Introduction
Darren Rungasamy
The Elan maintains its associations with the great and the good, acting as a barometer as a standard of excellence.
An evolution of the much admired Elite, the Elan followed suit in 1962. Compact and elegantly styled, the inclusion of the durable Ford Twin-cam mated to a Lotus head, fitted into one of the most engaging and talented chassis ever produced by a British manufacturer. Utilising a one-piece glass-fibre body placed on a separate steel backbone chassis, the Elan was not only rigid, but the Elan's remarkable performance, handling precision and ride comfort set the standards for the compact sports car.
As the company developed the design, improvements made a great car even better and it's accepted that the Sprint is the quickest incarnation of the Elan. Arriving in 1970, the car was distinguished by its big-valve engine, offering a 25% power increase on what is already a gem of a Twin-Cam. Externally distinguishable by the gold stripe and Elan Sprint legend decoration, the Sprint is the one that petrolheads should seek.
This car comes to market from ~51 year ownership, and the car has gone through two restorations/rebuilds in its lifetime and has only covered 12,088 miles since 1992 when the odometer was reset. It has been pampered and garaged all of its life and has to be considered one of the best kept Elan Sprints currently on the market.
This listing was written from information supplied by Darren after meeting Nigel the owner, and having visited and photographed the vehicle.
Secure Auctions
We verify all our sellers and buyers to keep our community safe whilst also providing the highest levels of website security.
Full Transparency
8 out of 10 people that buy cars via our service don’t feel the need to visit due to the transparency and thoroughness of our listings.
Vehicle Delivery
We're there every step of your buying journey and will even arrange pick-up and delivery of your new vehicle.
Secure Auctions
We verify all our sellers and buyers to keep our community safe whilst also providing the highest levels of website security.
Full Transparency
8 out of 10 people that buy cars via our service don’t feel the need to visit due to the transparency and thoroughness of our listings.
Vehicle Delivery
We're there every step of your buying journey and will even arrange pick-up and delivery of your new vehicle.
Auction Bidding
Live Bidding
Bidding History
4841
Ask Owner
Dear Nigel
Where and when might I come t view and test drive the car before the 13th. I’m in London and can pop up by train. Might you collect me from a railway station?
Best wishes
Iain
Hi Iain,
I have spoken to Nigel, unfortunately he doesn’t have any availability to view the car before the auction ends.
Best of luck if you decide to get involved in the bidding.
Thanks,
Colin.
Hi Nigel, the Elan appears to be lovely, but I would like to see it before bidding given the age of the restoration. It’s a shame, I’ve been told you have no availability to view before the auction end. Best of luck ?
Good morning, this Elan looks to have great integrity and I would like to see more, how do I arrange to visit the car? Many thanks.
Thank you for your comment; all inquiries of this type should be through Trade Classics.
Hi,
Like Nigel says, if you could send an email to hello@tradeclassics.com we can help arrange a viewing for you.
Thanks,
Colin.
Hello. I notice from one of the photos that the hood has a tear near the front nearside corner but this isn’t mentioned in the description. Is there any other damage? Thank you.
Thank you for your inquiry.
The car is now in excess of 51 years old and that hood is original.
The design of the hood – by Colin Chapman – has an ingenious but simple attachment to the body “cross bar” over the windscreen, using a simple fold over of its leading edge into wedge between the “cross bar” and an alloy rail. The whole design is for minimal weight / minimal parts and allows the hood to pack into a small space at the back of the car.
Having said that, when I first used the car in those early 1970s, the hood remained firmly attached, even at fairly sustained high speed.
The photo session, presented by Trade Classics, on my behalf, for this auction, was very comprehensive and was not done to mis-represent the car as it is now.
The hood does have a 10mm tear, exactly as you have noted. This occurred about (very approximately) 10 years ago and as I then learned the lesson to be a little more patient with it whilst putting the hood up, it has not deteriorated since then.
It’s very impressive that the hood is the original after all this time. Thank you for your reply.
Good morning fantastic looking sprint
There seems to be different reg plates
mentioned in the history can you clarify many thanks Paul
Sir, My Elan was originally registered with a 1973 “L” plate.
I was about to scrap my 1959 Morris Minor in favour of the Lotus, but although the reassignment of car registrations was not as normal then as it has now become, I de-registered the Morris and scrapped it to have the (3 letters/3numbers) registration assigned to the Lotus until my wife bought a new car (in 2010) – the Lotus was given another “L” plate, so that the wife’s car carried the Morris Minor number onwards, to date.