Description
This highly original Elan sprint is in superb condition and ready to enjoy for exciting summer motoring. In 2004, Sports Car International named the Elan number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. Classic and Sportscar Magazine in 2018 voted the Elan as the 4th greatest ever drivers car. The Elan has very precise accurate steering and balance, with minimal body roll, giving a feeling of immediate and intimate contact with the road which is quite lost on modern cars. It inspires confidence and provides a unique and exciting driving experience.
The sprint has the finest version of the legendary Lotus 1558cc twin cam engine and this particular example is so good that I guarantee you will not come across a better example. The car is in its original colour of lotus yellow over cirrus white with new sprint decals. The car is black badged, has the correct Chapman signed steering wheel and original lotus knock-on wheels. The original spare wheel and tool kit roll is in the boot. I have upgraded the headlights to halogen H4 bulbs which have transformed the night driving experience! Also the car has been updated to an electronic fuel pump and has inertia reel seat belts, otherwise the car is fully original even boasting the original Philips turnlock radio. I have enjoyed the car enormously using it sparingly during the summer months and cosseting it in the garage at all other times. Such a delight to buzz through country lanes on a summers evening for a meal at a local pub. The drives superbly well and really is the best fun you can have with your clothes on. The engine is fantastic revving freely well into the red band. The car, an orginal drophead coupe which rolled off the Hethel production line in June 1972, has been rebuilt on a galvanised lotus chassis, and had an extensive engine rebuild, with all new pistons, valves and timing chain. The car has been lovingly cared for ever since, averaging around 2, 500 miles a year since. I have owned the car for 15 years and have enjoyed driving it immensely. The performance, even against todays cars is still sensational. Throughout my ownership the car has been annually serviced and generally looked after by well known lotus expert Neil Myers, who probably knows more about this marque than anyone else. The car has wanted for nothing. In this time the car has had new rotaflex couplings, engine mountings, starter motor, windscreen, drive shaft seals rear shocks and rear top suspension mountings. All work carried out to exceptionally high standards.
There some minor cosmetic defects which prevent the car being fully concourse: body work is generally excellent but with a few minor defects, the door fit is as it was back in the day, and there are some minor cracks in the dashboard varnish.
The car drives and handles beautifully and is ready for the next owner to enjoy the pure pleasure of open top motoring. The hood and is in excellent condition and the car comes with tonneau cover. All this work is documented in the bulging history file. The engine rebuild was carried out before the car came into my ownership. Neil has often asked me who carried out this rebuild, and even has asked for the history file for all the details, he is so impressed by it.
Genuine sale - I want move on to another classic and do not have garage room for more cars.
