Rare Lotus race car makes pit stop at Revs auto museum in Naples

It's not a Ford or a Ferrari, but a rare race car has parked in Naples for a few months.

The gleaming Lotus Type 49/2 that helped revolutionize auto racing will be on display through March at the Revs Institute near Naples Airport. 

“It’s such beautiful car when you look at it," said Mark Vargas, Revs chief operating officer. "It's an absolutely vital piece of Formula One history.”

Driven by two-time Formula One world champion (1963 and 1965) and '65 Indy 500 champion Jim Clark, the Lotus on display in Naples has been credited with shaping Grand Prix racing history and Formula 1 racing.

For one, the Lotus — painted in British racing green with a yellow stripe — was the first Formula One car to be powered by the V-8 Ford Cosworth DFV (double four valve) engine. 

The Lotus chassis design also was ahead of its time. Since the Lotus, almost all Formula One cars have been built that way.

“It’s the first car where the engine is actually part of the body itself. It was a totally innovate design," Vargas said.

Read:Not old enough for a license, Estero teen Cody Krucker has driven to truck racing success

And since the film "Ford v Ferrari" hit the big screen in the last month, there's been a resurgence in the popularity of the early days of modern racing. Matt Damon and Christian Bale co-star in the movie about Carroll Shelby and Ford Motor Co.'s vision to build a racer to challenge the vaunted Ferrari.

“The movie is great and we hope it resurrects the idea of more motoring history films," Vargas said.

"It gets a lot of things right. And what I love about it is it really gave you the sense of speed and what these guys were going through to design, build, race, test and see them on a personal level.”

The Lotus will be displayed on the Revs' second-floor mezzanine, featuring the Scotsman Clark's racing gear. The racer is on loan from a private collector, Vargas noted.

Clark died racing in Germany in 1968. He was 32 years old.

"Jim Clark was probably the finest driver of his era," Vargas said. “Talk about warriors, this was dangerous work. And these guys did it because they had a passion for speed and pushing that envelope, just like a pilot. And many of them paid for that passion.”

He added that Revs houses one of the most comprehensive automotive libraries in the world, which is open to the public. 

The Revs is considered among the top automotive museums in the world, based on the historical significance of the cars housed under one roof. 

“We do this for a reason," Vargas said. "We have a passion for the automobile and want to share that with everyone. And our cars are the pinnacle of aesthetics and technology in the 20th century, and that’s why they’re there.”

He pointed to the importance of auto racing, how the sport has improved everyday cars.

"Anyone driving a car today owes their safety, their reliability, their comfort to what motorsports has brought to the automobile historically," Vargas said.

"Without motorsports, the automobile would be nothing like it is today.”

What: Revs Institute, 2500 Horseshoe Drive S., Naples

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; all visitors must reserve tickets for specific dates and times in advance. No walk-ups will be admitted.

Cost: $17 general admission, $25 for docent tour (recommended, as you'll learn much more about the history of the cars and can ask questions); $30 for docent tour and shop walk-through

Information: revsinstitute.org or 239-687-REVS