Descrizione
Starley Lotus Sprite (1972) . Registration number: AUF1L
Vehicle History
A love of Frogeye Sprites and the Lotus Elan resulted in the Starley Lotus Sprite.
The car started life in 1959 as a Mk1 Austin Healey Sprite (frogeye) reg. no. YCD926. It was used as a road car and extensively in Motor Sport every weekend during the early 1960s. It competed in Hill Climbs, Sprints and Driving Tests (as they were known), the owner driving competitively for the South of England and being a member of the B. A. R. C., the Brighton & Hove Motor Club and the Sussex Car Club. It competed at events all over the country including Goodwood, Firle, Castle Coombe and the Brighton Speed Trials.
Starting life as a 998cc it became a 1299cc following the sale of an Aston Martin DB2/ 4 to fund the engine development. The project was the first in-line 1299cc engine, spurred on by Longbridge being adamant that they were not going to put the 1275 Cooper S engine in a Sprite. The engine was developed by Downton Engineering and Sir Alec Issigonis and was one of two, the other going on to become the production 1275 of the later Sprites.
Now exceptionally competitive with the extra CCs, the car went on to win a season of trophies. Suspicious that the engine was above 1300cc, the scrutineers ordered the engine to be stripped and the exact cc measured and on finding it legal at 1299cc, all results stood. However, with a reclassification of classes the following year, the car was no longer able to dominate, especially now being in a class with Lotus Elans.
Following a spin at Druids corner at Brands Hatch on a test day, the increasing dominance of the Lotus Elans, coupled with the vast experience of the owners as Lotus Service Dealers prompted a momentous decision, which would take over the best part of 7 years of their lives. The result of “blood, sweat and tears” most weekends and a good deal of money as and when it became available was a one-off, the Starley Lotus Sprite.
Given its own special bay in the workshop, Mr. Starley (affectionately known as Star) went about grafting a Lotus Elan chassis into the frogeye body, which was cut accordingly to fit the chassis. The body was converted to a Grand Tourer with electric perspex gull-wing windows and tail-gate and the bonnet was re-hung to open in the opposite direction, Star having had the bonnet come open off the safety catch and hit him on the helmet at 100mph whilst head to head racing in the Brighton Speed Trials. He leaned out the side and still got fastest time of the day in his class!
The car was everything Star had ever dreamed of in a car and he was spurred on by the chance to finally iron out all the little niggles he’d had with past cars.
Powered by an all steel, big valve, full race, 1558cc Lotus Twin Cam engine, built from scratch using mostly Cosworth parts, it was fully balanced and built to exacting standards. It had an all steel flywheel sourced directly from Ford UK at a cost of £250 (in those days!) and a competition clutch courtesy of Borg & Beck competition dept in Leamington Spa. The gearbox was the standard 4 speed Lotus box, the 5 speed not fitting in the Elan chassis. The powertrain was moved in and out 7 times to get the exact right position and mounting. Most Sundays was spent in the garage striving for perfection. Breathed on by a the customary twin Weber downdraught carburettors it sounded fantastic… Star’s kind of music!
The perfect driving position was achieved by sitting your bum in the seat and adjusting the pedals and steering wheel in or out to suit. The seats, made as a one-off, as a favour by the Lotus factory at Hethel, were Federal model Elan seats, trimmed in Lotus Oatmeal hide, as is the rest of the interior, which was done by hand with fabric and carpet supplied by the factory.
Aerodynamics were achieved in the true Chapman spirit, with lengths of wool taped in strategic positions and blown with a hair dryer. Panels were first made in cardboard and then hand crafted in a mixture of aluminium and fiberglass. The car was also fitted with a full stainless steel undertray for optimum ground effect. Way ahead of the curve.
Fed up of fuses blowing, in the day and knocking out all the electrics, Star decided that rather than keep using the customary kit-kat wrapper, he’d have an individual fuse and switch for each circuit, again ahead of his time and requiring miles of wire and lots of patience.
Proudly wanting to display the Lotus badge on the bonnet, the Sprite heritage being obvious, permission was sought from Colin Chapman himself. It was granted on the condition that non Lotus colours were used. This suited Star fine as, the car being blue in recognition of his Airforce days, he wanted the badge to be white with a red centre. A contact at the badge manufacturers resulted in a one-off enameling.
Brakes and suspension were full Lotus and uprated to handle the power, the wheels being magnesium alloy for extra lightness and hidden in flared fiberglass wheel arches, again aerodynamically designed.
Finally completed in 1972, one task remained: getting the car registered as its own marque. Having met the requirements and passed the inspections of both DVLC and the Police, the car was registered on 4th September 1972 as a Starley Lotus Sprite, model L. S. Mk. 1, with the registration number AUF1L. As Star would often say, “it had taken an awful lot time and an awful lot of money” but he’d achieved what he set out to and was exceptionally proud. As his wife said, “boys must have their toys”!
