1967 Lotus 49 - Ford #5 (F1)

Hot Wheels 1/64
HW Race Day (2024)

Car: Lotus 49 - Ford #5
Series: 1967 Formula 1 Championship
Team: Team Lotus
Driver: Jim Clark
Result: 3rd in standings

This casting is a new one by Hot Wheels. This first edition livery seems to be based on the 1967 car of Jim Clark, one of my favorite drivers of all time. In the car's first race, Jim Clark managed to take victory. If I remember correctly, he would go on to win 3 more races that season. Unfortunately, the car had reliability issues which denied Jim Clark the drivers championship as well as the constructors championship for Lotus. Clark's teammate, Graham Hill, had it worse. If I am not mistaken he only finished once or twice with the Lotus 49 in the 1967 season. The subsequent season would see an evolution of the Lotus 49 called the Lotus 49B. Lotus were off to a good start with Jim Clark winning the first race of the season. Unfortunately, that would be his last F1 race as he would die in an accident in a Formula 2 race in Germany. Lotus would still manage to win the drivers and constructors championships thanks to the effort of Graham Hill and Jackie Oliver who was the replacement driver of Jim Clark. This is the first Jim Clark car that I have in my collection and I do hope to be able to add more.