Jim Clark’s Indy-winning Lotus-Ford is the centerpiece of this year’s Indy 500 Centennial Class.
The history of the Indy 500 will be honored with a special class at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 15; and the new logo for the 100-th Anniversary of the race will be unveiled just prior to the event.
The #82 Ford-powered Lotus 38 that revolutionized open-wheel racing will be on display at the Concours. It has just been restored to running condition and original as-raced appearance. Several cars from the Indianapolis Hall of Fame Museum and individual collectors will also be exhibited.
Scotsman Jim Clark drove the Lotus chassis 38/1 to victory in the 1965 Indy 500. It was the first mid-engined car to win at Indy. To this day, Clark remains the only driver to win both the Indy 500 and the Formula One Championship in the same year, cementing his legacy as the dominant driver of his era and one of the greatest ever. After its debut at Pebble Beach it will return to its home at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, to become a centerpiece at its planned Racing in America exhibition.
"Jimmy Clark drove this Lotus race car to a truly historic victory," said Ken Gross, Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Selection Committee. "It was the first time Indy had been won by a mid-engine car, the first time a British car won there, and it was the first win for a Ford engine. This car revolutionized racing at Indy, and no front-engine car has won the race since."
The Lotus 38 was retired after its 1965 win and taken on the show circuit, before the Ford Motor Company donated it to The Henry Ford Museum in 1977.
The Indy 500 Centennial Class at Pebble Beach will also feature several important cars from the Indy Hall of Fame Museum, including the #32 Marmon “Wasp” driven by Ray Harroun that won the first 500 in 1911. Harroun's racer, above, was the only car in the race built for one person and it included a new innovation - the first rearview mirror!
Other great Indy classics will come to the show field from private collectors, including an early 1920 Peugeot 3 Litre, the 1934 Rigling & Henning "Wonder Bread Special," the 1953 Kurtis Kraft KK 500B "Bardahl Special," the 1961 Cooper T51 "Kimberly Cooper-Climax Special," and the 1963 Watson "Racing Associates Special."
For more information about the Pebble Beach Concours, please visit http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/