Lotus has long been revered for its ability to create lightweight, highly-engaging, impossibly fun sports cars. The marque dominated on track with a mindset focused on reducing weight as much as possible, allowing smaller displacement engines to outperform heavyweight competition. The company's first production car, the Lotus Elite, was a highly advanced 2-seater coupe with a fiberglass monocoque construction. Unfortunately, the bespoke and highly specialized nature of its construction led to high production costs, and Lotus lost money on each Elite sold. The solution came in 1962 as the Lotus Elan. The new roadster used a similar fiberglass body now supported by a steel backbone frame. This both increased structural rigidity while reducing manufacturing costs. Lotus moved away from the previous Coventry Climax-sourced engine in favor of a modified Ford Kent engine with a specialized Lotus DOHC head. This engine, named the Lotus Twin Cam, would remain Lotus' primary powerplant for over a decade. The Elan was initially powered by a 1,498cc DOHC I4 Twin Cam engine and touted an impressive build sheet including four-wheel disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, and fully independent suspension. The engine was enlarged to 1,558cc the following year, but the excellent handling characteristics left little room for improvement.
Dressed in a wonderful green with yellow stripe and numbered livery, this Elan is reminiscent of the Colin Chapman/Jim Clark era of Lotus racing. It features tasteful, fashion forward motorsport oriented modifications such as Panasport wheels, an aluminum 3 spoke steering wheel wrapped in red leather, period correct styled fixed back bucket seats, covered headlights, Optilux fog lights, and a bullet style mirror. A Spyder chassis was also installed. Both paint and upholstery show incredibly well- the wooden dashboard is free of chips, warpage, or cracks. The Lotus Dual-Cam engine performs flawlessly and sends power through the 4-speed manual transmission with incredible feedback. Get behind the wheel of this well-sorted Elan, and it will be immediately apparent why Lotus became a legendary constructor of performance cars. Steering is immediate and tight, gear changes occur effortlessly, and the suspension keeps the lightweight body planted to inspire confidence. The Lotus Elan offers the purest driving experience of any production sports car, and this car is an excellent example of the chassis. This Elan had an extensive restoration in 2016, with over $85,000 spent in the restoration process. Whether you envision this Lotus bringing you to your next track day, or to your local Cars and Coffee- you can expect smiles for miles ahead.
