It was originally intended for use in Formula One, to be powered by the Coventry Climax 1.5 litre flat-16 engine.
The 39 was then modified by then-new Lotus employee Maurice Philippe, who adapted the tubular space frame to take a 2.5 litre Climax FPF for Jim Clark to race in the 1966 Tasman Series.
[1] In the 1966 Tasman Series, the modified car with its elderly engine was unreliable and uncompetitive against the BRMs of Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill, and Clark's best result was a single win at the Warwick Farm International.
The car was then purchased by Leo Geoghegan who raced it in Australia and New Zealand from 1966 to 1970, replacing the Climax engine with a Repco V8 in 1967.
[2] Geoghegan also used it in Repco-powered form to win the 1969 JAF Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway in Japan.