Vehicle Description
Simplify, Add Lightness: This is the fundamental principal that
Lotus Cars founder Colin Chapman set for all of his racing and road
machines. Like many other legendary racing constructors, Lotus
started in a shed, where an Austin 7 was deconstructed, modified
and rebuilt into a racing special. The seed was sown and soon
Chapman was building competition cars as well as customer road cars
to fund his racing efforts. Lotus grew into one of the most
successful teams in Grand Prix racing thanks to Chapman's
creativity and relentless pursuit of his design edicts. In the late
1950s and early 1960s, road cars had become an increasingly
important component to Lotus' bottom line. The innovative Elite was
one of the first Lotus models to feature the revolutionary backbone
chassis, paired with a stressed glassfiber monocoque body. With
power from the delectable Coventry Climax engine, the pretty Elite
was quick and agile but it was also delicate and the body was prone
to stress fractures and twisting. For 1962, the Elite's
replacement, the Elan was a much more sensible design that fully
utilized the backbone chassis concept as the main structure. The
strong and light steel chassis was again mated to a fiberglass
body, but this time, the body was unstressed and therefore not
subject to the same sorts of problems faced by the Elite.
Suspension on the Elan was independent all around and power came
via a Ford "Kent" four-cylinder of 1500cc (for only the first 22
cars before the 1600 replaced it) topped by an advanced twin-cam,
8-valve cylinder head designed by Harry Mundy. Ford were so
impressed by the performance gains of the twin-cam head, they
purchased the rights to the design and renamed it "Lotus-Ford Twin
Cam". The Elan was the mainstay of Lotus production through the
1960s. With seven different variants over 13 years or production,
(including the four-seat Elan +2) it was the biggest success the
company had seen and proved a winner in racing form as well. Since
its inception, the Elan has been a perennial cult classic and an
icon among British sports cars. The Elan served as the direct
inspiration for the Mazda MX5 Miata and has often been imitated but
never duplicated. There are few cars that combine the Elan's
delicate feel, virtually perfect steering and gutsy, eager twin-cam
engine. As a result, they remain highly collectible and well sorted
examples are always in demand by enthusiasts. This lovely 1971 Elan
is an S4 Drophead that has been fastidiously maintained by its
enthusiastic previous owner. It has been treated to a quality
restoration where it was refinished in attractive and period
correct Bahama yellow over a black interior. The restoration
quality is very good, and appropriate for a car that is at its best
out on the road. While precise panel alignment was never Colin
Chapman's first concern, the body on this example does fit well and
is consistent with factory standards. The signature knock-off
wheels are finished in silver as they should be and the car sits on
proper radial tires. There's no real chrome or brightwork to speak
of on an Elan, but what little there is on door handles and window
trims is in good order and well presented. The black interior is
trimmed in original spec vinyl upholstery which is both good
looking and hard wearing. Another signature of the Elan is the
simple, flat wood dash panel, which is in excellent condition. All
switches, instruments and electrics work as they should, a sign
that this car has been carefully and properly maintained. That
careful, specialized maintenance is evident under the small
fiberglass bonnet. The Lotus Twin Cam looks great with no leaks or
drips to speak of and clean, tidy presentation all around. These
are robust little engines, but they do require knowledgeable
service and thankfully this car has been treated exceptionally
well. Few automobiles capture the essence of the sports car as well
as the Lotus Elan. It is a car that is quite literally the
benchmark on which other sports cars are measured. Even Gordon
Murray lamented that his only disappointment in his masterpiece
McLaren F1 was that he couldn't have the steering from a Lotus
Elan. That speaks volumes for what an important and desirable car
this is. With this fine, high quality example, you can experience
that sensation first hand.