1975 Lotus Elan Sprint

The glassfibre-bodied Elan may only have been available initially as a Roadster Kit but its specification was very advanced and adhered to Chapman's 'just add lightness' engineering philosophy. Power came from Harry Mundy's Ford-based Lotus 1,558cc DOHC engine. It was fitted with disc brakes all round, and the independent suspension was set up to optimise ride quality and handling finesse; qualities for which this little car is still admired. It soon sired other derivatives including the Type 26R racer, the Type 36 fixed-head coupe the Type 45 drop-head coupe, and the Type 50 Elan +2 of 1967.

The 1971 Elan Sprint was essentially based on the Series 4 Elan bodyshell and was primarily designed to rekindle demand and improve the performance of the nine-year-old sports car. Conceived by Lotus Sales Director, Graham Arnold, the Sprint's most notable feature was the horizontally-split two-tone paintwork echoing the livery of the Gold Leaf Team Lotus Formula One cars. Meanwhile, providing the 'go to match the show', a new big-valve cylinder head with high-lift cams and a raised compression ratio (the work of Engineering Director Tony Rudd) provided a 25% increase in power to 126bhp. The drivetrain was suitably toughened and braced and the front callipers were redesigned to cope with the increased performance.

LRP 301P was originally supplied by Lotus in kit form to the Ken Myers Partnership who, at that time, were Lotus Main Dealers in Wellingborough Road in Northampton. Ken had planned to build the car as a present for his son Neil on his 18th Birthday but, for some reason, this never happened and consequently, when the car was finished, it was sold to a husband and wife who were both doctors and had been waiting for some time for a new Sprint. They obviously loved their little Elan as they kept it for 39 years until 2014 when it was acquired by our vendor. 

In common with all the Elans in this fabulous collection, the car was entrusted to the well respected team of Ken and Neil Myers (in this case the car's original builders), to commence a full body-off, restoration to standards that our vendor describes as "beyond Concours". Pleasingly the chassis, body and engine are all original and the car was re-finished in its original Sprint colours of Carnival Red and Cirrus White with Gold Lacquer front and rear bumpers, low-gloss black wheels with stainless 'Rimbellishers' and gold sidewinder decals. The results are simply spectacular with the car being described by a well known marque expert as "Probably the best FHC Sprint in the world".

We understand that after completion of the two-year restoration, the Lotus was started and fully checked before being popped into its heated, carpeted garage where it has remained and has never been driven on the road. Interested parties are encouraged to view this exceptional motor car to appreciate the sheer quality on offer.

The car is accompanied by an original Elan tool kit and an interesting history file with hundreds of photographs, an MOT history, old MOTs, V5s etc, lots of interesting correspondence (our vendor owned the whole Collection), an Owners Handbook, an Elan 4 Service Book, an Elan Sprint brochure and more.