Beattie LT16
Description
The car seen here, the Beattie LT (Lotus Tribute)16, was designed and constructed in 2021/2022 by lifelong friends Stephen Beattie and Brian Pearce. Stephen is the highly regarded designer and constructor of the Beattie Clubman Sports Car and the SR2000 and LM Sports Racers. Brian too has constructed his own Lotus inspired Clubman and Mallock inspired Sports Racer.
The objective when designing the LT16 was to produce a competitive race car to compete in Historic fields, that reflected the style and tradition of the quintessential front engine single seaters of the late 1950’s.
The LT16 took 18 months to complete. The bespoke hand-built design resulting in an exquisite tubular space frame chassis, completed by beautifully contoured fibre glass body panels painted in British Racing Green with Yellow trim as a quiet nod to Lotus heritage.
Powered by a dry sumped pre crossflow (711M block) Ford Kent engine. Accralite forged pistons, steel rods, steel crankshaft and steel flywheel. Dual 45 DCOE Weber carbs,15 litre foamed fuel cell.4 to 1 extractors Semi close ratio Ford type 3 gear box with 5 link Ford rear end on 13” rims. Discs all round.
The current owner and custodian of the Beattie LT16, has competed with the car at selected Vintage Car Club and Historic events throughout NZ as the car complies with and has both Vintage Car Club and Motor Sport New Zealand logbooks. The car is very competitive I came 3rd in class in my first season and am running 2nd in class this season. Many podium finishes.
Beautifully designed and engineered. A stunning looking car and race proven.
The car appeared on the front page of NZ Classic Driver Jan/Feb 2023 Alan Dick who wrote the article, “I’ve seen a lot of New Zealand built cars in the past 60 years-some extraordinary, some awful - but I’ve never seen anything with the build quality, nor the beauty of Stephen Beattie’s creation. The LT16 simply took my breath away.”