Description
This is lot number 127 in the Bonhams Goodwood Revival Auction on September 7th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Restored 30 years ago
Desirable ZF gearbox
New suspension donuts, stainless steel exhaust, brakes, wheels and tyres
Detailed history dating back to 1977
With the Elite, Colin Chapman demonstrated that his skills as a racing car designer and constructor could just as easily be applied to production road cars. The Elite was, nevertheless, conceived with competition in mind (Chapman was set on class wins at Le Mans and the Monte Carlo Rally) and incorporated technology developed in Lotus's single seaters. As innovative as Chapman's outright competition cars, the Elite featured a glassfibre monocoque body tub (the world's first), independent suspension all round and four-wheel disc brakes, the rears inboard. Its engine was the four-cylinder Coventry-Climax FWE, a single-overhead-cam unit of 1, 216cc producing 75bhp. The work of Peter Kirwan-Taylor and aerodynamicist Frank Costin, the elegant body possessed an admirably low coefficient of drag (0. 29) but made few concessions to comfort or noise suppression, not that that would have bothered the Elite's customers, for whom its 112mph top speed and superlative handling were of far greater importance.
First registered 1st August 1962, this Elite was restored 30 years ago and still presents very well indeed. The bodywork shows no signs of star cracking; the interior is all original; and the suspension donuts, stainless steel exhaust, brakes, wheels and tyres are new. Written by the previous owner, its history covers two sheets of A4 paper detailing everything done going back to 1977. The last owner has carried this forward. Reported to drive very well indeed, the car comes with original instruction manuals and a Coventry Climax engine manual.
