"The original Elan 1500 was introduced in 1962 as a roadster and made its first appearance at the Earls Court Motor Show, London. After a very short production run of just 22 cars the engine was enlarged and the car was renamed as the Elan 1600. An optional hardtop was offered in 1963 and a coupé version in 1965. The two-seat Lotus Elan replaced the elegant but unreliable and expensive to produce Lotus Elite. The Elan was technologically advanced with a DOHC 1557cc engine, four-wheel disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, and four-wheel independent suspension. Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1 supercar, reportedly said that his only disappointment with the McLaren F1 was that he couldn’t give it the perfect steering of the Lotus Elan.
This particular example has been in the care of our vendors since 2003 and has taken part in circa 30 road tours and rallies across much of Europe, even as far as Norway. It has been cherished throughout their time with the car and has never once let them down. The car, affectionately known as ‘Lily’, was originally delivered to Scotland as an S4 and was converted in the 1980’s to Sprint specification with a chassis from Spyder cars, with rollover bar and side protection.
To help with long distance road tours and rallies, the car has been fitted with a five-speed gearbox and Brantz rally timing equipment. The car has also been converted to run on unleaded fuel and the fuel pump/hoses were replaced in 2019 and are ethanol proof. The steering rack was also overhauled by SJ Sports cars in 2017. In February 2009, the engine was re-bored, with new QED pistons fitted, and the head overhauled. The camshafts were also confirmed to be ‘D type’ cams at the same time.
The vendor has really kept on top of the car mechanically but agrees that the bodywork would be the next job on the list. It is showing a few areas of ‘crazing’ and has picked up some stone chips on its travels, but our vendors are confident that the next lucky owner can pick up where they left off and should have no trouble exploring Europe, as they have done so for the past 20 years."