The car shown here sold for $19,500, including buyer’s commission, at H&H Classic Auctions in Derbyshire, England, December 6, 2000.
Finding a Lotus Elite in a barn is indeed a rare occasion. Only 1,030 Elite chassis are known to have been manufactured. More surprising, the Club Elite register, maintained by Mike Ostrov in Richmond, California, currently lists 744 known cars with the addition of this one. That is a phenomenal survival rate, and underscores specialist Dennis Ortenburger’s statement that there is no reason ever to write off an Elite. With parts available and a strong network of enthusiasts, virtually any Elite can be restored.
This is an extraordinary statement for a car considered to be somewhat less than robust in build quality. After all, among the knowledgeable, the Elite is known for being “designed by an accountant, powered by a fire-pump engine, and fabricated by a boat builder.” Lotus founder Colin Chapman didn’t want to build a road car but, perennially short on cash, he thought he could use the reputation of his race cars to sell road cars and the profits from the road cars to finance his racing.
The Elite was designed at the same time Chapman was designing his first Formula One cars and benefited from innovations he had proven in the Lotus 9s, 10s, and 11s, including the eponymous Chapman strut, a coil-over-shock that dramatically reduced suspension weight and complexity. The Elite is also identified by a design number-Type 14-because it was the thirteenth car designed by Colin Chapman (13 not being used for obvious reasons).
The most radical aspect of the Elite, though, is that it relies on its fiberglass body as its chassis. Not surprisingly, simplicity and lightness were always Chapman’s watchwords. On the Elite, suspension parts and the front sub-frame that supported the engine bolted directly to box sections molded into the fiberglass body. The result was a car that weighed less than 1,500 pounds. (Later cars may have weighed a bit more since Bristol Aircraft, which took over fabrication from Maximar Mouldings, added extra material when its early products experienced problems.)
The Elite had just over 100 horsepower from its 1216-cc Coventry Climax engine with dual SUs, and the drag coefficient of the sleek body, refined by Frank Costin, was less than .30. In racing trim, the car could reach 130 mph on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans, allowing it to win the 1300-cc class five years in a row.
Of course, these innovations came with some drawbacks. Even in road trim, the fiberglass coupe (a roadster version was never contemplated) is noisy inside. With no way to design glass to fit the compound curves, the car relies on plastic side curtains that can be removed but can’t be opened. Nevertheless, the Elite is a delight to drive-agile and responsive to a sensitive touch, especially when compared to the hairy-chested Healey 100-4s of the same period. The racing-inspired independent suspension and disc brakes give the car near-unbelievable handling, especially when fitted with today’s sticky-compound tires.
Even as a basket case, $19,500 wasn’t too much for an enthusiast to pay for one of these rare cars, as long as the engine is present, since many owners prefer to do their own restorations. Further, having bragging rights as the owner of a “barn find” is certainly worth something. There always seem to be a few Elites for sale, and, with the very best percolating in the $40,000-$50,000 range, the new owner of this car can spend another $20,000 – $30,000 before his total investment draws even with current market values.-Gary Anderson
(Historical data and photo courtesy of auction company.)
