"Renowned worldwide for its successful racing engines, the Spalding-based firm of Vegantune diversified into car making in the early 1980s with the Lotus Elan-inspired Evante, a separate company - Evante Cars Ltd - being set up to handle its manufacture. Although Elan-like in appearance, the glassfibre-bodied Evante employed a stronger, tubular-steel spaceframe chassis rather than the Lotus’s backbone type and was powered by Vegantune’s own Ford-based VTA twin-cam engine. Producing 170bhp and 140lb/ft of torque from its 1.7 litres, this engine, with its belt-driven camshafts and accessible water pump, was reckoned much easier to maintain than the Lotus version. Only produced to individual customer order, the Evante failed to weather the late 1980s recession. After only a limited number had been made, the operation was sold to a consortium of Spalding businessmen, who continued production of the Evante 140TC. In the autumn of 1992, Evante was sold to another specialist vehicle manufacturer – Newark-based Fleur De Lys Automobile Manufacturing Limited – which re-engineered the chassis to accept the 1.8 litre Ford Zetec 16 valve engine.
This rare example of this British sports car is presented in Metallic Blue with blue leather interior, with an attractive Walnut dashboard. It was sent back to Vegantune main agent at 20,000 miles and was fully upgraded to Series II Sprint specification. This included new upgraded bearings and pistons, reworked big valve head and camshafts, twin 45mm twin choke carburettors, new stainless steel exhaust and upgraded Spax adjustable coil over shock absorbers. The car also benefits from a new hood and comes with its tonneau covers which are in good condition. There are two history folders accompanying the car with specification sheets, old MoTs and receipts for work carried out. The current vendor has fastidiously maintained this great little sportscar and she now has brand new carpets, an engine that runs very well and brakes that work efficiently. Powered by the lively and great sounding 1700cc Twin Cam engine which provides exciting performance with great handling to match. Marketed originally as the ‘Lotus eater’ it is easy to see why.
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