Elan 26R: Colin Chapman apparently indicated that the Elan was never intended to go near a race track. But new owners thought otherwise and many private racing teams saw the potential of the Elan as a race tool during 1963, notably Ian Walker. Chapman bowed to the inevitable and sanctioned the 26R. These cars had many significant differences to the road cars and were in fact produced by Lotus Components on a separate line. Team Lotus only raced the 26R twice during 1965, in the hands of Ray Parsons, at Goodwood in April and Brands Hatch in August. Instead they heavily supported Ian Walker's ‘Gold Bug’ Elan team, which had greatly contributed to the development of the 26R in the first place. The production of 26Rs spanned S1 and S2 cars, being produced between 1964 and 1966. The total number built has been hotly debated over the years and we are aware there was some duplication by the factory. Current research indicates that 101 26Rs were made by Lotus Components. Unit numbers were recorded as 26-R-# and 26-S2-# for the two Series.