49R1 is relaunched at Hethel
The Lotus Type 49 was built and unveiled at Hethel, the home of Lotus, on May 23rd, 1967. Fity-nine years after the historic day Colin Chapman famously drove the Type 49 down the runway at Hethel and was photographed with the brand new Lotus production facility behind him, Classic Team Lotus unveiled the reconstruction of 49R1 that was commissioned by George Barber the late founder of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham Alabama.
The Type 49 realized the biggest ever year-on-year performance increase in F1 history, and the first car built, chassis R1, went on to race in 10 Grand Prix races and scored victories with Jim Clark in the 1967 Mexican GP and Graham Hill in the 1968 Spanish GP. The Spanish victory proved to be the foundation for Hill’s 1968 Championship triumphs driving a Type 49 that went on to help claim both titles again in 1970 with driver Jochen Rindt.
Following severe damage at the 1968 Monaco GP, a rebuild as chassis R9 and another accident in 1969, 49R1 was lost to history but, with reference to the original design drawings and incorporating various period components, 49/R1 has been recreated just as she was when Colin Chapman drove her at Hethel 59 years ago. 
Reconstructing the first Lotus 49 a true design icon and probably most significant F1 car of all time 49R1 was an exciting way to celebrate 75 years of Formula One.
Under the leadership of Colin Chapman, the Type 49 was designed and built by probably the greatest team of designers and engineers ever gathered in Formula 1, a team that included Mike Costin, Keith Duckworth, Maurice Philippe and Richard (Dick) Scammell. Engineer Mike Costin, now 95, the co-founder of Cosworth, the company that designed and developed the Cosworth DFV engine that powered the Type 49 and was first run at Hethel back in 1967, and Dick Scammell both attended the event at Hethel on Tuesday 24th.
Clive Chapman said it was “a special occasion for everyone involved. “The recreation of this great car has been an extraordinary project for the team at CTL,” he said. “Thousands of hours have gone into recreating 49R1 in every detail from the engine to the gearbox, to the monocoque, and the hundreds of bespoke parts made by hand with reference to the period design drawings held in the CTL archive.”
Before his death last month, Mr Barber said: “This project embodies everything we stand for at the Barber Museum - preserving the spirt, ingenuity and innovations of motorsports history. “The Lotus 49 was a game-changer. Bringing it back to life is both a tribute of Colin Chapman’s genius and a gift to the future generations of enthusiasts.”
Following a reveal to CTL staff, Lotus personnel and the assembled press that included Goodwood TV who have been making a documentary on the project, Clive Chapman was excited by the prospect of re-enacting that famous occasion back in 1967 and took the car for few laps of the track. After a final check over the car will be flown out to the USA and take pride of place amongst the fabulous collection of its stablemates at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.
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