Great Cars no: 10 – Lotus 18, The Autobiography of Stirling Moss’s ‘912’
by Ian Wagstaff
In a little more than two years, the Porter Press Great Cars series of books has already got my bookshelves groaning under the strain, from the first published in May 2015, which documents the history of the Lightweight E-Type 4 WPD to the latest about Lotus 18 “912.” This tenth volume is written by acclaimed author Ian Wagstaff—his third in the series, following Porsche 917 (no: 2) and Maserati 250F (no: 5) both shortlisted for the RAC Motoring Book of the Year, in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Once again, Wagstaff has ensured no stone is left unturned in his quest to get every detail crammed into the 320 pages with more than 300 photographs. The full antecedent history of the car is explored from the late 1950s “new thinking” that Grand Prix cars should have engines positioned at the rear, the evolution of slimmer, lighter, smaller racing cars, the ultimate glory of Stirling Moss’ “against all odds” win at Monaco in 1961, to the return of “912” to the streets of Monte Carlo at the 2016 edition of the Monaco Historique and all ports in between.
Sir Stirling Moss recounts, in great detail, of how his Rob Walker privateer-entered car, sans side panels, took the race by the scruff of the neck against opposition from factory entrants Ferrari and Porsche. The start line panic just a handful of minutes before Louis Chiron dropped the flag, is explained, when Alf Francis repaired a cracked chassis tube on 912—welding very adjacent to a full fuel tank in very much not Health & Safety style! Stirling recalls, “…the people who were crowding around didn’t half pull back, because of all the fuel.”
Yes, Ian Wagstaff has once again done a great job in unearthing the car’s glamorous past and even its not-so-glamorous days to the present. He also examines racing in the 1960s, the cars, the drivers and the team owners, with particular emphasis on the Rob Walker Team—mechanics too. This is an outstanding book, a kind of social history of Grand Prix racing well over 50 years ago, a time considered today by many as the “golden era” of Formula One.
Available for £60.00 direct from www.porterpress.co.uk or on Amazon.
