suitably modified and with an appropriate engine, could win easily at Indy. In 1963 and 1964, the Lotus entry proved to be the fastest car on the track, but did not come through to win. He was eventually proved right in 1965 when Scottish driver Jim Clark won the Indy 500 in the Ford engined Lotus 38.
The Lotus 38 looked similar to contemporary F1 Lotuses, but had a few significant differences. Instead of the small Coventry Climax engine Lotus used in it's 1965 F1 cars, the 38 had a large Ford V8. The rear bodywork around the engine was closed in, as required by the rules for Indy cars. The suspension arms on either side were not the same length. As the Indy 500 is run on an oval track in an anti-clockwise direction, the cars always turn left. Hence the left side suspension arms are shorter than those on the right giving the suspension set up an ideal bias for turning left.
Carousel 1 make this fine model of the Lotus 38. Apart from so-so engine and brake detail, it is an extremely nice model. The green and yellow paint is superb and the large yellow exhausts look fantastic. One disappointment is the total lack of Ford logos on the car and the engine. I believe Carousel 1 only obtained licensing from Lotus and not Ford to produce this model, hence the lack of Ford badging.
This model is also the first Indy car in my collection, but I suspect not the last! Overall it gets 7.5/10.
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