1962 Lotus Type 24 Formula One

The 1962 Lotus Type 24 represents the customer Formula One branch alongside Lotus’s better-known monocoque Type 25. Its separate programme record and engine choices make it a distinct competition car rather than a less specific label for the same chassis.

History and verified programme identity

Classic Team Lotus describes the Type 24 as a Formula One production car intended to take Coventry-Climax and BRM V8 engines. The custodial page dates it to 1962 and lists twelve numbered register entries, including works designations for some chassis. That record identifies a competition production Type; it does not make the car a road-going production model. The number of visible entries is retained as a register reference, without inferring a present survivor census. The programme’s engine options are also kept separate from the power unit of the particular car in the supplied photograph.

Engineering and design

The Type 24 is useful because it shows that a manufacturer can develop more than one chassis approach for the same racing category at the same time. The Type 25’s monocoque reputation should not erase the Type 24’s identity. An open-wheel car’s frame, driver position and powertrain installation may not all be visible beneath a fitted body, so external resemblance is an incomplete guide to structure. Engine compatibility is another model-level fact that needs an individual configuration record before it can be assigned to a restored car. A BRM-powered entry and a Coventry-Climax-powered entry can share the Type number without sharing every mechanical detail.

The physical car in the supplied photograph

The supplied photograph shows a silver Type 24 at the Silverstone Classic in 2018, with competition number 114. The creator identifies the model in the original file title. The nose opening, exposed wheels and seated driver are visible in the modern paddock. The image supplies a physical model illustration, without being assigned a specific original works chassis, engine or 1962 race entry.

Parallel designs belong side by side

The Type 24 and Type 25 demonstrate why a model history cannot always be arranged as a simple annual replacement chart. Their 1962 Formula One context overlaps, yet the primary records identify separate chassis programmes. A reader can compare them to understand the alternatives Lotus pursued, rather than assuming that one title is an imprecise name for the other. The Type 24 photograph supplies a real later example with a clear creator title, while the custodial page provides its customer-production and engine-option scope. That combination is sufficient for a programme profile but not for assigning a specific original entrant. Preserving the distinction also protects manufacturing records: overlapping dates and a common marque do not justify merging chassis lists or adding an unknown car to both programmes.

Collecting and chassis evidence

A Type 24 file should establish the chassis reference before attaching driver histories or engine specifications. The public register provides a useful starting list, but the status of a particular car still needs its own chronology. Later repairs, component changes and historic-racing preparation should be dated. The distinction between a customer competition Type and a road car also belongs in the profile’s classification, so its register is never counted toward Lotus road production. The twelve-entry reference remains a custodial record statement rather than an independently audited completed output or a claim that all twelve cars survive in unchanged form.

Related Lotus designs and meaningful comparisons

The Type 21 gives the earlier Formula One development context, while the Type 25 is the contemporary structural comparison. Reading the Type 24 and Type 25 together is particularly valuable because the year and racing category overlap. The difference has to be explained through programme identity and chassis design, not just chronology. Their separate profiles allow the reader to follow that parallel work without merging the customer and works-oriented records or duplicating an individual car simply because a later specification is mentioned.

Reading the sources

The programme sources and the photograph answer different questions. Manufacturer and custodial records establish the original model, Type, category and published production scope. The creator’s file establishes the pictured subject, setting and image permission. An individual chassis history can then add ownership, competition entries and dated repairs without changing the scope of the original programme. Build references are not survivor counts, and a later specification does not automatically become an additional newly manufactured vehicle. Where primary evidence does not establish a complete fabrication census, that field remains unassigned.

Specifications and rarity evidence

Frequently asked questions

Does production car here mean a road-going Lotus?

No. Classic Team Lotus uses the term for a Formula One competition Type supplied to entrants. It remains a competition archive and is excluded from road-production totals.

How is Type 24 Formula One classified?

This is a Team Lotus competition Type archive. It remains separate from Lotus road-car production. Customer cars, works entries and converted chassis need a reconciled scope before any complete fabrication tally is assigned.

Which technical details are established for the programme?

The primary record supports custodial programme year: 1962; competition category: Formula One; engine options: Coventry-Climax V8 and BRM V8. These are programme or explicitly attributed photo references. A particular surviving car’s engine, chassis repairs and competition preparation require its own dated documentation.

Does the photographed appearance establish factory originality?

The caption records a real creator-identified Type 24 Formula One subject and its later setting. It establishes the illustration’s scope, while original components, restoration work and individual race provenance require chassis-specific evidence. A competition number, current paint or museum display is not used as an originality certificate.

What rarity or archive scope is verified?

Published complete named programme reference: 12 listed register entries. This is a source-reported reference, not an independently audited completed tally or a surviving-car census.

Who photographed the supplied image?

Flickr photographer davehamster via Wikimedia Commons, under CC BY 2.0. The original file and licence are linked with the image. Retain the creator, source and licence when uploading, exporting or reusing it; local retouching and synthetic enlargement have not been performed.

Related Lotus profiles

• 1961 Lotus Type 21 Formula One
• 1962 Lotus Type 25 Formula One Monocoque

Sources and photo credits

• Primary manufacturer or custodial programme record

Photograph: Flickr photographer davehamster via Wikimedia Commons original source, CC BY 2.0. Source-provided thumbnail supplied without local cropping, retouching or synthetic enlargement.