My 42 year old toy: One of my most prized-posessions

Do you have any of your toys from when you were a kid? I'm lucky enough to have a few of my childhood toys still and thought I'd share one. This one was one of my most treasured possessions when I was growing up. It was given to me by a family friend who knew I had a love and passion for Formula One racing. I was 6 years old so in 1976! Introducing the Lotus 77 John Player Special built by Colin Chapman to contest the 1976 Formula One World Championship. It was piloted by team mates Mario Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson and was powered by a Ford-Cosworth DFV 2993cc V8, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted engine.

For children toys come and go but this one was never far from my sight. It sat on the shelf above my bed-head or on my bedside table for a my entire childhood and now sits on my desk at work. Sure it's no Playstation or Xbox and I can't control it with a wireless controller but it gave me years of pleasure and still means a great deal to me.

I was never privileged enough to see this car, the real one, on the race track but managed to see it's evolution the Lotus 97T sporting the same livery at the First Adelaide Grand Prix in 1985. I was 15 years old. The 97T was piloted by none other than Ayrton Senna! Unfortunately the car was retired from the race but I saw it run and that was special to me. At the time Ayrton Senna was in the early stage of his career having been signed to Lotus (from Tolman) to replace Briton Nigel Mansell who had gone to Williams F1 in 1985. Th Lotus 97T took 8 pole positions and 3 wins and heralded the brilliance of Ayrton Senna who went on to take 41 race wins and 3 World Championships prior to his tragic death at the wheel of his Williams F1 car in 1994 at the San Marino track during the race.

As a child growing up my parents could not afford to lavish gifts on us. Fortunately I grew up in an era in which materialistic things were not as valued as they are these days. We made our fun out of nothing really, imagination and a few basic props generally like our bikes or a few toys, some lego or wood, nails and hammer. Because of that the things we did have became so much more valuable and we respected them more. I wouldn't change much about my childhood games though. Sure, I always wanted to have the latest toys like the other kids but I understood that it was not possible for my parents.

My Lotus F1 car is a constant reminder of days past and my childhood. So many years later as a grown adult I find comfort in having it around and welcome the thoughts of my childhood. It grounds me and keeps me feeling grateful for the upbringing I had.

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@galenkp