This is the rear wing post from a Lotus 107 Formula 1 car that was used in the 1992, 1993, and 1994 seasons. It’s signed by its driver – Johnny Herbert, a beloved character on the paddock who’s now a TV presenter for the series.
The Lotus 107 was developed by Chris Murphy and his engineering team, it incorporated an active suspension system and was one of the most beautiful F1 cars of its era according to many. The car also gave Lotus some final successes on track before the team went under after the 1994 season.
Above Film: This 1990s era documentary showcases the Lotus F1 team including ample footage of the Lotus 107 in action. It’s in Japanese however the YouTube closed caption (CC) auto translate feature does a reasonable job.
Much of the credit to the success can be attributed to the driving team of Johnny Herbert and future two-time World Champion Mika Häkkinen who were able to get the car up into the points positions and even vie for podium places in a number of races.
The car would power the team to 5th place in the 1992 Constructor’s Championship and 6th in 1993, not a bad showing given the team’s limited budget and significant financial problems.
The demise of the team in 1994 would not be the end of Lotus’s time in F1, it would return in 2010 and by 2011 there were two teams running under the historic Lotus name – leading to much legal wrangling and media attention.
This is Team Lotus in 1992 at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. That’s Johnny Herbert on the left and Mika Häkkinen on the right. If you look closely you might recognize the rear wing post design. Image courtesy of Castrol Team Lotus.
The Lotus 107 rear wing post shown here is from one of the original cars, it’s made from carbon fiber and it features advertising from Shionogi and the race number 12 belonging to Johnny Herbert.
It’s due to be offered by Bonhams at the Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction in Paris in early February and you can click here if you’d like to read more or register to bid, the price guide is €1,500 – €2,500 which is approximately $1,620 – $2,705.
Images courtesy of Bonhams
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
