Vehicle Description
1960 Lotus Elite Series II ?1960 Lotus Elite Series II, American
Market left hand drive ?World's first fiberglass monocoque
production car ?Sold on 7/10/1960 to Jay Chamberlain Automotive
Inc., North Hollywood CA ?Sold new to a TWA pilot based out of
Kansas City, Missouri ?Only 3 owner car, all from the Kansas City
area with only 20,944 miles ?Chassis #1395 (built in line with the
1961 Le Mans reserve car #1367) ?Lotus Invoice #844, engine #9062
?Bristol Invoice # EB1395 Body #428 of 749 ordered ?Factory correct
Lavender exterior with restored black interior ?Complete
professional restoration by Premier MotorSports of Kansas City,
Kansas ?Complete rebuild of engine, transmission and differential;
parts sourced from MK14 Components ?Numbers matching rebuilt 1.2L
Coventry Climax SOHC four-cylinder engine #9062 ?Brabham?s Racing
Development Company racing head with five-bearing cam ?BMC B-series
four-speed manual transmission ?48 spoke 15x4 Dunlop built wire
wheels and upgraded aluminum front racing brakes ?Upgraded front
oil cooler, NACA duct, stainless steel tank and Monza fuel flip cap
?Included with the original Perspex removable side windows ?Car
comes with its own custom-built, body-colored trailer ?Included
with Dennis Ortenburger's limited edition Lotus Elite book ?With
the chassis number of the car matching the book with the late Mr.
Ortenburger's signature Bred on the track... for highway driving!
This elegant speedster threads docilely through town - or tours at
a steady 100 mph! Gran turismo handling and acceleration? an
entirely new kind of pleasure driving. Limited production restricts
ownership to those few who appreciate true luxury sports car
motoring. ?Simplify, then add lightness.? That was Lotus co-founder
Colin Chapman?s motto. It?s personified in this restored left hand
drive 1960 Elite Series II. In the realm of European sports cars,
few have achieved the exalted and sometimes mythical status of
Lotus. At ?1966 including purchase tax (about $5500 at the exchange
rates of the time), the Lotus Elite was expensive, but it was
beautiful and fast. A Motor magazine road test in 1960 achieved a
maximum speed of 111.8 mph with 0?60 mph in 11.4 seconds, standing
quarter in 18.4 sec, and an average gas mileage of 28.4 mpg (U.S.).
Designed by an accountant, engineered by a maverick, with its
aerodynamics tuned by a genius, Lotus built just 988 or so Elites
between 1958 and 1963. This 1960 Elite for sale at Motoexotica
Classic cars is a original American market left-hand drive, series
II, chassis #1395 (built close in line with the 1961 Le Mans
reserve car #1367), Lotus Invoice #844, engine #9062, Bristol
Invoice # EB1395 and Body #428 of 749 ordered. This Elite was
originally imported to the USA on 7/10/1960 to Jay Chamberlain
Automotive Inc., North Hollywood CA. Jay Chamberlain was a sports
car racer who competed almost exclusively in Lotus cars, for whom
he was an early US distributor. He won his class at Le Mans in
1957. Tried a season of F1 in 1962 under the Ecurie Excelsior
banner, driving a Lotus 18. In 1959 Chamberlain reorganized his
company into Jay Chamberlain Automotive to sell Lotus race cars and
the his other lines which by then included Alfa Romeo, Fiat,
Borward, Triumph and Lancia! Jay Chamberlain sold this Elite to a
Trans World Airline (TWA) pilot based in Kansas City, Missouri,
where TWA was once headquartered. The pilot flew TWA?s
transatlantic New York-London-Frankfurt route and was a serious
British motor car enthusiast. He removed the cylinder head from his
Elite and took the head with him on a flight to London, England.
Once in London, he dropped off the head to Brabham?s Racing
Development Company. Brabham modified the head to racing specs and
a five-bearing cam, then added twin Weber Carburetors. The pilot a
month later picked it back up and flew back to Kansas City to
reinstall the new hot cylinder head! Brabham?s Racing Development
is a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team.
Founded in 1960 by two Australians, driver Jack Brabham and
designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four Drivers' and two
Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year Formula One
history. Jack Brabham's 1966 FIA Drivers' Championship remains the
only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name. In
the late 1970?s the TWA pilot sold the Elite to a engineer at Vendo
Company which was a large manufacturer of cold beverage vending
machines based in Kansas City. The engineer kept the Elite original
and sparingly drove it to work on nice days. In 1991 he put it up
for sale in the Kansas City Star newspaper and a local race
enthusiast Mr. Friske purchased the Elite as the 3rd owner from the
Kansas City area. Mr. Fiske later on started a full professional
restoration at his shop, Premier MotorSports of Kansas City,
Kansas. They performed a full cosmetic restoration on the paint,
body and interior, plus complete rebuild of the engine,
transmission and differential with parts sourced from MK14
Components. Some upgrades were performed such as upgraded aluminum
front racing brakes, front oil cooler with chin duct, NACA hood
duct, custom stainless steel fuel tank and Monza fuel flip cap.
Today still dressed in the correct shade of Lavender, the paint and
trim are in overall excellent condition. This pert coupe?s Bristol
body is solid, the engine bay is extremely tidy and the chrome
bumperettes shine brilliantly. Even the small cargo area aft of the
seats is in excellent shape and also included with the original
Perspex removable side windows. The Lotus rides on Pirelli
Cinturato P3 tires, size 155SR15, at every corner. Each tire is
mounted on factory 48 spoke 15x4 Dunlop built wire wheels. The
tires are in good condition with adequate tread while the wire
wheels are in very good condition. Under the bonnet is the numbers
matching #9062 1.2L Coventry Climax SOHC four-cylinder engine from
Coventry Climax FWE, a British specialty engine manufacturer. This
motor is all-aluminum and keeping with Chapman?s motto, the entire
car weighs around 1,110 pounds. Backing this engine is a BMC
B-series four-speed manual transmission. The Series 2 cars, with
Bristol-built bodies, also had triangulated trailing radius arms
for improved toe-in control, and were left-hand drive. Driver
convenience features include rack-and-pinion steering and Girling
four-wheel disc brakes, 9.5-inches and inboard at the rear and
independent suspension. Spin that key and the 1216cc FWE Coventry
Climax bursts into cantankerous life and the gear lever buzzes in
sympathy. This car fits you like bath water, the black bucket seats
curve round the spine and the wood wheel sits in your lap. The rev
counter flutters up and down and the world outside starts to look
rather more like a race track than it did five minutes ago. The
black seats are in very good order, as is the matching carpet. The
instrument panel, complete with an array of Smiths gauges, and
inner door panels with map pockets are in great shape, as is the
center console and console-mounted shift lever. The company was
formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and
Colin Dare in 1952. The first factory was situated in old stables
behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus,
which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and
competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. They met with
great racing success from the beginning by relying on Chapman?s
motto of ?Simplify, then add lightness.? Advanced aerodynamics
contributed to the car's very low drag coefficient of 0.29 ? quite
low even by modern standards. This accomplishment is all the more
remarkable considering the engineers did not have computer-aided
design (CAD) or wind tunnel testing at their disposal. The original
Elite drawings were by Peter Kirwan-Taylor. Frank Costin (brother
of Mike, one of the co-founders of Cosworth), at that time Chief
Aerod