The Xanthos 23 Sports Racer is a 1100lb, 23-based, street-prepared sports car capable of 0-60 in under 5 seconds. Available exclusively in North America, the Xanthos 23 Sports Racer features revised bodywork and a tall safety glass windscreen. Original-style 23B replicas are also offered as are Lotus 22 and 23 replacement chassis and parts...
In 1962 Colin Chapman shocked the racing world with the introduction of the Lotus 23, initially it was prevented from participating at Le Mans because it would have undoubtedly blown apart the French competition. Colin Chapman never took a car to Le Mans again. The 23 was first raced by Jim Clarke at the Nurbergring 1000Km where he was lapping up to 30 seconds faster than the bigger engines Porsche and Ferrari competition before the exhaust failed causing him to crash out.
32 years later in 1994 the 23 proved it’s continued value to the Lotus Cars stable when a Xanthos 23 was borrowed by the Lotus Elise development team ‘for inspiration'. The Lotus 23 spirit lives on in the Elise but for the true experience only a 23 will do.
Continuing on from the superb work of Henry Tombs in recreating the Lotus Type 23 sports racer and making the Xanthos 23 a true reproduction, Xanthos Sports Cars offers spares for the genuine article and a complete race, track or road car second to none. With the recent changes to the FIA regulations for historic racing our product can be FIA HTP certified and may then be eligible for entry into historic races.
For track and road use the car is available with changes to the braking systems, electrical systems and the engine, but these changes are 'bolt on' leaving the pedigree of the car intact and allowing a full upgrade to race spec. at a later date without replacement of the major items such as chassis and rear uprights.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_23#Xanthos_23
Xanthos photos
