SOLD

1973 Lotus Elan Sprint

Model History

The original Lotus Elan, the Type 26 was launched in Roadster form in 1962. Using a steel backbone chassis with a fibreglass body, the new sports car fitted perfectly into Colin Chapman’s philosophy of “Simplify, then add lightness”. The original car weighed in at 640kg and was powered by a Ford Kent engine with a twin cam, chain driven head designed by Harry Mundy, whose CV includes the BRM V16, Coventry Climax, and Jaguar V12 engines. The 1500cc, later 1600cc Lotus Twincam was such a great engine that Ford bought the rights and it went on to be used in many Ford and Lotus models, both road and race cars. Producing around 105bhp, this gave a power-to-weight ratio of 164bhp per tonne, which is about the same as a brand new Golf GTI today.

The rest of the spec was equally impressive: four-wheel disc brakes, 4-wheel independent suspension and rack and pinion steering. The steering on the Elan was so sweet and sharp that Gordon Murray was reported to have said his only disappointment with the McLaren F1 was that he couldn’t give it steering as perfect as a Lotus Elan. Which is probably why he has one in his collection.

The Lotus Elan went through a number of changes and upgrades over its thirteen year production run which is easier to summarise as follows:

1962: Lotus Elan launched as Type 26 Roadster with 1500cc DOHC engine.

1963: Engine grows to 1600cc, now designated Elan 1600.

1964: Elan replaced by Elan S2.

1965: Type 36 Fixed Head Coupé launched (S3).

1966: Type 26 replaced by Type 45 Drophead Coupé (S3).

1968: S4 replaces S3.

1970: Elan Sprint with 126bhp ‘Big Valve’ engine launched.

1973: Elan Sprint production ceases but Standard and SE models of S4 still available.

1975: Lotus Elan production ceases.

The final ‘hurrah’ of the model, the Sprint produced 126bhp thanks to the ‘Big Valve’ engine. Couple this with a car that weighed in at 700kg and you end up with one of the fastest accelerating production cars on sale in 1973, with 0-60 mph measured at 6.6 seconds by Autosport magazine. To put that in perspective, a Lamborghini Miura only manages it in 6.7!

The Elan was almost sports car perfection and its success is credited with turning the fortunes of an otherwise struggling Lotus Cars and is credited with giving them the means to fund their golden years in Formula One during the 60’s and 70’s.

 Car Offered

The Lotus Elan Sprint for sale at Wrightson Automotive is one of the best examples I have seen and the owner is one of the most fastidious people I know. Finished in Tawny Metallic over Cirrus White with Gold accents, this must be one of the best combinations and very much of its time.

Delivered new to a Dr C. Robb of Nottingham, he would keep the car until 1984 at which point it was bought by a Miss Z. Walker in Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1991, during her ownership, the car was restored by her father, who ran the family garage. Work included having a brand new galvanised Lotus chassis fitted and the engine was sent away to QED Motorsport to be rebuilt. For those who aren’t aware, a new chassis on a Lotus Elan is a GOOD thing, as the originals corroded badly and were easily damaged in accidents. In 1992 the car was sold to a Mr. C. Trotter from Bishop Auckland who kept the car until 2012. The next owner, Mr. Isherwood had the car restored between the years 2014-2017 with the following works carried out:

• Body stripped to gel coat & sill wires replaced. Resprayed to original colours. Ford Tawny metallic over white. 

• Engine dismantled, block chemically cleaned, bores honed, big ends polished, new bearings/shells and new rings fitted.

• Head cleaned, hardened valve seats fitted together with new water pump.

• New 3 core radiator fitted.

•  Steering rack refurbished.

•  Chassis stripped & new bushes, dampers, roto flex couplings, trunnions and wheel bearings fitted.

• New door handles, headlights, indicators, side lights, rear number plate lights and all badges fitted. 

• New headlining fitted.

• New front screen and new front and rear screen rubbers fitted. 

• 3.5 diff. refurbished.

• Gearbox refurbished. 

• New clutch and new slave cylinder fitted.

• Brakes & servo refurbished by Classic Automotive including brake master cylinder. 

• New aluminium fuel tank fitted.

• New tyres fitted to powder coated rims.

The current owner has since added a high torque starter motor and had the car gone through front to back to make sure everything worked as expected and had Lotus racer and specialist Michael Schryver go through all the brakes and suspension to make sure it was set up perfectly. Having driven it over two hours back to the showroom, I can confirm that it drives beautifully and is surprisingly practical with a good sized boot and a TARDIS like cabin that means two people over 6ft can sit comfortably for long journeys.

Accompanying the car is a wonderful history file with invoices going back to 1973 and nearly every MOT from new as well. This really is a wonderful opportunity to acquire one of the greatest sports cars of the time, in fabulous condition and with an almost perfect provenance.

£SOLD