In January 1962, Colin Chapman presented his company’s newest Formula Junior car at the Racing Car Show in London. It was revealed as the Lotus 22. The 22 was available to purchase for regular members of the public, retailing for £1,550, and deliveries soon began to privateers around the world. The 22 was powered by a four-cylinder 1,100 cc Ford Cosworth engine—producing around 100 horsepower—which rested in the chassis at a 30-degree angle. The racer proved to be yet another competitive car from Chapman, with the Team Lotus driver, Peter Arundell, winning 18 out of 25 races at the start of the 1962 Formula Junior season. Facing competition from the newer Brabham, and marketed to a limited audience in the Formula Junior series, the 22 did not remain in production for long. Only 77 examples were built by Lotus Components.

According to the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association, this Lotus 22 was sold new in Sweden in 1962, and was converted into a “screamer” when Formula Junior was superseded by Formula 3. It is said to have been raced by Gunnar Pedersen, and at an unknown point dismantled in Sweden, before being brought back to England. At that point in the late 1980s, Stem Work Ltd of Kimbolton would start to restore this Lotus. However, the restoration company was dissolved and so the car was rescued by the well-known historic racer, Alan Ballie, who sent the open-wheeler to be completed by Dick Parslow of K2D Fabrications in Wood Walton, Cambridgeshire.

Following the restoration, this Lotus 22 was raced by Ian Robinson, and then sold and driven by its next owner, a resident of Monaco. The car changed hands and was later fielded in the 2006 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, where it finished in 12th place. The car was subsequently raced by the Frenchman Thomas Duchene, after which it was sold to the next private owner, residing in Belgium.

This Lotus was purchased by its consigning owner in 2013, and has been raced by the seller in Dijon, Jerez, Portimao, and Karlskoga over a two-year period, while the car was loaned to Richard Babcock for the 2016 Silverstone Classic. Today, this 22 is finished in a shade of dark green, with a vibrant orange nose and numbered “170”. Please note this example does feature an FIA Historical Technical Passport (HTP) hologram sticker from 2015, indicating it had previously been issued with an HTP.