Lotus Turbine

==1968 Lotus 56 History==
Lotus Turbine was a new casting issued in the 1969 Hot Wheels line-up. It is a model of the innovative wedge-shaped 1968 Lotus 56 which was not only powered by an industrial gas turbine but was also four-wheel drive. In the 1968 Indianapolis 500 the car initially performed well but eventually suffered fuel pump problems, two out of three cars retiring during the race and the third, driven by Graham Hill, crashing early on. A fourth Lotus 56 had crashed during test sessions, killing its driver, Mike Spence. After the 1968 season, USAC rules were changed to ban both turbine engines and four-wheel drive.
Lotus rebuilt one of the cars, to be entered in Formula 1. Now called the 56B, it had the wings allowed in Formula One added along with better brakes and a larger fuel tank, to complete the entire Grand Prix race distance without refueling. And while in wet conditions the four wheel drive and smoother power of the turbine was an advantage, in dry weather the car was underpowered and overweight. Lotus entered the car in three races in 1971, with an eighth place the best finish.
==Description==
Interior Colors are: Black, White, Champagne. Some Color/ Interior combos can be very interesting to collect.
Production units have Blue Tinted glass, Prototypes have clear.
Base: Most of the bases are unpainted / bare metal.  There are some early samples which have a black base.  The black paint is usually flaking off by now.  In some very rare cases the bases will be painted silver.  These are believed to be only found in England.
Interior: Black is by far the most common interior color.  Tan or champagne (depending on who you are talking too) has been found in several colors (aqua, green, blue, purple, red, orange).  White interiors are very rare and have been found in a few colors (blue, red, purple, green, possibly others).
Wheels: Typically has the medium size wheel on the front and large wheels on the rear.  However occasionally a car with all medium or all large wheel made it through the quality control.  Also there are two types of redline wheels used, bushing and capped.  The wheels types seem to be fairly evenly dispersed and you can find most colors with both types.  Cars with tan / champagne or white interior only have the bushing wheels.  Also if the base is painted black or silver, it too will have the bushing wheels.
Only Made in Hong Kong.
The Cars were packaged with a metal 'Collector's Button'.
Fuel Tanks were Prototyped, They toyed with the idea of making it Set playable.
There is a Chrome New York Toy Fair version.
==Versions==
The Lotus Turbine has come out in the following 1/64 scale versions, :
Colors are listed in descending order based on rarity from common to rare.
Year	Series 	Color 	Sticker	Base Color	Window Color 	Interior Color	Wheel Type	cast #	Country	Notes / Variations	Photo
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Aqua 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL Bushing	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Blue 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Blue 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Tan 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Green 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Green 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Purple 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Purple 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Tan 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Red 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Orange 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Brown 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Dark Red 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Rose 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Dark Orange (burnt)	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Olive 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Copper 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame "Watermelon" 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	Black 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
1969	Grand Prix	Spectraflame Light Blue 	 	Metal 	Tinted (Blue)	 	RL 	6262 	HK 	 	
==Gallery==
Hotwheels Drawings_Page_11-11_zps9sblxkcc.jpg|Ira Gilford sketch powered by ©Bruce Pascal
Lotus Turbine-312_2.jpg|Watermelon, Rose, Red
Lotus Turbine-312_3.jpg|Watermelon, Rose, Red front view
Lotus Turbine-294.jpg|Orange enamel - Prototype
35 Years of Speed Randy Leffingwell Lotus (2).JPG|Epoxy Prototype
Lotus Turbine-303_2.jpg|Black base
Lotus Turbine-311_3.jpg|Silver painted base
lotusturbine.jpg
Category:1969 Hot Wheels
Category:Grand Prix
Category:Ira Gilford Designs
Category:Lotus Cars
Category:Licensed Hot Wheels
Category:British Cars
Category:Racing Vehicles
Category:Discontinued Vehicles
Category:Convertibles
Category:1:64