Olav Glasius’s Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale Estimated at 1.5 Million Pounds
A Lotus MkIX returning to the pits at the Silverstone Classic race meeting, July 2007. wikimedia commons/John Chapman

An exclusive collection of Lotus cars from world famous collector Olav Glasius' personal collection is estimated to fetch over £1.5m, at an auction by Bonhams. The collection of 24 cars will be offered for sale at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed, to highlight the 60th anniversary year of the marque. The collection covers a huge span of Lotus innovations and achievements from 1953 to the present day.

Olav Glasius is a well-known fan of the British marquee and was on hand to watch legendary British racer Jim Clark dominate the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in a Lotus 25.

As a Dutch textile industrialist, Olav's lifetime of work and passion for race cars has allowed him to accumulate probably the world's largest privately owned collection of Lotus road and racing cars.

"The Lotus marque is hugely respected and boasts all the credentials you could wish for: an innovative and charismatic owner in Colin Chapman, one of the finest drivers the sport has ever known in Jim Clark, and manufacturer of sports and racing cars that could take on and beat the best the others could offer," stated James Knight, Group Motoring Director of Bonhams.

"We have enjoyed watching Olav successfully compete with his cars at historic racing events, including Goodwood, and it seems fitting that the collection will be offered for sale at the Festival of Speed where Lotus will be the event's celebrated marquee," he further mentioned.

In addition to the historic versions, the auction also includes a fine array of beautifully restored and maintained ultra-low mileage road-going super cars from a Lotus Elite Series II to a Lotus Esprit Turbo.

The rare versions in the collection include the Formula Junior Lotus 27 and ex-Formula 1/InterContinental Lotus Type 18.