How it was when Formula One was simply man and car - not like today: Inside Graham Hill's Lotus as it goes on sale for £1million



The Lotus 49B was driven by the British world champion in 1968 with just 10 simple instruments on the dashboard

A modern F1 car has more than 25 buttons and dials just on the steering wheel - even controlling rear 'wing flaps'

Billed as one of F1's 10 best designs, 49B will go under the hammer at Goodwood Festival of Speed near Chichester


With a spaceship-like array of dials controlling everything from tyre circumference to wing flaps, Formula 1 cars have changed a lot in 46 years.

It was once a raw sport of man and car, as world champion Graham Hill's vehicle proves.

The racing legend's 1968 Lotus 49B will be sold tomorrow for an estimated £1million - despite having just 10 simple instruments on a dashboard which could almost pass for a family saloon's, alongside an ordinary-looking gearstick.



A simple sport of man and car: Racing legend Graham Hill's 1968 Lotus 49B will be sold tomorrow for £1million - despite having just 10 instruments on its dashboard A lot changes in 46 years! Nowadays all the controls are on the steering wheel - which looks like a spaceship cockpit. Last month Sauber explained its controls (pictured)

The enigmatic driver, whose son Damon Hill also conquered the world of Formula 1, was the reigning world champion when he took delivery of the Lotus 49B in 1968 - hence the number one on its body.



The car’s predecessor, the Lotus 49, had already set a new benchmark for performance and handling when it was unveiled the previous year.

Only 12 Lotus 49s were ever built, and the iconic car - which has come up for sale for the first time since the 1970s - is one of only a handful still in existence.

Graham Hill and his famous moustache raced the 49B in the Tasman Championship in early 1969, notching up two second places and finishing fourth in the Australian Grand Prix in Brisbane.

Later that year Hill raced it in front of a home crowd at the British Grand Prix, finishing seventh.

The car boasted a 400bhp V8 engine and a top speed of more than 180mph - figures which sound tame compared to modern F1 cars but had world-beating potential at the time.

Its interior was certainly simpler than modern racers. Over the last 46 years, F1 controls have gradually migrated to the steering wheel, which now contains almost every function a driver could ever need.

Magnificent: In accordance with F1 tradition, the Lotus 49B carried the number one on its body in honour of its driver Graham Hill, who was the reigning world champion Only 12 Lotus 49s were ever built, and the iconic car - which has come up for sale for the first time since the 1970s - is one of only a handful still in existence Pristine: Kept for its entire post-racing history by the collector John Dawson-Damer, the car still bears the name of its driver in large print and looks as it did in 1968 Golden age: Impressive though it is, the car's lack of advanced controls and gadgets harks back to a simpler age of motor racing, a raw game of man and machine A thing of beauty: Auctioneers at Bonhams claimed the car, which will be sold tomorrow, is one of the 10 most exquisite designs ever to grace a Formula 1 track Teams have spent millions developing their controls to make them easy for drivers to press, and most of the F1 competitors keep the fine details of their steering wheels a closely-guarded trade secret. But one team, Sauber, released a detailed breakdown of how its steering wheel works this year - and it features more than 25 buttons, dials, switches and lights.

LOTUS 49B: STATISTICS

BUILT: 1968

RACED UNTIL: Early 1970s

ENGINE: 400bhp V8

TOP SPEED: 180mph

WORTH: £1million

The functions include performance maps, rear wing flaps and even a tool to change the circumference of the wheel while driving.

There is a pit limiter, which reduces the car's speed when it needs quick maintenance, and a button to contact the pit team to warn them of a stop one lap ahead.

After being raced by Hill, the 49B was sold to Swedish racer Joakim Bonnier for the remainder of the 1969 season.

The following year it passed to South African driver Dave Charlton, who drove it to two South African F1 wins, before it was retired into the hands of collector John Dawson-Damer shortly afterwards.

He restored it to its former glory, saying it was his favourite of 15 classic cars he owned.

The 49B is expected to fetch £700,000 to £1million when it is sold at the Goodwood Festival of Speed near Chichester, West Sussex.

Tomorrow's sale has a note of sad irony to it, as Mr Dawson-Damer was killed at the wheel of his Lotus 63 when it crashed at Goodwood 14 years ago.

Glory: Graham Hill racing the Lotus a few months after he was named world champion in 1968. Sadly it would not help him to victory - he finished eighth Vintage: The same car being raced later in its career. It will be auctioned with a price tag of up to £1m at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where its owner died Simpler days: Almost 50 years old, the Formula 1 car was less streamlined than its modern successors, with the rivets visible and not an adjustable wing flap in sight Like father like son: Graham Hill (left) won two Formula 1 world championships in 1962 and 1968, a feat which would be repeated once by his son Damon (right) in 1996

The car is being sold by Mr Dawson-Damer's family and its auctioneers described it as one of the 'top 10 groundbreaking F1 designs'.

James Knight, director of motoring at Bonhams, said: 'When it first rolled onto the track in 1967 the jaws of all the other competitors dropped. It simply blew its competition out of the water and set a benchmark for performance in F1.

'Lotus’ engineers had found a way to save weight without curtailing performance and handling. They also debuted the Ford Cosworth DFV engine which had never been seen before and went on to notch up so many wins.

'The developments pushed the envelope of what was possible in the sport and it became very clear the future of F1 lay with this design.'

Mr Knight added: 'It is the very last car to be sold from the estate of John Dawson-Damer who tragically died in 2000. It was his favourite from a collection of 15 classic cars, most of which were Lotuses.

'It is an extremely rare car with great provenance.'