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Issue 20

Cortina Elan S1

BEHIND THE WHEEL OF ’60S RACER BACK LOTUS’S FAST FORD ON TRACK

ABSOLUTE LOTUS

THE INDEPENDENT LOTUS MAGAZINE

EXTREME SPORTS: HARDCORE 3-ELEVEN

Lotus Cortina l 3-Eleven l Esprit v Evora l Seven GT l Elan S1 racer l Lotus 25 l Elise S1 and Exige S1 l Elite and Eclat buyers’ guide

ESPRIT v EVORA

GTs FROM DIFFERENT GENERATIONS HEAD TO HEAD

Seven GT

Elise & Exige

PERIOD CONVERSION THAT MADE LOW MILEAGE TIMEWARP S1s THE SEVEN INTO A GT... JUST! IN SHOWROOM CONDITION 001 Cover.indd 1

Type 25

THE GP GAME-CHANGER THAT PUNCHED ABOVE ITS WEIGHT

July/August 2021

Issue 20

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WELCOME JULY/AUGUST 2021 ISSUE 20

THE TEAM Editor Adam Wilkins Editorial Consultant Richard Heseltine Editorial Assistant Jack Wood Contributors Gary Axon, Darren Banks, Ian Stent, John Thornhill, Matthew Vale, Emma Woodcock Running Reporters Joe Croser, Rich Duisberg, Daryl Gordon, Rory Jackson, Lee Pepper, Raymond Robinson, Jon Sanderson, Angus Marshall Graphic Designer Sarah Scrimshaw E: sarah@performancepublishing.co.uk Proof Reader Andy Bliss Advertising Manager Karen O’Riordan T: 0330 1234 885 E: karen.ads@performancepublishing.co.uk Subscriptions Jessica Zwerdling-Wilkins T: 01476 978843 E: jessica@performancepublishing.co.uk Online Classifieds Sell your car fast!

W: www.absolutelotus.co.uk Editorial T: 01476 978843 E: adam@performancepublishing.co.uk Distribution Marketforce Ltd Newsstand Sales Imagine Magazine Sales And Marketing Ltd E: david@imaginemag.net W: www.imaginemag.net Postal Address Performance Publishing Ltd Unit 3 Site 4 Alma Park Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 9SE Absolute Lotus is published every eight weeks by Performance Publishing Ltd. Sorry, but lack of time prevents us answering technical queries over the phone. We would much prefer you contact us by email. While every effort is made in compiling the editorial and accepting only bona fide advertisements in Absolute Lotus, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any effects arising therefrom.

Absolute Lotus is entirely independent of the manufacturer, dealers and associated clubs or affiliations.

Copyright Performance Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. ISSN 2516-0249

WELCOME The Emira makes its debut in July – will it be the Elise equivalent for a new generation of Lotus enthusiasts?

Emira. You’re going to be hearing that name a lot in the summer of 2021 and – let’s hope – beyond. That’s the name Lotus has given to the car that has some very big shoes to fill – no fewer than three pairs of them, in fact, as it takes over from the Elise, Exige and Evora in one go.

(For the purposes of this analogy, we’ll assume cars each wear one pair of shoes and try not to over-think it...)

Replacing one Lotus model is an unenviable task. How do you follow a car like the Elise, which had things its own way for two and a half decades? Even after all these years, there are no rivals that attempt to do things the way the Elise does. It remains a unique and unchallenged proposition. As if that’s not a tall enough order, the Emira is also taking the place of cars as (relatively) disparate as the Evora and Exige.

That’s quite a task.

And, not wanting to increase the pressure too much, it also has to set out Lotus’s stall for what’s to come as we head towards the era of electrification. Not that the Emira is about volts – as we now know (see page 6), it’s not even a hybrid. It will be the final ICE powered Lotus, giving it yet more to live up to. It’s simultaneously the end one era (internal combustion) and the beginning of the next

(the first car under Geely ownership). That’s an awful lot for one car to fulfil.

Anyone old enough will remember where they were when they first became aware of the Elise.

Not only was it a step-change for Lotus at the time, bringing it back to its ‘simplify and add lightness’ roots, but it was attainable, desirable and marked a fresh start for the company. Kevin Nye, who’s featured on page 44 with his Elise and Exige, certainly remembers where he was the first time he saw an Elise. In fact, it left such an impression that he knew he had to have one – and 21 years later, it’s still in his garage.

I’m very hopeful that the Emira will have the same effect on a new generation of enthusiasts.

Lotus knows the size of the task it has to accomplish, and I can’t wait to find out what it has come up with. The good news is there’s not much longer to wait. Just over four weeks after this issue goes on sale, it will be revealed (Tuesday 6 July) before making its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I’m counting down the minutes.

Adam Wilkins Editor adam@performancepublishing.co.uk

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE FRIDAY 30 JULY

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE AT WWW.PERFORMANCEPUBLISHING.CO.UK Absolute Lotus 3

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CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2021 ISSUE 20

80

6 FROM THE ARCHIVES

Malcolm Waynes leads the way at Mallory Park.

8 NEWS

Lotus reveals its future plans, from the final all-ICE car, the Emira, and beyond.

15 LETTERS

Have your say on all things Lotus related.

Keep your letters and emails coming in to us!

17 PRODUCTS

The latest must-haves for you and your car.

19 SCALE MODELS

Lotuses scaled down to fit on your bookshelf.

Tempted to add to your collection?

21 AUCTION WATCH

88 26 SUBSCRIBE

Don’t miss an issue and save money too!

28 CLASSIC DRIVE – CORTINA

Richard Heseltine gets behind the wheel of Lotus’s fast Ford. Is it still a performance icon?

Our picks of the Lotuses that have gone under the hammer in recent months.

36 ME AND MY 3-ELEVEN

23 COMMENT – HESELTINE

44 ME AND MY ELISE AND EXIGE

Is a ModSport Lotus still a Lotus when all it shares with a Hethel product is its silhouette?

24 GREAT RACE

The full story behind the 23’s legendary debut outing at the Nürburgring in the hands of Clark.

36 28

What it’s like to own the hardcore 3-Eleven.

Meet the owner of two low mileage timewarp S1s.

52 SEVEN GT

The short-lived conversion that made the Seven eligible for GT racing, rarer now than ever.

58 GENERATIONS – ESPRIT V EVORA GT rivalry as the 1990s Esprit S4 goes head to head with the younger Evora.

66 ME AND MY ELAN RACER

An Elan S1 that was raced in the 1960s before being converted for road use returns to the track.

74 LOTUS 25

The most influential grand prix car of all time?

80 BUYERS’ GUIDE – ELITE AND ECLAT

52

The inside line on buying a great 1970s wedge without succumbing to any of the pitfalls.

88 RUNNING REPORTS

The latest updates on life with Lotuses.

94 CARS FOR SALE

66

Your next Lotus could be here.

98 GHOSTS OF MAGAZINES PAST Sports Car Monthly on 25 years of the Elan.

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Up Front | CAUGHT ON CAMERA

LOTUS ONE-TWO Malcolm Wayne’s Lotus Elan heads G Machin’s Elite and Jim Moore’s Diva GT past Devil’s Elbow during the October 1964 BRSCC meeting at Mallory Park.

Wayne emerged victorious in the up-to-1600cc Grand Touring Cars race.

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Up Front

Up Front | NEWS

NEWS | VIEWS | E VENTS

The Emira is coming

L

otus fans the world over were tuned into ‘Driving Tomorrow’ on 27 April, in which the Hethel HQ gave its most detailed vision yet of the company’s future direction. Many were hoping to see the forthcoming Type 131 sports car, but we’ll have to wait a little longer for that. It will be revealed on Tuesday 6 July before making its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later the same week. That’s not to say Lotus didn’t reveal some details of the new car. For one thing, we now know that it will be called Emira.

Lotus actually hinted at the car’s name ahead of the reveal. An image of a road was posted on social media with the name spelt out in Morse Code as the centre line. The word comes from a number of ancient languages and means ‘commander’ or ‘leader’.

The biggest news was that the Emira will not be a hybrid, but instead the final ICE car. We’ll have to wait until July to find out what engine will be fitted. At the moment, Lotus has gone as far as to say “The Emira will be powered by

a choice of internal combustion engines – the last time Lotus will launch an ICE car – with an exciting new powertrain partnership. The additional powertrain option will be new to Lotus, highly efficient, use cutting edge technology and be tuned to help deliver that distinctive Lotus experience.” Both four-cylinder and V6 options appear to be likely.

Teaser images give some indication of the Emira’s styling, but it would be a push to claim we know what it will look like. One thing we can be sure of: it will be influenced by the £2m Evija hypercar. We’re also expecting the car to be more practical than the current range, with occupant ingress and egress being a lot easier. Pricing is yet to be confirmed,

but the best guess places it somewhere between the Porsche Cayman and 911.

Speaking about the Emira, Matt Windle said: “It’s the most accomplished Lotus for generations – the perfectly packaged, powered and formed sports car. Beautifully proportioned, shrinkwrapped, but with comfort, technology and ergonomics built in. With a design inspired by the Evija all-electric hypercar, it’s a game-changing Lotus sports car.”

The Emira is an important car for Lotus. By bridging the gap between the outgoing model range and the electric future to come, its place in the marque’s history is pretty much assured before anyone outside the company has even seen it.

Not long to wait now...

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Evija ‘80 percent developed’ Development of the £2m electric Evija hypercar is close to its conclusion, with production due to start within months. Key Lotus personnel have been spending time behind the wheel of EP1, one of a number of Evija prototypes, and shared their thoughts as part of the Driving Tomorrow briefing.

“We’re 80 percent there – in terms of power, in terms of batteries, motors, body,” said director of product attributes Gavan Kershaw. “Now, the remaining 20 percent is about adding the magic, for everything to work in harmony in that unique Lotus way, to deliver the driving experience that we want and that we can be super-proud of.

And by proud, I of course mean, mind-blowing.

It is a hypercar.”

Managing director Matt Windle said: “We have different prototypes focusing on different areas of development. One for build and tech, another for battery management, the other for motors and so on. EP1, which I have driven most recently, is the performance prototype and it does not disappoint. We are still some months from entering series production, but already EP1 has that unmistakable Lotus ‘feel’. Unquestionably a unique and extreme hypercar, but still, somehow, a Lotus. I’m so excited and extremely proud of what the team has achieved.”

James Hazlehurst, lead vehicle dynamics engineer, added: “As we enter the final straight of the development programme and start to unleash full power and torque, we are fast-completing the base vehicle dynamics and turning on the active systems one by one – torque vectoring, active aero, traction control and so on – to confirm everything behaves and works together as

expected. Then we start to tune the drive modes, delivering the distinctive characteristics for each of the settings. We’ve been doing some of this virtually, working with a simulator partner, and now, as the world is beginning to slowly open up, we’re able to put these learnings into practice in the physical world.”

Louis Kerr, Chief Platform Engineer “We’re lucky in that we have our very own 2.25-mile test track, FIA compliant, literally 50 yards from where I’m sat in the all-new Evija assembly hall.

I’m not sure many other manufacturers in the world can say that. The car has been designed without any constraints. We have pushed the

boundaries of technology and materials at every opportunity, used the best technical partners, applied the latest technology – some of which is only currently available on a Formula One car – and on top of all that we have the most power-dense powertrain in a car. Already it is the fastest road car around the Hethel track, and some legendary cars and drivers have been setting records around here for many years. We’re already going quicker than expected, and in addition we’re looking to exceed the targets we’ve set ourselves on the project in terms of power and torque capacities to absolutely maximise the performance envelope of the car.”

Four new Lotus platforms Lotus has long been known for its consultancy work within the global automotive industry, and its activity in that area is being stepped up with the opening of the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre on the Wellesbourne campus of the University of Warwick. It’s due to open this year.

The images here are an illustration of the new facility, where 100 people will be employed.

As well as working for third party clients, Lotus Engineering is developing four new structural architectures collaboratively with colleagues in Europe and China. This dedicated family of structural platforms are available to other OEMs through the Lotus Engineering consultancy.

There are four in total, named Elemental, Extreme, Evolution and E-Sports.

Elemental is a sports car architecture on which the Emira will be built. It features the extruded aluminium for which Lotus is known, but “is a massive step-change technically.” Expect to find out more about that when the Emira is revealed on 6 July. The Evija is built on the Extreme

platform. The Evolution platform is “the first ever truly global automotive architecture from Lotus.”

It’s described as the basis of ‘lifestyle vehicles’ which we’re interpreting as the long-rumoured SUV. It has been designed in the UK, working with teams in China, Sweden and Germany.

Finally, the E-Sports platform will form the basis of new cars from Lotus and Alpine.

Lotus Engineering is also expanding its consultancy work. Much of this is undertaken in the strictest confidence, but some projects are in the public domain. These include work with Extreme E team JBXE (see page 12), British Cycling (issue 11), plus work with EV specialists.

These include Project LEVA a collaboration led by Lotus Engineering that is targeting the acceleration of and innovation behind new lightweight structures for next-generation battery electric vehicles. Further EV work is being carried out with BattCon (issue 17). Lotus Engineering has launched a pilot containerised battery testing facility to assess methods of energy storage.

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Up Front | NEWS

Elise to live on?

This year will see the Lotus Elise’s 25-year production run come to an end – alongside its Exige and Evora stablemates – Lotus Cars managing director Matt Windle recently confirmed that the model could potentially live on under a new manufacturer. That is if Lotus is approached by a partner it deems viable.

While speaking with Automotive News Europe, Windle stated that the tooling, which no longer fits in with Hethel’s sizeable expansion and automation plans, could be up for grabs in a similar deal to those previously done with Caterham (Seven) and Kia (Elan M100). It’s also conceivable that the well-regarded bonded aluminium platform could underpin a new low production design, as seen before via the Vauxhall VX220 and Tesla Roadster.

No interested parties have been named yet, though many sources have listed both Lotus partner Radford and Caterham Cars’ new owner, and Japanese Lotus importer, VT Holdings as potential buyers.

Would you like the Elise to receive a stay of execution under a new manufacturer, or would you prefer to see it bow out as a Lotus this year?

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Rare Elan special for sale

In Brief

WILLIAMS LOTUS TRACKDAY

Take the platform of the finest handling sports car of the 1960s – the Lotus Elan – mate it to one of that decade’s most capable engines, Alfa Romeo’s acclaimed Twin Cam, and top it all off with unique homemade wedge profile coachwork – so emblematic of early 1970s coupés – and you have the engaging Wagener Special.

Designed and built in just 18 months from mid1970 by South African railway engineer Phillip Wagener, his one-off aluminium Wagener Special contemporary coupé used the Lotus Elan’s chassis and suspension for its exemplary handling characteristics, with power supplied by a tuned 118bhp, 1600cc Alfa Romeo motor, coupled to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Following Wagener’s passing in 2010, his exclusive Special was sold to a well-known Cape Town classic car enthusiast, with the coupé successfully completing the tough ten-day Chinese Yangtze River Delta classic car rally in late 2019.

Williams Automobiles is hosting a charity trackday at Castle Combe on 27 July, which is open to owners of the Lotus, Caterham and Morgan models it specialises in. There are multiple packages available for the event, including half-day passes priced at £173.60, full-day passes at £247.60 and spectator tickets at £22.60. As well the opportunity to get your Lotus on to the track, the Bristol dealership will also be offering passenger rides and driver training on the day.

W: www.williamsautomobiles.com

Claimed locally to be made to an exceptionally professional high quality standard for a homebuilt special, the metal Wagener is reported to provide both the handling and performance to match its exotic wedged styling; not too surprising given its largely unaltered Elan chassis. The car does feature a marginally longer wheelbase and added 40kg of weight.

The unique Wagener was offered for sale at the time of writing for R250,000 to R275,000 (around £13,500) and was available for viewing in Cape Town, South Africa. Gary Axon

Radford collaboration Historic British coachbuilder Radford, which made its name producing limited edition Bentleys and Minis in the last century, is being revived by a star studded team that includes car designer Mark Stubbs, Formula One World Champion Jenson Button and TV restoration personality Ant Anstead. The team’s first project is to be inspired by the Lotus 62 – the race car offshoot of the original Europa – built from genuine Lotus underpinnings. A statement that makes us wonder whether the new Radford model could be based around the soon-to-be axed Lotus Elise, the tooling of which is currently for sale (see page 10).

In addition to the Lotus underpinnings, the bespoke new car will be developed in partnership with Lotus Engineering. It will also be limited to just 62 units. Lotus Cars MD Matt

LOTUS 49 ON A TEE

Windle had this to say on the new venture: “This is a hugely exciting project for us. It is an engineering partnership at its heart, but one without the usual constraints of working with a large corporate group... A limited run of the most special of coach-built vehicles is engineering nirvana as it allows us to break free of the usual parameters of a more conventional project.”

British clothing brand RetroClassic Clothing was established in 2012. Since then, it has build up a range of automotive themed T-shirts, and has just added to its range with the first to depict a Lotus. And it has started with a high point: the legendary Type 49 grand prix car.

The T-shirts are printed to order from RetroClassic’s base in Wiltshire, and the shirts themselves are high quality items. It’s a 100 percent cotton crew neck T-shirt, taped shoulder to shoulder and has twin-needle stitching on neck and shoulders. Prices start from £24.

W: www.retroclassicclothing.com

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Up Front | NEWS

In Brief

Lotus back in the dirt

FORMULA 1 CAR BY CAR 1990-99 This, the latest in Evro’s decade-by-decade Formula One retrospective, covers the 1990s. Peter Higham is a reliable historian and goes into great depth covering all of the many teams and drivers that competed during one of the category’s most tempestuous periods. Team Lotus interest is obviously restricted to the first half of the 1990s, a period when the once great constructor was in its twilight years. There were brief flashes of promise, though, with the likes of Derek Warwick, the ill-starred Martin Donnelly, Johnny Herbert, Mika Häkkinen and Alex Zanardi attempting to make the most of their lot. The book also covers the last-gasp merger with Pacific Racing in 1995, a year which is perhaps best forgotten and wisest ignored. With more than 550 photos from the Motorsport Images (né LAT) archive, and impressive production values, it’s surprisingly good value despite the £50 cover price. Richard Heseltine W: www.evropublishing.com

ELISE TROPHY 2021 The Elise Trophy, run by MotorSport Vision Racing, is already under way for 2021 with rounds at Donington Park and Silverstone having already taken place during April and May. The remaining dates are as follows – but keep an eye on any changing regulations regarding spectator access before making plans to attend.

Oulton Park International – Saturday 5 June Cadwell Park – Saturday 10 July Snetterton 300 – Sunday 8 August Brands Hatch Indy – Saturday 18 October Donington Park – Saturday 30 October W: www.msvracing.com

This year saw the launch of the FIA’s newest electric motorsport series, Endurance-E, in which off-road rally-raid cars traverse some of the most treacherous locales, with a focus on venues that have been damaged or effected by climate change.

The series has already proven to be a big draw thanks to the high profile names attached, a roster which includes Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Button’s own team JBXE has also announced Lotus Engineering as its technical partner for the series. While the 550bhp race cars are mechanically the same for the first season, Lotus Engineering’s involvement could hint towards Lotus becoming a larger presence in electronic motorsport in the near future.

The first two events will have already taken place by the time of publication, but

the subsequent Greenland (Arctic), Brazil (Amazon) and Argentina (Glacier) events will be broadcast via the following streaming sources: BBC iPlayer, Sky Sports Action and the Extreme-E website.

W: www.extreme-e.com

Shifting gear Despite their popularity in the sports and supercar sector, Lotus has never officially offered a dual-clutch automatic transmission for its road models, with both the Exige and Evora only being available with the ‘IPS’ torque converter system as an option. Though most purists prefer the simplicity and feel of a manual gearbox, the on-track advantage of a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) pushed Austrian Lotus tuning house Jubu Performance to develop its own 7-speed system – an evolution of its previous race-only 6-speed transmission.

Derived from the latest ‘DSG’ system of Volkswagen Auto Group origin, the new gearbox can be retro-fitted to any Toyota engined Lotus, from the Elise S2 up to the current range. The new box promises crisper, quicker shifts than the existing IPS system, while retaining the ease of driveability expected of an automatic

transmission. The new gearbox will be supplied with a two-year warranty when it goes on sale via the official Lotus service centre soon, and is torque rated up to 650Nm from VAG – though Jubu’s own race cars have proven it to be capable of handling 800Nm or more.

W: www.jubu-performance.com

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Review: Elise and Exige – The Complete Story New from Crowood Press is Lotus Elise and Exige 1995 to 2020: The Complete Story. It’s written by Absolute Lotus contributor Johnny Tipler, with a foreword by Clive Chapman.

Elisa Artioli, after whom the Elise is named, is pictured on the cover driving her own car.

With both models coming to the end of their lives this year, the time is ripe to tell the definitive story.

As you would expect, the book covers the development of both Elise and Exige in S1 and S2 forms in detail. We did spot a couple of errors in some of the facts and figures, but what we really liked is that there’s more to this title than a dry account of the production lifecycles.

The human side of the two models’ design and development is covered with a number of interviews with many of the people who were instrumental in Elise and Exige. There are some great insights from people like Richard Rackham, Gavan Kershaw and Russell Carr, among many others. They offer some terrific first-hand accounts from within Hethel.

Johnny Tipler has also delved into his personal archive to recount some road trips he has completed in Lotuses over the years. These include his first drive of an Elise S1 back in 1997, taking an Elise S2 through the Grand Canyon and the Barcelona press launch of the Elise SC (S2) in 2008. While these tales are not directly about the cars’ development, they do add an

In Brief

SHUTTER AND SPEED 2

element of personal involvement with the cars in a magazine feature style.

As well as the core models, Lotus Elise and Exige 1995 to 2020: The Complete Story touches on those cars which used the Elise as a basis: the Vauxhall VX220, Lotus Europa and Tesla Roadster.

The 192-page book has a hard cover with dust jacket and it well presented. It has an RRP of £25, but is available from the Crowood website at the discounted rate of £20.

W: www.crowood.com

Exige’s Targa podium Long time Australian Lotus enthusiast and racing driver Rob Bryden and his rally prepared Exige Sport GT410 have featured in these pages before, following six successful runs at the Targa Tasmania – one of the world’s most gruelling rally events. This year, with navigator Ian Noble, Rob moved up into the highly competitive GT Sports category, where the pair achieved their first ever podium place at the time of writing, finishing second overall at the 2000km closed-road event. In total, there were five Lotuses on the roster this year.

W: www.targa.com.uk

Former motorsport broadcast staffer and racing enthusiast Gary Critcher has recently released the second book in his Shutter & Speed series.

This new collection contains previously unpublished Formula One images from his personal archive, all of which were caught from the sidelines of many top-tier 1960s and ’70s events. This new colour printed book keeps it light on words, but is heavy on interesting Lotus pictures.

Priced at £20.25 with postage in the UK, the new collection is available via Gary Critcher’s website below.

W: www.shutterandspeed.com

LOTUS IN THE PEAK The Midlands Lotus Owners’ Club’s Lotus in the Peak event is to return in 2021, following last year’s cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic. As per the previous years, the main event will take place at Peak Rail in Rowsey, Derbyshire, on Sunday 11 July, with additional activities available – and multiple accommodation options – on the preceding Friday and Saturday, should you wish to make a weekend of it. The popular Friday evening barbecue returns too, in a new location, and as always the event promises plenty of opportunities to test out the best roads that the Peak District National Park has to offer.

W: www.midlandslotus.co.uk

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Up Front | LETTERS

MAILBOX

Here’s your chance to have your say, whether it’s a recollection of working at Lotus, owning a car or something you’ve seen in the magazine... we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at adam@performancepublishing.co.uk HOLE IN ONE

Something to tickle Esprit owners – and the folk that spanner them, and who have to answer stupid questions. My wife and I invested in a 1988 normally aspirated X180 in the summer of 2019. We love it to bits during nice weather. For the other 364 days of the year, it resides at Auto Classica Storage (who, incidentally, are the go-to people for car storage).

Over the Easter holiday of this year, with lockdown restrictions slightly teasingly lifted, we took the car home for the long weekend so I could stare at it through the window and take the love of my life to local (legal) areas. My wife came too.

On its first full morning on our driveway, out came the pressure washer, the hose, the chamois leather and a bottle of well-known wash ’n’ wax and yours truly got scrubbing. During the obligatory post wash waxing session, my blood froze as I discovered a grille plate was missing within the nearside Peter Stevens penned curved air intake aft of the windows.

I Basil-Fawlty-scurried around to the offside to make sure I hadn’t lost the plot – and sure enough there was a grille that I remembered from last year.

Surely there were two? One on each side? Where’s the other one? Ye gods – something has fallen off my pride and joy. Will it affect the cooling? Where is it?

Has it fallen into the engine bay? Will it destroy my engine? Will the lack of grille grill the motor?

Urgent SOSs were fired off to both SJ Sportscars and PNM Parts explaining my jeopardy and redalert requesting urgent despatch of a replacement grille which no doubt Allon White – who lovingly maintains the car for us – would be asked to fit to the offending grille-less aperture. SJ Sportscars response enlightened me thus: “I have been asked this question many times. There is no grille on the nearside. The air enters the offside and leaves via the nearside. A grille is only needed on entry.” PNM Parts

TRUE BLUE

The Elan Zetec article was fascinating (issue 19). Minor correction. In one of the captions, the Elan’s colour is listed as Jaguar Indigo Blue. My first Elva Courier, a 1959 Mk2, was Jaguar Indigo Blue. I also resprayed it in the same colour and today this car is raced in Belgium. It has an MGA engine.

So what colour is the Elan?

Dan Mitchell Good spot! The Elan is actually Jaguar Opalescent Silver Blue – ed.

FRIENDS REUNITED

responded with: “This is completely normal. They are all like that.” Rejoice! Nothing had fallen off my car.

Panic stations were stood down. Oh, what relief.

After the news that I had incorrectly flagged an issue, something occurred to me. Everyone in the Lotus fraternity is so helpful. Since we have owned the car, we have slowly been drawn in to the brotherhood of the Esprit family. I have lost count of the number of times I have contacted all of the above mentioned organisations with a question which would likely put lesser peoples’ teeth on edge. All we have encountered is help, kind advice and generous suggestions – and as this story hopefully illustrates – some severe patience towards muddled owners from those who know a lot more about the marque’s brand than I will ever know about the motors from Hethel…

Jonathan Robinson

I got a shock when I read issue 19 of Absolute Lotus and recognised two friends from years back in the Formula Ford feature. Ralph Firman with the scarf will be recognised by many since he later became the highest volume racing car maker in the world as one of the founders of Van Diemen. The guy in the white suit was Paul Macer who went to school in Ely with me. He later worked for Jim Russell and raced a Lotus 18 and 51. Paul also raced a Russell Alexis mainly in Holland. Sadly, Paul was drowned while mining in Canada in about 1970. His ashes were scattered over Snetterton circuit.

I spent many happy hours with Jim Russell, Ralph, Paul and young pupils at Jim’s School, including Emerson and Ayrton.

Bill Hunt

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Up Front | PRODUCTS

TEMPTATION We round up the best Lotus gear for your car and garage.

If you have a product our readers would like to know about, please email us at... jack@performancepublishing.co.uk

CAMEL SOCKS The Camel era may not have been Team Lotus’s finest, yet the Mustard Yellow scheme of the 99T remains iconic thanks to its association with Ayrton Senna, who raced the car to Team Lotus’s last ever F1 win at the Detroit Grand Prix in 1987. To commemorate the last of the Lotus tobacco liveries, specialist clothing brand Heel Tread has produced this Classic Team Lotus approved pair of 99T themed socks. Heel Tread’s sock range also includes several other Lotus inspired pieces, including the expected JPS, and unexpected Esprit S1, tribute pairs.

Price: £9 W: www.heeltread.com

SHIFTING GEAR Ford performance specialist Burton Power has updated its range of reconditioned Ford Type 9 gearboxes, all of which can be fitted to update several classic Lotuses including the Seven, Elan, Plus 2, Type 75 Elite and, Eclat. With 5 speeds and multiple gear ratios available, they

make the perfect replacement for either the old Ford 4-speed or Lotus 5-speed transmission on both road and track.

Price: From £1200 W: www.burtonpower.com

LOTUS DECADES

You can never have enough Lotus themed mugs, and the Lotus Driving Academy has a new set that commemorates the immortal test track at Hethel. They’re perfect for learning the layout before driving around it yourself via one of the LDA’s popular driver training events.

In 2020, to celebrate 70 years of Formula One, the F1 Store commissioned 3D motoring art specialist Automobilist to design seven original art prints – one for each decade of the sport. The 1960s piece will prove particularly interesting to Lotus fans, featuring a 3D image of Jim Clark’s iconic Type 25 race car, as well as a rank list of each and every championship winning driver and car from the decade.

Available in multiple sizes, with the option of VIP editions, each should make a great addition to any office or workspace. F1 fans can also buy the full set, which includes other decade prints from the 1950s to the 2020s – and features a piece centred around the future of the sport.

Limited to only 1960 pieces (each with individual numbering), these official F1 and Classic Team Lotus licensed prints aren’t expected to hang around for long.

Price: £15 W: www.lotusdrivingacademy.com

W: www.automobilist.com Price: From £45

TEA-ST TRACK

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Up Front | SCALE MODELS

SMALL LOTUS Kit Lotus founder, John Thornhill, outlines some of the latest models to the market, plus some old favourites and special projects.

Words: John Thornhill Pictures: John Thornhill and others

LOTUS 25

LOTUS 56 This is an unusual kit for the much respected Tameo to produce, as it replicates a car that raced at the Indianapolis 500 and not one of the more typical Formula One races it’s known for. Tameo had already produced the F1 version though, so it was logical to make the alterations required to create this interesting collector’s piece.

The 56’s unique jet-turbine engine is special enough to make this kit an interesting assembly proposition, with the Lotus’s eyecatching orange and yellow livery ensuring it will stand out in any collection.

The assembly set is what Tameo likes to call a ‘superkit’, making it one of its most detailed models. The Pratt & Whitney turbine engine itself is perfectly reproduced, with the kit including a spare unit that can be displayed alongside the model – which is a particularly nice touch.

A comprehensive multi-page colour instruction manual is provided with the kit.

Each assembly stage is explained on a stepby-step basis, with each part telling you what colours to use on each component – ensuring you get it right first time . Another nice touch with this set is that it comes with two decal packs, with the pictured version representing Joe Leonard’s car.

Manufacturer: Tameo Kits of Italy Scale: 1:43 Materials: Multi-media resin/white metal Price: around £100 Available: Internet

The Italian model maker MG Model Plus is now sadly defunct, but I wanted to find something fitting to promote the Lotus 25. The 25 has been modelled by countless manufacturers, though this replica of the 1963 edition from MG stood out from the pack.

The MG multi-media kit was released as a short run of 75. It was cast in both resin and white metal, with a comprehensive set of photo-etch components.

There were also machined parts, such as inlet trumpets and brake discs, which required reasonable

modelling skills to build. These Classic Team Lotus approved kits are extremely rare today, and nobody knows how many were built in all. The kit I’m currently assembling is certified as set number two.

Manufacturer: MG Model Plus Scale: 1:12 Materials: Multi-media resin/white metal Price: Various (second-hand).

Available: Internet

LOTUS MK VI This extremely pretty and nicely built Six replica by Carel van Kuijik is from a very rare Japanese Joker resin kit. At the end of the last century, there were quite a few small manufacturers in Japan which, following the boom in 1:43 models, released kits in 1:24 scale too. Joker’s range was being manufactured by one Mr Omata. This was probably a one-man operation, with Omata producing no more than 100 pieces per kit.

Apparently Mr Omata was a big Lotus fan, as he made a lot of replicas that celebrate the marque. In keeping with many kits of the late ’90s, this Mk VI was built from a ‘transkit’, which provided the main parts.

The set’s components were detail specific items, such as the body and wheelarches, with the builder requiring another ‘donor’ kit from a mainstream manufacturer to finish the job – with this kit requiring a Lotus Seven model. Instructions can only be described as brief. Not one for the faint hearted!

Manufacturer: Joker Japan Scale: 1:24 Materials: Resin/white metal Price: Expect to pay £200-plus if you’re fortunate enough to find one Available: Extremely rare

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AB LOTUS - Elan FHC_Layout 1 12/10/2018 06:55 Page 1

All the facilities you need for your Classic Lotus Over 45 years of experience in maintaining, servicing, tuning, repairing, restoring and upgrading the Lotus Marque!

● FULL bodywork facilties including ‘bare metal’ restorations to monocoque body or separate chassis. Our own Dalby paint system provides the perfect final finish. final perfect ● Engine re-builds, tuning and upgrades. Gearbox, Suspension & Brake upgrades or repairs. ● Interior restoration or repairs in our own trimming department in leather, cloth, vinyl and carpet materials. material.

The engine bay of the car shown left

Left: Lotus Elan fhc fully resored to its original specification

Contact:Paul, Jim or Laura on 01945 466200 or 01945 461423 for full details of how we can help!

Please Note:- The photos of the restored cars shown here are un-retouched except in some cases, where we have removed unsightly / un-photogenic backgrounds or blanked out number plates for reasons of privacy.

Above: One of our many Bodywork facilities

Tiger Sportscars Ltd., Unit 10, Anglia Way, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE13 2TY Tel: 01945 466200 / 461423

e-mails: laura@tigerracing.com jim@tigerracing.com

Right are just a few of the Lotus models we have fully restored Lotus S1

Lotus Mk6

Escort Twin Elan Cam fhc

Lotus Elan +2

Lotus Cortina

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www.lotus-supplies.com sales@lotus-supplies.com 01926 835 296 20 Absolute Lotus

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Up Front | AUCTIONS

AUCTION WATCH The classic car market appears to finally be picking up, but that’s not to say that there weren’t bargains still to be had.

Here are our top picks from the past eight weeks.

1965 SEVEN S2 Genuine Lotus Sevens rarely appear at auction in the UK, so we were surprised to see two go under the hammer in the same month. The most interesting was this usable – but tatty – S2, which struggled to break past the five-figure mark as it went through the Anglia Car Auctions block in May. It was far from original, though the 1700cc Ford Crossflow unit’s genuine Holbay add-ons screamed period race car. The later Ford Type 9 gearbox was a nice modernity, though its later Caterham seats didn’t suit the classic look.

Selling for only £12,960 on the day, it appears someone purchased a bargain of a project, which shouldn’t prove too difficult to sort.

1961 TYPE 20/22

1982 ECLAT RIVIERA

Over the past year we’ve seen more of the ‘bottom value’ Lotuses, typically the ‘wedges’ and Elan M100s, seeing an uptake in interest and values, while many of the previous ‘top achievers’ have struggled to match their prepandemic values. Despite this noticeable shift towards the more affordable and usable end of the market, top values still aren’t guaranteed for the Elite, Eclat, Excel or M100. This rare Eclat Riviera looked to be a particularly good buy for £6188, having been recently rebuilt around a newly galvanised and heavily Waxoyled chassis – not an easy task.

The bodywork looked a little rough around the sharp edges, though for the price it appeared to be a steal. We also have an Elite and Eclat buyers’ guide on page 80.

The Lotus 20 remains one of the marque’s most popular junior single-seater race cars, and this impeccably restored Type 20/22 looked to be a particularly appealing example of the breed. Its midmounted 115bhp Cosworth 1098cc Ford Kent derived engine should also prove particularly competitive in the many vintage motorsport events it’s eligible for.

The 20/22 went under the hammer at the Silverstone Race Retro Live auction at the tail end of March, achieving a respectable £65,250 on the day.

This seemed to be a particularly good price for the race car, especially considering that the very recent restoration bill was £4000 shy of that total sale price.

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Up Front | COMMENT

Richard Heseltine

LOOKS DECEIVE Our man ponders whether a Lotus racing car that has precious little Lotus content still constitutes a Lotus…

H

istoric motorsport is a broad church. There are umpteen disciplines; something for everyone. However, there is one particular offshoot that to some is not really historic in the accepted sense. What’s more, not all of the cars competing – Lotus models included – are what they appear to be. As such, they shouldn’t be grouped in with the real thing, as it were. They were aberrations when they were new, and now they’re just older aberrations. The passing of time has done nothing to budge this viewpoint. I refer, of course, to ModSports weaponry.

While I love high-brow forms of circuit racing, whether it is Formula One, sports-prototypes, and so on, I will admit to having a soft spot for the more homebrewed varieties, too.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, there were a raft of categories for what you might euphemistically call ‘hardcore’ variants of production cars, be it ModSports (modified sports cars), Special Saloons, Thundersaloons, Special GTs and so on. During the 1970s in particular, the likes of Dave Brodie, Gerry Marshall, Nick Faure and Mick Hill were somewhere in the mix.

So, too, were Lotuses. The thing is, where ModSports is concerned, what started as a class for cars that were still recognisably production cars, notwithstanding steroidal wheelarch extensions and so on, became something else entirely over time. Cars were developed out of all recognition, to the point that little of the original machine remained. In later years,

there weren’t even trace elements because there was nothing to find. Put simply, there was nothing to find because they were purpose-built rather than adapted.

This was the era of the ‘silhouette’ racer. In essence, they were often single-seaters, more often than not obsolete Formula 2 or F5000 cars, clothed with Rizla-thin glassfibre bodies that sometimes – but not always – resembled something you might recognise as a production car if you squinted hard enough. I will admit to loving this sort of thing when I was a young pup, not least because they were flippin’ quick and often looked amazing. However, I do sympathise with those who cannot see how, say, a Ralt or a Lola monocoque skinned with something vaguely akin to a Lotus Esprit outline, cannot possibly be considered a Lotus.

I wouldn’t want to argue to the contrary. I do, however, think that if something left the factory as a Lotus and was then modified extensively then it is still a Lotus. More than anything, though, I reckon these cars are worth celebrating simply for what they are. I had a thing for Rob Cox’s ‘Black Bullet’ Elan when I was growing up, and I would love to know if it’s still around. But then I still go weak at the knees whenever I see the ex-Gerry Marshall ‘Baby Bertha’ Vauxhall Firenza. The latter appears at countless events, not least the Goodwood Festival of Speed, as does the ex-Tony Hazelwood DAF-Oldsmobile for that matter. They always receive the warmest of welcomes.

I take my hat off to the Classic Sports Car Club for creating a home for such cars. I hope more freakish Lotuses will emerge in future years. If nothing else, they add colour and spectacle, and I am all for that.

RICHARD HESELTINE Respected classic car journalist Richard Heseltine has been a major player at Classic & Sports Car and Motor Sport magazine before becoming a sought after freelance journalist. But he also happens to be one of the most knowledgeable Lotus fans you’ll ever come across.

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GREAT RACE 1962 NÜRBURGRING 1000KM

23 INTO 1000 On 27 May 1962, the Lotus 23 upset the established sports car order at the Nürburgring. Unfortunately, 1000km proved too great a distance to cover.

I

Words: Richard Heseltine Pictures: Archive

t was a race that has long since entered into legend. Jim Clark starred during the early running of the 1962 Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres aboard his prototype Lotus 23. Neither was expected to be a threat for victory, though.

The little sports-racer, which he was sharing with Formula One team-mate Trevor Taylor, might feature in its class, but it was sufficiently down on power to cars competing in the top-flight categories, not least the many – many – Ferraris to be a threat for outright honours. It’s just that someone clearly forgot to tell Clark. Throw in all manner of prerace dramas, quite a few organisational pratfalls and a mutinous media, and this wasn’t an event that anyone in attendance was likely to forget, that’s for sure.

The works Ferrari squad had clearly hedged its bets because it had entered a car in the 2.0-litre sports-prototype category, a V6-engined Dino for Giancarlo Baghetti/Lorenzo Bandini. Not only that, its multi-car bid also included a 2.4-litre Dino 246 SP sports-prototype for Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien plus a hybrid Dino 268 SP with a 2645cc V8 for Pedro and Riccardo Rodríguez.

The factory team also entered a special Berlinetta for Mike Parkes and Willie Mairesse, but their car was equipped with a four-litre V12 so it was pumped into the Prototype class.

Also vying for honours was the Sebring 12 Hours-winning Scuderia SSS Repubblica di Venezia Ferrari TRI/61 entered for Nino Vaccarella and Carlo Maria Abate, not to mention Georges Gachnang’s highly-modified 250 Testa Rossa (aka Gachnang-Ferrari 3000S) which he was down to share with Edouard Grob.

While Ferraris may have dominated the field by dint of sheer numbers, the marque had not claimed outright victory in the race since 1953.

Also expected to feature was the Essex Racing Stable Aston Martin DBR1/300. Bruce McLaren and Tony Maggs were down to drive the oldstager, while defending victor Lloyd ‘Lucky’ Casner was also on hand with his Camoradi Maserati ‘Birdcage’, which the charismatic American was sharing with Gregory. There was also a considerable works Porsche presence, with the likes of Dan Gurney and Graham Hill on the driver roster.

The proliferation of classes proved bewildering to all, with Motoring News commenting: ‘...the race

suffered, as have other international races this year, from not knowing whether it was a sports car or Grand Touring race, eventually falling somewhere between the two.’ With an entry list that stretched to everything from a trio of Volvo P1800s to oddities such as a DRW and Deep Sanderson, the lack of clarity over class eligibility confused everyone. Some teams found their cars being bumped between categories, wondering why something that was eligible for one race was suddenly not to the letter of the law. Some categories were oversubscribed while the 1000-1300cc GT category, for example, attracted only two runners.

Nevertheless, it was from one of the ‘lesser’ classes that an unexpected threat for victory emerged: the Lotus 23 of Clark and Taylor.

Strictly speaking, the 1.5-litre Twin-Campowered sports-racer was not a works entry per se, with John Ogier having assumed responsibility for entering the car in the Eiffel race, although Cosworth co-founder and ex-Lotus man Mike Costin was on hand to direct operations. Ian Walker Racing, meanwhile, had arrived in Germany with a brace of 997cc 23s for Peter Ashdown/Bruce Johnston and Paul Hawkins/ Peter Ryan. Clark and Taylor raised eyebrows with their pace on a sodden track in Thursday practice, and they would only get faster.

However, a tragic accident cast a pall over the meeting following the death of a 15-year-old boy who had run in front of Bob Snow’s ‘Sebring’ Sprite near the pits. The little Austin-Healey struck the teenager, killing him instantly. With two privateer Porsches leaving the track and connecting with ditches, many teams erred on the side of caution and chose to keep their powder dry for the following day. Hill and Gendebien were the fastest runners during Saturday’s practice session, with the 250GTO of Giorgio Scarlatti/ Pietro Ferraro the only 3.0-litre GT category car to crack the top ten in eighth place.

Predictably, the day soon descended into another round of class reclassifications, protests and counter protests, with the two Jaguar E-Types entered in the race being worst affected: one was bumped into the 4.0-litre Prototype class because it was running Weber carburettors, while the other car was reclassified once it became evident to the organisers that it would now be running in a class of one. It, too, became a Prototype despite having previously sailed through scrutineering.

Tensions were also simmering among the media. With shades of the infamous 1961 Italian Grand Prix meeting furore, photographers from all bar favoured outlets were not allowed to shoot the action from the side of the track.

Instead, they were obliged (forced) to work from inside the spectator enclosures which inevitably led to, cough, ‘exchanges of opinion.’ As the first few cars began to emerge from the garages at 7.15am on race day, it then emerged that there had been one or two timekeeping snafus.

They came to light after the Ian Walker Racing team pointed out to the organisers that the Noble-Astle MG Midget had apparently lapped considerably faster than its brace of Lotus 23s; enough for it to qualify eleventh quickest of the entire field. Nevertheless, the times stood.

With barely 15 minutes left to run prior to the 9am start, the heavens opened and teams and drivers openly conferred about what to do next. Some entrants scrambled to swap ‘dry’ tyres for ‘wets,’ a situation that resulted in some cars still being on jacks when the flag dropped.

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Jim Clark at the helm of the John OgierJim Clark at thefielded, helm ofMike the John Costin-tended Ogier-fielded, Lotus Mike 23 Costin-tended prototype.

Lotus 23 Heprototype. and the tiny He sports-racer and the tiny sports-racer starred at the Nürburgring in May 1962.

The traditional Le Mans start was ‘won’ by Jim Clark, but it was Phil Hill who sprinted into an early lead. It didn’t last long, however, as Clark moved into the lead shortly thereafter and left the rest of the field standing.

Bill Boddy reported in Motor Sport: ‘Clark finished the opening lap 28sec ahead of the next car, which was Gurney in the 8-cylinder Porsche coupé, followed by the 4.0-litre GT Ferrari, the open 8-cylinder Porsche, the 2.4-litre Dino Ferrari, the Aston Martin, and the rest of the runners who never even saw which way the Lotus 23 had gone. Conditions on the opening laps were anything but suitable for a large powerful car, for it was raining on some parts of the circuit and dry on others, and Clark did not miss his opportunity, the little Lotus having just sufficient power for the conditions, and handling beautifully.’

‘To say that Clark ran away and hid from the rest of the field, with a clear road in front of him, would be an understatement,’ he continued. ‘His lead increased by as much as

16sec a lap until it was 101sec after seven laps...

On that lap, Clark put in a lap at 9m 46.3sec and had already lapped nearly half the field.’

The pace of the Essex Racing Stables-entered 23 with its prototype Twin-Cam engine was such that it was two minutes clear of the chasing pack before it all unravelled on the twelfth tour; the same lap where Trevor Taylor was due to take over the reins. Clark crashed out at Kesselchen after becoming overcome by fumes caused by a broken exhaust pipe. After 627.5 miles (1003.6km) of racing, Scuderia Ferrari’s Hill and Gendebien guided their Dino across the line to win. Nevertheless, it had been a remarkable showing for the 23 on its debut.

“I tell you, that Lotus was unbeatable,” Trevor Taylor told the author in 2004. “At the start, Jimmy just went off into the distance. I mean, he just disappeared the second the flag dropped. The ’Ring is a long old track and it must have been ten or twelve minutes by the time he came past the pits for the first time.

There was nothing near him. I mean nothing.

We all thought there must have been an accident or something. It was a good 20 or 30 seconds before all the other cars came past. The 23 was made for the ’Ring. It was just perfect on the bends. While all the big Ferraris and the like were sliding around losing time, the Lotus just stayed glued to the track. I loved it.”

The 23 had made its mark, if not triumphantly, although the Ashdown/ Johnston car came home a highly respectable eight overall. That was good enough for class honours. Next time out, during the Trophée d’Auvergne meeting at Circuit de la Charade in July 1962, the new Lotus was the talk of round nine of the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. None of the many Ferraris could match the pace of Paul Hawkins in the Ian Walker Racing-fielded, single-cam Lotus 23 which claimed pole position, and his team-mate Alan Rees finished second to Ferrari 250GT SWB-mounted Carlo Maria Abate in the race despite a significant power deficit. The Lotus 23 had arrived. And how.

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CLASSIC DRIVE LOTUS CORTINA

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LOTUS’S FAST FORD We took to the Norfolk Fens in the Cortina that Lotus breathed its magic on. Does it stack up as a performance saloon in 2021?

Words: Richard Heseltine Pictures: Adam Wilkins

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CLASSIC DRIVE LOTUS CORTINA

T

he fifteenth interruption in as many minutes comes from a nice lady who stops to inform us of something important.

She did her courting way back when in a car just like ours.

“The things I could tell you!” she says, smiling at the memories. Our party offer a wince by way of thanks. Everyone, it seems, loves the Lotus Cortina. Motorcyclists nod their approval, lorry drivers flash their lights and give you the thumbsup, and a hearse almost stops on its nose to allow us to make a turn. Even the police wave. This doesn’t happen on photoshoots. Ever.

The Norfolk Fens locale offers some fantastic driving roads, even if they are of the universally flat variety. It’s a pretty part of the world, that’s for sure, or at least it is once clear of the sprawling industrial estate just over the border in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on which Tiger Racing – who kindly loaned us the car – is based. Driving over pockmarked roads nearby is enough to unmoor your fillings and make your kidneys rattle.

Slaloming around potholes is a chore, too.

However, not even this can dampen the sunshine mood. Once free of hectoring commuters and onto near deserted B-roads, there’s plenty of time to become re-acquainted with a car that burnished the reputation of both Lotus and Ford. Having spent hours in a ‘modern’ getting here, you are obliged to recalibrate your thinking. Everything seems so airy, the spindly pillars and lack of built-in blind spots proving a boon. In your mind’s eye, the Cortina Mk1 in any of its many flavours isn’t a small car – it was a family saloon in period, but by 2021 standards it seems tiny but spacious with it.

So much about this car appeals as much as for what it represents as for what it is. In so many ways, and on so many levels, it acts as a time machine. Think of the Lotus Cortina as the world’s first homologation special, a car in which motorsport really did improve the breed.

Here was the modish must-have of the mid1960s, an all-rounder as at home radiating status in urban cityscapes as three-wheeling its way to glory trackside. In volume terms, it never was a big-number success – just 2894 were made from 1963 to ’68 – but that is to miss the point of the exercise: the Lotus-Cortina gave Ford an image overhaul. It made the Blue Oval hip. And how.

Think back to a time before the GT40 vanquished Ferrari at Le Mans; before the DFV engine turned Formula One on its head; before the pop-pop-pop cacophony of a BDApowered Escort resonated around a forest stage.

Ford meant honest, dependable, and formulaic products. Motorsport, at least in Europe, wasn’t part of the game plan. There was the occasional win in rallies, Ken Wharton’s Tulip triple (1949 to ’50 in an Anglia, 1952 in a Consul), Maurice Gatsonides’ 1953 Monte Carlo triumph in a Zephyr Mk1, and Gerry Burgess’ success on the 1959 RAC Rally of Great Britain in a Mk2 variant among them. However, they failed to make much of an impact on Ford’s spreadsheets, at least not in any quantifiable sense.

There was zero interest in competition at board level. Why would there be? Then along came the 1960s and the desire to project a more aspirational profile. Then there was the famous falling out between Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II which led ‘The Deuce’ to initiate the Total Performance programme. Ford products would win on Sunday, sell on Monday and all that. In Blighty, it had its work cut out, though.

The Cortina GT proved a fleeting success in competition but something more focussed was

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Simplicity itself – wood-rimmed steering wheel, wooden gearknob, a line of dials and not much else inside.

needed, the sort of machine that a perennially cash-strapped sports car manufacturer run by an engineering futurist could rustle up in a hurry: enter the ‘Type 28.’

The brainchild of Ford new boy Walter Hayes, the Lotus Cortina was conceived with original plans which called for 1000 examples to be homologated as Production Touring cars for the International Sporting Code’s Group 2 category.

Colin Chapman had long been keen to produce an engine in-house, and with a timely injection of funds behind him, he turned to The Autocar’s technical editor Harry Mundy to create a twincam head for the rugged five-bearing Ford Kent bottom end. The resultant 1498cc four made its debut in the back of a Lotus 23 sports-racer for the Nürburgring 1000km in June 1962 (see the Great Race feature on page 24).

Following substantial revisions by Cosworth’s Keith Duckworth, not least a capacity hike to 1558cc, this soon-to-be-a-classic ‘four’ was inserted into the Cortina hull, along with heavily reworked suspension and light alloy skins for the doors, bonnet and boot lid. Production of the Lotus Cortina – or Cortina-Lotus as Ford’s marketing people called it – began in February 1963, when it had a list price of £910. But it was

Single overtaking mirror offers scant rearward view.

‘Ban the bomb’ tail lights an iconic Cortina cue.

not until September of that year that the model was eligible to race. And, after substantial testing, its competition debut left an indelible impression.

During the car’s maiden outing in the BSCC encounter at Oulton Park on 20 September, ‘Gentleman’ Jack Sears trailed home two lumbering Ford Galaxies to record a class win aboard his works entry. Second in Group 2 was the sister car driven by Trevor Taylor. The die was cast. A few teething problems aside, 1964 would prove a walkover for the factory-run cars.

And it would be the inimitable Jim Clark who would end the year as winner of the BRSCC British Saloon Car Championship. Indeed, images of the great Scot at Brands Hatch, deftly dangling a wheel at Bottom Bend, are immediately conjured in the mind’s eye whenever the Lotus Cortina’s name is mentioned.

For the following year, the underrated Sir John Whitmore went one better, being crowned European Saloon Car Champion for his efforts in his Ford-backed, Alan Mann Racing-fielded entry. It was in 1965, too, that the Group 2 car was homologated to run with leaf-spring rear suspension in place of the fragile A-frame system, with Clark and Sears pedalling the Team Lotus cars in the BSCC. Sears won his class, and also

shared the winning car in the Nürburgring Six Hours with Whitmore. For 1966, the car’s final year as a frontline weapon, Team Lotus ran Lucas fuel-injected examples in Group 5, winning the entrants’ award in the BSCC. Just to prove the car’s versatility, Bengt Soderstrom and Gunnar Palm claimed overall honours – by 13 minutes – on that year’s RAC Rally before signing off the Mk1’s off-piste career with another win on the snowy 1967 Swedish Rally.

Away from the circuits and forest stages, road-car production ticked over, the alloy panels discontinued as standard equipment in July 1964 (but they remained on the options list). A facelifted model with new ‘Aeroflow’ ventilation, a full-width grille and other minor alterations appeared the following October and, for 1965, gear ratios from the 2000E were substituted.

Production ended in September 1966, coinciding with the closure of Lotus’s Cheshunt factory (although a few are believed to have been made at Ford’s Dagenham facility). Of course, that wasn’t quite the end of the story. For 1967, the Mk2 version arrived but it was assembled by Ford using parts supplied by Lotus, so there was no Lotus type number. Despite some Mk2 success trackside, it’s the Mk1 edition that’s most revered.

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CLASSIC DRIVE LOTUS CORTINA

Both Lotus and Ford branding appear...

...on the Cheshunt-built Cortina Mk1s.

At the heart of the Cortina’s transformation to Lotus Cortina is the Twin-Cam engine.

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And that has as much to do with the way the car looks as for the promise of performance. In fact, the Charles Thompson/Roy Brown-penned outline always positioned the car among the more attractive production saloons of the period (the latter’s CV also included the Edsel, mind).

In Ermine White with a Sherwood Green flash – as they all were save for racers and police cars, this 1965-registered car just looks right, and the ‘less is more’ approach is carried over on the wide ‘steelies,’ front quarter bumpers and subtle badging. There’s no embellishment, no quickto-date addenda, just a measured, pared-back design. It really is lovely.

That restrained approach is mirrored on the inside. The short, down-swept bonnet ahead offers an appealing view, while the steering wheel is large, naturally, but it doesn’t rest on your lap as with some of its contemporaries. The classic white-on-black instruments are easily legible at a glance, too, and the switches and minor controls aren’t a reach away. There is little here that doesn’t need to be. It’s far from luxurious, but all the racer reference points are present and correct.

It’s comfortable, too, not least because the driving position is not dictated by offset pedals or comedy perches. The bucket seats are not overly bolstered but embrace all the contact points you want and not the ones you don’t. The extensive use of PVC is groovy, but on the flipside this isn’t a car in which you want to wear shorts in hot weather.

Molten polyvinyl chloride and skin don’t make for a happy union.

When idling, the Cortina is far from quiet, its engine vibrating eagerly on its mounts. It may be on the vocal side, but this unit is a lesson in informed simplicity, the alloy twin-cam head containing chain-driven camshafts that operate

the valves (inclined at 54deg) through inverted piston-type tappets. This highly tuneable unit will spin happily though the rev range – the red line is 6500rpm – but it has more low-end torque than typical peaky Latin twin-cams of the day, all things being relative. It won’t happily chug along in top at 30mph, that’s for sure.

It doesn’t sound as melodious as a comparable Alfa Romeo or Fiat unit under load, either.

Not even close.

Nevertheless, it still makes you smile as the carbs pop and gobble, making it all the harder to resist blipping on downchanges just to hear it rear up on the overrun. The remote gearchange works well, too, largely because the light clutch action helps make it relatively easy to shift between planes (although reverse can be a bugger to find). Driven enthusiastically, there’s much to love although, as is to be expected, ride comfort isn’t brilliant. It isn’t rock-hard but you do feel the bumps. There’s little kickback through the steering, mind, and the whole car feels solid. Set it up for a corner and the Cortina will squat a little at the rear; it then seems to balance itself out on exit. The servo-assisted brakes are also reassuringly progressive.

The thing is, this particular example had only just hit the roads at the time of the test, and has possibly had a reshell in the past.

Tiger Racing’s MD Jim Dudley was at pains to point out that it had yet to be set up. Even so, it was clearly not far off. Experience of Lotus Cortinas informs you that they are fun, just don’t expect them to drive quite like those you see at the Goodwood Revival Meeting; the ones that corner flat and seem capable of breaching the sound barrier. This is all very old-tech, or to borrow from new car motoring journalism

‘analogue rather than digital.’ It is, too. It’s oldtech and most hatchbacks will run rings around a Lotus Cortina in just about any situation.

However, that is rather missing the point. You don’t approach a car of this vintage expecting it to be anything other than a product of its time. Steering one of these tin-top trailblazers makes you smile and rewards your efforts.

The experience isn’t the ultra-efficient but anaesthetised one you might have aboard something from the here and now. It’s tractable and undramatic when you want it to be (if noisy), and flexible enough to use in real-world conditions. Not only that, reaction to this car just about anywhere is infinitely more positive than you can expect to receive than when rocking up in a latter-day supercar. You don’t get judged.

But, to be honest, we were sold merely on the Jim Clark connection.

THANKS TO:

Tiger Racing (www.tigerracing.com) for the loan of the car, where it’s for sale for £46,000.

Lotus Cortina Mk1 Chassis: Steel monocoque (with aluminium panels on some models) Suspension: Front – MacPherson struts Rear – Coil sprung live-axle with A-frame or semi-elliptic leaf sprung live-axle with anti-tramp bars Engine: 1558cc Lotus Twin-Cam, 105 to 115bhp Gearbox: Short-ratio 4-speed (shared with the Elan), ‘interim-ratio’ 4-speed and Ford 2000E spec 4-speed Wheels: 13in steel wheels Interior: Three-spoke steering wheel, multi dial dashboard and unique trim and seats Exterior: Ermine White painted steel body with Sherwood Green stripe

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Specific Panels we produce for the Lotus Cortina Mk1-Mk2 and the Sunbeam Lotus.

Lotus Cortina: LOT 1 - Sump Guard LOT 2 - Tank Guard LOT 3 - Battery Tray (Mk 2) LOT 3B - Battery Clamp LOT 3E - Battery Tray (Late Mk 1) LOT 6 - Floor Bump (early) LOT 7 - Floor Bump (late) LOT 8 - Boot Stay Brackets LOT 9 - Boot Bars LOT10 - Axle Case converted to 'A' Frame LOT11 - Works Type Tube LOT12 - Hinge Alloy Boot LOT13 - Battery Tray LOT14 - RH Rear Axle Bump Stop LOT15 - LH Rear Axle Bump Stop

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ME AND MY CAR 3-ELEVEN

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UPCYCLING A career in professional cycling led James Stewart directly to his ownership of one of the rarest modern day Lotuses, a 3-Eleven. Here’s how...

Words and pictures: Ian Stent

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I

ME AND MY CAR 3-ELEVEN

came away from Silverstone a car addict,” remembers James Stewart as he thinks back to 1996 and how, as an impressionable 11-year-old, he was blown away by the cars he saw battling it out for honours in the BPR Global Endurance Championship. While the McLaren F1s were dominant and surely the most obvious focus for his new-found obsession, it was actually the second placed car that really made an impression, the Lotus Esprit GT1 driven Jan Lammers and Perry McCarthy.

Seemingly the underdog, the Esprit had battled hard to split the all-conquering McLarens from making it a one-make lockout on the podium.

If Silverstone had cemented his enthusiasm for fast cars, on the Lotus stand at the event the company was also showcasing its success on two wheels, with examples of the 108 and 110 racing bikes, and the presence of Tour de France stage winner Chris Boardman. While it would be some years before James could fulfil his driving ambitions, racing bicycles was within easier reach!

And he was good at it too.

By the age of 16 James found himself winning national championships and beating the likes of future Tour de France winner, Mark Cavendish. By the time he was 19 he’d joined Nigel Mansell’s UK Youth Cycling Team and continued a professional career until life outside of cycling (marriage/children/growing business) took centre stage and he retired at 26. And

James’s successes in racing had been put to good use... he’d been squirrelling away his prize money for a number of years with the intention to buy himself something nice when the time came to hand in his cycling shorts.

The passion for Lotus, both with its success in cycling but perhaps more obviously its road and race cars, narrowed his options down considerably. That said, there was a moment when he almost got serious about a TVR Tuscan until the engineering, driver focus and trackday ability of virtually any Lotus brought him back to his senses. An Elise 111S soon found its way into his garage, but rather than pushing hard at trackdays he found himself driving hard on the road and, with a young family at home, he felt he was occasionally taking unnecessary risks. While he loved the Elise, after 18 months it made way for something far more sensible that could accommodate the whole family... a Maserati Quattroporte!

It was a late night moment of eBay surfing that next took James down a distinctly different rabbit hole. While he had the Elise he’d also taken time out to build his young son a motorised toy car in the form of a Grasshopper Lotus Seven lookalike.

And now idly looking on eBay he found what turned out to be a Robin Hood 2B kit car in the same colours (green with yellow stripe) as the scaled down version still taking a corner of the garage. Placing a silly bid, by the morning he’d found he was the owner of a Lotus Seven shaped kit car... that needed completely rebuilding.

“IT WAS A LATE NIGHT MOMENT OF EBAY SURFING THAT NEXT TOOK JAMES DOWN A DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT RABBIT HOLE”

Digital dash dominated by the rev counter.

Exposed gearlinkage is borrowed from the Elise and Exige, but interior is otherwise unique for the 3-Eleven.

AP calipers and grooved and vented discs up front.

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1617,1619 – 3-Eleven certainly one of the most extreme road-going Lotuses in the modern era.

Engine left exposed on this extreme Lotus.

The supercharged Toyota V6 good for 430bhp in the road going 3-Eleven.

New exhaust from 2bular sounds great on the road.

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ME AND MY CAR 3-ELEVEN

“THE EXIGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A KEEPER, BUT PUTTING A LOUD EXHAUST ON IT HAD BEEN A MISTAKE AND MEANT IT WOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED ON A TRACK DAY” James looks back on the experience fondly, as it taught him a lot about mechanics as he stripped the car back before rebuilding everything, this time in the correct places! Even more pleasing was that he made money when he sold it.

By now the Maserati was long gone and mundane daily drivers were the order of the day, until that year’s visit to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Spying a Lotus Exige V6 at the event, he was smitten again and not long after landed an Exige Club Racer in Liquid Yellow. “That car changed my life,” states James matter-of-factly. Not because of its sensational performance, dramatic looks and driver focus, but rather because it opened his eyes to the potential within joining a car club. Here he found like-minded enthusiasts, subsequent good friends and events with which to make full use of the car he’d bought. Indeed, it led him to form a specific WhatsApp group for the Swindon area where he lives, which now boasts almost 50 Lotus enthusiasts from the area, with regular runs and gatherings (when such things are allowed). And he also soon became aware that his immaculate V6 Exige opened doors to events that more humble cars wouldn’t... soon he found his car being invited to special displays at concours and supercar events.

The Exige should have been a keeper, but putting a loud exhaust on it had been a mistake and meant it would never be allowed on a

trackday, but of more concern to James was the increasing number of Exige models being pumped out by the factory. Every week there seemed to be a new version – 350, 380, 410, 430 etc, etc. James was worried there was oversupply of the model and prices might soon reflect the surplus of stock... and there was someone in the local group that had a 3-Eleven.

The strictly limited supply (no more than 311 examples) meant there would be no such oversupply problems with this car and the model’s stripped-back hardcore focus really appealed.

The 3-Eleven owner in the WhatsApp group wasn’t about to sell, but someone else posted a link to a car for sale via Henley-on-Thames dealer Hofmanns. It helped that it was the same Liquid Yellow as his old Exige, and it helped even more that later that week his work found him passing nearby the Hofmanns showroom. It couldn’t do any harm to look, could it? And then the dealer asked if he’d like to have a drive – well, it would be rude not to. You can guess the rest.

Despite buying the car between lockdowns late in 2020, James has still managed to put over 2000 miles on this one-owner example. While it is in immaculate condition and doesn’t often come out when the weather fails, James is determined to use it rather than just show it. It’s the reason that, as soon as the current rules allowed, he recently found himself at Donington for a trackday. “It’s a really confidence inspiring car. You can feel

Rear clam is unique to the model.

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1681 – It’s not often that James will drive without a helmet.

Race helmet a vital safety feature on road.

Owner James Stewart bought his first Lotus with winnings from his professional cycling career.

I’D RECOMMEND… 2bular Exhausts, Laurencekirk, Scotland.

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Tow point ready in case of track day mishap.

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ME AND MY CAR 3-ELEVEN

Everything about the 3-Eleven styling shouts ‘extreme’.

Mirrors actually do little for rearward visibility!

LED tail lights are shared with the Elise.

3-Eleven Engine/transmission: 3.5-litre supercharged V6.

430bhp. 6-speed manual gearbox.

Chassis: Anodised, aluminium extruded, epoxy bonded and riveted chassis.

Suspension: Unequal length double wishbones with Eibach anti roll bars and Öhlins adjustable dampers front and rear.

Brakes: AP Racing 4-pot calipers with vented and grooved discs. 6-position adjustable traction control.

Steering: Rack and pinion.

Dimensions: Length – 4.12m.

Width – 1.86m. Height – 1.2m

so much of what’s going on,” he enthuses. All of which meant that, despite the 3-Eleven’s performance potential, James soon found he was pushing hard at a track he’d never previously driven at, and consequently keeping up easily with some other potentially scary supercars sharing tarmac space with him. Two more trackdays are already in the diary.

As a road car the 3-Eleven is equally epic, although common sense means the full capabilities of this car are rarely exploited. “It’s so capable that you can never use it all,” continues James. “It’s more of an ‘experience’ car.” From the 2000 miles he’s already put on it, it’s clear that it’s a road ‘experience’ he’s enjoying, although when it first arrived he found the track settings it came with were too unforgiving for the road. Since then he’s had the geometry tweaked and the dampers softened to dial in a bit more civility. And while he’s recently fitted a new 2bular exhaust system he’s not forgotten his experience with his previous Exige, instead keeping the old system which takes about an hour to swap over for when he’s on a trackday.

In reality, the only other work he’s had done on the car has been to replace the old front paint protection film which was suffering some stone chip damage (leaving the paint underneath still unmarked). The new PPF from Xpel should keep it looking show ready.

Road use is certainly a different experience compared to his old Exige. For starters, he always tends to wear a helmet. “It feels a bit strange to drive on the road with a helmet. At first you feel a bit of a pillock!” But there are good reasons it makes sense. “You don’t realise how much is kicked up by other vehicles,” he says. And then there’s the physical wind buffeting on both face and ears, which can get tiring over an extended

period. But there other benefits, too. “You’re a bit more incognito with the helmet on.” It means he doesn’t get stopped at every traffic lights with other road users shouting questions at him, which happened when he first got the car.

Not that it can stop the endless interest of others when parking anywhere – the 3-Eleven attracts attention like little else.

Is the lack of a windscreen (or doors and roof!) a step too far for regular road use? “The Exige was always a weekend car,” admits James, “so the lack of a screen [on the 3-Eleven] has never been an issue.” Although he’d think hard before taking the car on a continental road trip, coming from a family of motorcyclists he’s also fully at ease with the concept of wearing the right clothing to deal with any weather. But for the moment he’s using it regularly for runs with his local WhatsApp group and forays trackside.

But will it be a keeper or, like his previous Lotuses, be a short-term resident in his garage?

“Before, there was always a step-up,” considers James, “but where do I go from here?” The fact that the 3-Eleven can easily mix it with bona fide supercars on track, is super rare and makes a huge statement of intent on the road, means considering a next move tricky, not least as he thinks the 3-Eleven a complete bargain when compared to any of the cars it comes up against.

It would appear this will be a question he may be asking himself regularly... only on the last group run to Caffeine & Machine at Stratford Upon Avon in Warwickshire was he asked if he would consider selling the 3-Eleven – it’s just one of those cars that attracts attention and, to the right person, represents perhaps the ultimate incarnation of a modern extreme Lotus.

For the moment at least, this will remain James’s ultimate Lotus.

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ME AND MY CARS ELISE AND EXIGE

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TIME MACHINES With a showroom condition Elise S1 in his garage, Kevin Nye couldn’t resist adding a similarly fresh Exige S1 to sit alongside it when the chance arose. Here are two timewarp Lotuses that look like they’ve just rolled off the production line.

Words and pictures: Adam Wilkins

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A

ME AND MY CARS ELISE AND EXIGE s the Elise bows out of production this year after a two-anda-half-decade run, a lot of Lotus owners will reflect on what the model means to them. For a great many enthusiasts, it will have been their entry to ownership, a dream car that’s within the realms of afforability. Has any other car amounted to more than the sum of its parts to the extent the Elise did? There are, perhaps, quite a number of cars in Lotus’s back catalogue that could lay claim to that title – which is precisely the point. The Elise was a return to true Chapman principles of achieving performance through light weight.

Kevin Nye is one of those who got into Elise ownership early on. It was eighteen months old and had just one previous keeper, a friend of the family who had pampered the car for its short life.

Kevin had previously owned a string of Fords, but set his sights on Elise ownership the moment he saw one. “It was parked in a street in London and I was blown away,” he says. “I knew I had to have one. The mid-engined layout was exotic and so different to what I had before.”

Before taking the plunge, Kevin hired an Elise for a weekend to see whether it lived up to its looks. “It drove even better than it looked,” he says. By then, the Fords had made way for a Mazda MX-5, but that wouldn’t stay in the garage for long. “Once I’d driven the Elise, I knew the MX-5 was on borrowed time. I appreciated what a great tool the Elise is and knew from the word go it was going to be a classic.” It was just six months between that first drive and Kevin buying the car you see here.

Fast-forward to 2021 and the Elise is showing

just over 17,000 miles on the clock. It was never Kevin’s intention to keep the mileage down to an average of just a few hundred per year, and for the first few years of his ownership he was into four figures on a regular basis. With a van for everyday use, the Elise has always been a weekend car. “I’ve never driven that car for any other reason than to go somewhere socially. I’ve never driven that car and been on a deadline in it.” It has also always been used for local runs to see friends and family – there have never been any big road trips to pile on the miles. Oh, and it only ever goes out in the dry. As Kevin says, “I don’t think I’ve used the windscreen wiper more than a few times!”

The car is driven once or twice a week in the summer months, but in winter is taken off the road and tucked away. In the cold months, Kevin runs the car periodically to circulate fluids, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Given the very light use, you’d probably surmise that it has been easy to keep the car looking new, but Kevin has probably spent as much time pampering it as he has in the driver’s seat over the last 21 years. He says the car has never been in anything less than showroom condition, a consistent level of care over those years keeping it in constantly pristine shape. For one thing, it’s cleaned after every single drive.

“Because it never gets really dirty, cleaning it doesn’t take that long,” says Kevin. A professional detailing around eight years ago has also helped.

That said, it’s not a quick bucket-and-sponge job.

Each time, he uses a brand new microfibre cloth.

“I hate the thought of a stone getting stuck in the cloth,” he says.

The results speak for themselves. It’s beyond clean and looks genuinely new. Peer into the recess for the fog or reverse light and the paint behind the grille is as shiny as everywhere else.

The door shuts are spotless. Even all the

Owner Kevin Nye didn’t intend to use his Elise sparingly when he bought it 21 years ago, but it’s still in as-new condition and has under 18,000 miles on the clock.

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K-series has been serviced 19 times despite mileage.

The interior in the earliest Elises is simplicity itself. This one is cleaned every time it comes back from a drive...

...which is why even the extruded pedals are so clean.

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ME AND MY CARS ELISE AND EXIGE components under the front bonnet look like they’ve never covered a mile. There’s no evidence of any wear and tear anywhere – looking around the car really is like stepping back to when it came out the Hethel factory in 1998. Kevin assures us it looks just as clean underneath – he cleaned up the underside of the car using a four-post lift a couple of years ago. “I took the undertrays off and cleaned it with the airguns. I spent hours doing it,” he says. A peer inside the wheelarches backs up the claim.

Since he is so particular about the car, he only goes to one place for servicing. SGT in Taplow, Berkshire, has given the Elise its annual service during Kevin’s entire ownership with 19 stamps in the service book to prove it – more than one per 1000 miles. “They know how I am with my cars, and I trust them,” says Kevin. “For 15 years, there was only one person other than me to lift the bonnet. [SGT technician] Taffy always said I need to drive it more.” No matter the mileage, Kevin has adhered to the servicing schedule and cambelt changes on time. “For me, it’s peace of mind.” While the car doesn’t cover many miles, Kevin does occasionally drive it quickly – although it tends to be driven more gently now than it used to.

Most of the time, the soft top remains off the car, although there is also a hardtop stowed away in the garage. Kevin spent some time waiting for a factory roof to come on the market that was in good enough condition to match his Elise, and when found it stayed on the car for eight years.

He took it off three years ago, and it hasn’t gone back on since – despite the fact he prefers the car’s appearance with it in place. Dry use only makes more sense of it in al fresco mode.

There are some ways in which the car deviates from the state it rolled off the production line.

Kevin hasn’t shied away from some popular

modifications, with both Bilstein dampers and a Larini exhaust making an appearance. With a freer flowing exhaust, the car has also been been treated to a Hurricane airfilter. The most recent upgrade is a throttle body from a 160 spec car.

“The original throttle body had been sticking,” says Kevin, “which is a common trait. I could genuinely feel the difference, it felt like the first 1000rpm was a bit quicker.”

Contrary to what you might assume from the low miles, it’s clear that driving the Elise is a big part of the ownership experience for Kevin.

“Rather than you sitting in it, you strap the Elise on,” he says. “It’s like a Caterham that has been mellowed out. You could drive it for an hour and get out the other end with a big smile on your face. You can steer it on the throttle... although it’s something I rarely do now.”

On the road, the Elise certainly provides a distinctly different experience to the Exige that it has shared garage space with for the last two and a half years. Perhaps the arrival of the fixed-head car is why the Elise’s removeable hardtop hasn’t seen much action recently. “The Elise is like Floyd Mayweather,” says Kevin, “compared to the Exige, which is Colin McGregor. It’s crazy, all or nothing. The Elise is such a better road car.

The Exige is so hardcore, it’s really quite intense.

You get out the other end and it’s like a workout.

I’m sure it comes into its own at speed, but I don’t drive it above about 60mph. I can’t believe how quick it will go around a corner. For a twentyminute blast down a country lane there’s nothing like it.”

So how did Kevin come to own two matching silver S1s? He stumbled on it while browsing the Auto Trader website, and couldn’t believe what he was looking at – a 17-year-old Exige with just 4000 miles on the clock. He visited the dealer telling himself he was window shopping, but as

The first two owners of this Exige barely used it – the mere 4000 miles on the clock suggest it was only driven for MoTs and servicing for much of its life.

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VHPD variant of the Rover K-series has 190bhp.

Interior may look similar to the Elise’s, but the Exige has an entirely different character once you get rollng.

As clean behind the grilles as it is everywhere else.

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ME AND MY CARS ELISE AND EXIGE

Kevin Nye has owned his Elise 21 years, Exige for two.

I’D RECOMMEND… SGT, The Old Station Yard, Station Road, Taplow, Berkshire SL6 0NU. T: 01268 605353.

E: info@sgt.co.uk W: www.sgt.co.uk

Elise S1 Engine/transmission: Rover K-series, 1.8-litre, 5-speed gearbox Chassis: Extruded and bonded aluminium chassis Suspension: Independent with double wishbones, coil-over dampers, front anti-roll bar Brakes: Vented plain discs front and rear Steering: Rack and pinion, unassisted Dimensions: Length – 3.73m Width – 1.70m, Height – 1.20m

Exige S1 Engine/transmission: Rover K-series VHPD, 1.8-litre, 5-speed gearbox Chassis: Extruded and bonded aluminium chassis Suspension: Independent with double wishbones, coil-over dampers, front anti-roll bar Brakes: Vented plain discs front and rear Steering: Rack and pinion, unassisted Dimensions: Length – 3.73m Width – 1.70m, Height – 1.20m

soon as he saw it he was hooked. “It looked like it had just rolled off the production line and I knew I had to have it,” says Kevin.

The salesman told him they’d already sold it to someone who had to back out of the deal because the car was too low to get in and out of their garage. Another potential buyer had also showed an interest. “I ummed and ahhed for an hour, then made an offer on the phone,” says Kevin. His offer was turned down. “I had the pay the asking price. I know it’s more than anyone has paid for an Exige S1, but I also know there’s not another one out there like it.

To find another in this condition you’d have to get in a time machine.” So keen was Kevin to own his ultimate Exige that he traded in his Bentley Continental GT Mulliner as part of the deal. “I loved that car, it was a beautiful example,” he says.

The Exige had two previous owners. The first won the car in a competition, and tucked it away for a few years seemingly driving it only to and from routine servicing. It had only 800 miles on the clock when it was bought by a collector who put it in a Carcoon and brought it out infrequently enough for the mileage to remain below 4000 by the time Kevin bought it.

It’s probably the only Exige S1 in existence that matched his Elise for condition.

It came with the original tyres (which have now been put into storage), and only the battery, cambelt and fluids have been replaced since the car left Hethel. It really is like a working museum piece. Aside from the car’s one-off condition, there were a couple of other things that attracted Kevin. Firstly, it had the 190bhp VHPD version of the K-series. Secondly, there was no air conditioning. While cool air might make the car more habitable, Kevin doesn’t like

the way the vents look. “It gets a bit hot in this weather,” he admits on the unseasonably sunny April day of our photoshoot. “It felt like a sauna after fifteen minutes.”

As with the Elise, the Exige’s condition is utterly flawless – as you’d expect given its even lower odometer reading. And it’s fair to say it’s the Elise that sees the most use between the two cars, these things being relative. “The Elise is my baby,” says Kevin. “I can never see myself parting with it.” But that doesn’t diminish his enthusiasm for the Exige. “I’ve got the best of the breed. I can pull up at a meeting with the Exige and, I hate to say it, but it would be the star of the show. It’s exciting to seeing any Exige, but how many have Honda conversions or been ripped apart?”

I’m sure there will be people reading this who use their Lotuses for road trips or trackdays wondering about the appeal of preserving such cars in their original condition rather than racking up the miles and memories. This is obviously a completely different ownership experience, and for Kevin one that’s just as rich. You only need to listen to him talking about the cars with a glint in his eye to see how much of a kick he gets from owning two cars in unique condition. It has obviously required care and dedication over a prolonged period.

Our photoshoot took place on a Sunday afternoon in a countryside carpark that was a lot busier than the photos suggest. Just out of frame was a constant stream of cars coming and going, with walkers making the most of the early spring good weather. Each time someone reversed close to either Elise or Exige, I gasped slightly in the knowledge of how carefully they’ve been kept for two decades. These timewarp machines will only get more precious with every passing year.

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SPOTLIGHT LOTUS SEVEN GT

CASE CLOSED Turning the Lotus Seven into a GT seemed a clever idea in the early 1960s. But the company behind it had to close its own doors soon after its launch.

Words and pictures: Jeroen Booij

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O

h, those carefree early days of specials building. A clappedout, almost worthless saloon could be turned into the swoopy sports car of your dreams in a weekend. In the early ’60s, there was a beehive of small companies trying their luck. New names offering aerodynamic lightweight bonnets, hardtops, accessories or complete bodyshells popped up every week. These companies were often based in rudimentary workshops, smithies, sheds or old hangars, but if the men behind them were bright enough to come up with a good product of their own it could well be the springboard to something bigger. Everyone who wanted to become a serious player in the automotive world of those early ’60s looked up to some excellent role models: Colin Chapman, Trevor Wilkinson, Eric Broadley and Jem Marsh to name just a few. They had all started their careers in a shed.

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SPOTLIGHT LOTUS SEVEN GT

The Seven’s interior becomes rather claustrophobic in the conversion to GT car.

Mechanicals updated from original S1 spec in period.

Twin carburettors create a great soundtrack.

One of those new names was Richard SethSmith. In what is now a one-bed leasehold flat in an area where you won’t find any property for under £2m, he set up Fibrepair Ltd. It was in 21a Lancaster Mews in Bayswater, London, with the plan to start repairing fibreglass car parts and making all sorts of accessories for enthusiasts.

After an aerodynamic bonnet for the AustinHealey Sprite, bucket seats were to become Fibrepair’s next specialisation. The little London based company came up with the Rallye 1 and Rallye 2 seats, which were soon to become a hit.

Seth-Smith’s right-hand man Mike Donegan was an avid racer in his Willment-tuned Ford Cortina, which he both rallied and raced rather successfully. Motor Sport magazine had a blast in it and wrote: ‘The very good Fibrepair seats play their part on bends for the wraparound sides hold the driver in position, while the excellent shape of the cushions makes for fatigue-free driving.’

Both Speedwell and Sprinzell began to market the range of Fibrepair Rallye seats under their own name, while Marcos Cars recommended them to their clients.

But Seth-Smith wanted more, so what was next? He came up with a clever idea after he’d noticed that the international motorsports association, the FIA, had begun to focus more on GT cars. This ruled out – among others – the very popular Lotus Seven. Seth-Smith began to wonder if the open Seven could be turned into a GT with a fibreglass roof construction to make it eligible for GT racing.

It seemed like a great opportunity and Fibrepair was the company to jump to it. But it

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GT conversion was primarily aimed at racers.

The roof made the Seven eligible for GT racing.

“IT’S A SMALL CAR, SO FITTING A ROOF AND DOORS TO THE SEVEN WASN’T AT ALL STRAIGHTFORWARD” may have seemed simpler than it turned out to be.

The Seven is a small car, and fitting a roof and doors to it wouldn’t be at all straightforward. The new roof would have to be low while there was little space for doors behind the car’s long nose. If conventional doors were fitted, a Seven GT would have become a real agony to get into. And so Seth-Smith cleverly decided gullwing doors were the only option, similar to those of the Marcos ‘Wooden Wonder’ GT. He started sketching and applied to master coachbuilders Williams & Pritchard in North London for a prototype in aluminium.

Charlie Williams and Les Pritchard must have liked the idea. They had over 20 men working for them at the time and were known to be able to build a prototype from scratch in under a month. Up until then, they’d also built every single prototype for Lotus up to the Elan, which had just been launched. But after that model, the relationship with Lotus ended as the company set up its own bodyshop in 1962. Well, at least that meant it wouldn’t matter if Chapman and co objected to this project! The car that W&P used for the GT conversion was to become a very special Lotus, too. This particular Seven was purchased as a kit from Lotus Cars in 1961 by brewery magnate Richard Courage, and built up by his son, a budding racer, 20 years of age and about to enter motorsport. He was to

become one of Britain’s most-loved Formula One drivers: Piers Courage. Young Piers raced the Lotus with its aluminium GT roof with gullwing doors at Brands Hatch on Boxing Day in 1962 and made the fastest practice lap in his class.

Unfortunately he had to retire during the race due to malfunctioning spark plugs.

With fibreglass kits now moulded from the aluminium prototype, the Seven GT was ready to be marketed. The car was unveiled at the London Racing Car Show in January 1963, where Fibrepair shared a stand with Taurus Tuning and Interior Silent Travel – the latter based in the same London mews. From the Racing Car Show’s programme: ‘The Seven GT is a grand touring conversion on the Lotus Seven, making a completely closed car, while still retaining its excellent all-round visibility. Gullwing doors are utilised, which are asymmetrically disposed about the centre line allowing ease of entry for both occupants.’ And from the two-page flyer they handed out on the show: ‘The Seven GT is the answer to converting the Lotus Seven into a completely closed and weatherproof grand touring car.’

Fibrepair offered the conversion for £77 in standard Lotus colours. It came with a windscreen (of unknown origin; probably a rear screen from a more mundane model), side and rear screens in Perspex and all the necessary rubbers and fixings.

It was launched at the 1963 Racing Car Show.

Few Sevens were converted in period, and most that were have been returned to their factory format.

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SPOTLIGHT LOTUS SEVEN GT

Asymmetrical doors favoured the driver.

Seven’s mechanicals remained unaltered.

Seven GT Engine: Lotus Twin-Cam Gearbox: 4-speed Suspension: Front –Double wishbones, coil-over dampers. Rear – Live axle Interior: Standard Lotus Seven interior Exterior: Lotus Seven bodywork with Fibrepair GT conversion, rear wings blended into roof

According to the manufacturer it would take anyone approximately a day to fit, although they could do it for you for an extra tenner.

As well as the asymmetrical gullwing doors, the whole GT conversion was rather clever. If the attraction to the original Seven was its simplicity, then it was this simplicity that helped turn it into a GT. With the original windscreen and scuttle, plus its rear bodywork removed, the new roof/ rear construction could indeed be fitted easily.

The rear wings were retained and even the spare wheel, strapped to the back of the car, was still located in the very same place, now just covered by the fibreglass unit with its Perspex rear screen and just visible from the back. By 1963, hundreds of Sevens had been sold and a great number of them were raced at the weekends. Fibrepair was ready to sell its conversion in big numbers. The £77 asking price may not have been a giveaway when you consider that a Lotus Seven started at £499 at the time, but it was reasonable if you wanted to continue campaigning your Seven in competition. Or perhaps if you used yours throughout the year and were lured by the ‘weatherproof’ claims of the manufacturer.

It didn’t happen. Very few GT kits were sold and even fewer survive to this day. Piers Courage’s car was restored recently but as the roadster format it was conceived as in 1961. Most of the other GTs built eventually underwent the same fate. With its roof and gullwing doors, the GT was of course rather claustrophobic inside.

And while the car’s original owner may have liked it, the next one perhaps did not.

It does make survivors extremely rare today.

The green car seen here was exported from the UK to Holland in the 1970s. Remarkably, perhaps, it was based on a Seven S1 that

was much modified, probably to give it a contemporary look, when the Fibrepair unit was fitted. The Dutch owner was a real Lotus enthusiast who imported a great number of Sevens to the low countries. He even became an agent for Caterham from as early as 1973 and started selling a wider Seven inspired car of his own design (the Bartan) in the early 1990s. His old Seven GT was restored later, keeping in faith with the Fibrepair conversion. Perhaps that was only logical, too, for the Seven’s rear wings had been merged into the Fibrepair roof/rear body unit, blending it even more into a GT car, but also making it not quite so easy to take off the conversion unit! It is one of perhaps just a handful of Seven GTs surviving today.

And Fibrepair? What happened to that?

After the Seven GT adventure, Richard SethSmith’s company came up with a hardtop for the Triumph Spitfire at the Racing Car Show of 1964. Once again this conversion turned the roadster into a GT, now with a cool Kamm tail. It even predated Triumph’s own closed GT6 version by two and a half years! ‘Priced between £57.10.00 and £82 you probably end up with the cheapest GT car in the world,’ said the advertisement. But again, it did not become the big seller hoped for. Ashley Laminates sold considerably more Spitfire hardtops for a little less money. Richard Seth-Smith started a career on the other side of the automotive spectrum when he joined the Leyland Motor Corporation as a Triumph press officer in 1967. Not much later he became the head of works mechanics when he was chosen to run Leyland Special Tuning.

He became PR manager for the Truck and Bus Special Products Division and for Fiat later before retiring. Case closed.

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GENERATIONS ESPRIT v EVORA

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SAME DIFFERENCE Different decades and different models, but was Lotus looking for the same end result with its Esprit S4 and Evora S? Words and pictures: Ian Stent

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GENERATIONS ESPRIT v EVORA MEET THE OWNER ESPRIT S4 – ROBIN BORNOFF Robin may have only owned his very first Lotus since 2019, but having been enthralled as a boy with James Bond’s new wheels in A Spy Who Loved Me, he feels he’s been a lifelong Lotus enthusiast. When it came to fulfilling the ownership ambition, maintenance costs associated with earlier Esprits meant he focussed on the later car. He’d spent 18 months looking, before he found this meticulously maintained S4 (an S4C being beyond his budget). Robin was already an active participant in The Lotus Forums, and having built up a shortlist of ‘issues’ that needed considering when buying a car, he was delighted to find them already addressed on this original Lotus Motor Show launch car.

It means he’s had to do almost nothing on it since, with the exception of an exhaust lambda sensor change and, most recently, a headlamp lifter mechanism refresh, sourced from SJ Sportscars. What comes across strongly when chatting with him, is his sheer enthusiasm for the car. “I’m getting to know and love one car,” he enthuses. There are no plans to sell!

Large boot space means the Esprit is practical.

W

hile the design brief for a new car may be timeless, it’s far less likely that the resultant model will last more than perhaps a decade before styles change and popularity inevitably wanes.

So do you simply discard that brilliant set of objectives to the history books, or re-invent them in the form of an all-new model? Was the Evora ever meant to pick up where the Esprit left off, or did the Hethel engineers intend it to meet a completely different set of criteria?

There are certainly similarities between the two models. In Peter Stevens’ guise (and updated further by Julian Thomson), the fourth iteration of the Esprit had grown in size, weight, power and sophistication. Here was a grown up high performance GT for the serious buyer – capable of taking on all-comers from the established big players. But it would be at least a decade after the last Esprit rolled off the production line before Lotus would seemingly revisit the concept, with the launch of the Evora in 2009... Another GT, larger, heavier and more sophisticated than the existing Elise (and Exige) that was already doing sterling work for the company. Once again, here was a model for the grown up Lotus owner.

Both Esprit and Evora have dramatic GT styling, engines located amidships and high value interiors. And in the Esprit S4 and Evora S guises presented here, there’s forced induction (turbo versus supercharged) to add into the mix of crosspollination between these two top tier Lotuses.

But first impressions of the cars here do more to highlight the differences than any features

which might link these two cars. The Stevens’ lines are inextricably anchored in the 1990s, all those soft curves originally ushered in with Ford’s groundbreaking Sierra a decade earlier still – it couldn’t come from any other time. But it still has all the drama of the original Esprit, being obviously low, the windscreen almost horizontal and with definite supercar ambitions. By contrast, the Evora is far more upright and every panel appears stretched over the muscles beneath, with styling and shutlines that have a computer generated accuracy and predictability to them.

There’s a litheness to the Evora that’s missing with the Esprit, but there’s also old-school handdrawn drama to the Esprit that the computergenerated Evora can never match.

All of these initial impressions continue when looking inside the two cabins. Yes, there is a sophistication and sense of quality to both, but the differences that come with the decades separating them are hard to ignore. The acres of cream leather in the Esprit looks spectacular while the black leather of the Evora’s cockpit is more restrained but nevertheless impressive.

You slot yourself down and into the Esprit, but long doors make it easier than you might expect, all things being relative. The steering wheel is fixed and initially you worry your knees may get in the way, but once the seat’s adjusted, this is a great driving position. It’s also an atmospheric driving position too, reclined and with the hugely raked windscreen and pillarbox side windows leaving you in no doubt of the Esprit’s supercar ambitions.

The 2.2-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder was reworked (yet again) for the S4 and here delivers a not insubstantial 264bhp according to the book.

Power steering was, for the first time, standard fitment on this model, which in turn allowed larger alloys to be fitted. It’s a system with plenty

You need to work to get the most from the turbocharged twin-cam in the Esprit.

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With its big wings and spoilers adding to the drama, the Esprit S4 looks every bit the ’90s supercar.

Gaggle of endless gauges is pure old-school.

Cream leather trim is highly developed in this grown-up Esprit.

Driving position less compromised than expected.

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GENERATIONS ESPRIT v EVORA

Tight shutlines and complex curves could only come from our digital generation.

Evora feels wrapped around you.

Later Sports seats update the look in here.

Steering wheel retrimmed to keep interior fresh.

Understated interior still has a quality feel.

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“THE EVORA FEELS FAR MORE WIELDY AND WHILE THE ESPRIT NEVER FELT LARGE ON THE ROAD THE EVORA, BY COMPARISON, FEELS POSITIVELY WRAPPED AROUND YOU” of weighty feel to it. Indeed, the Esprit feels substantial from the off. Performance from the engine is certainly strong, but you always get the sense that it’s having to work hard to move the 1336kg bulk of the S4 along the road. That’s not helped by the transaxle, which seems extremely tall geared in the early cogs, which in turn finds you dropping down into second for some corners where naturally you want to stay in third. In fact, it’s easy to understand why the 4-cylinder power unit (and the gearing) was often put under the spotlight when set against the V8s and V12s of bona fide supercars from the period. It feels as though it needs the torque that comes with more cylinders to give it the thump it appears to lack.

Then again, when Lotus obliged and the Esprit V8 appeared as the S4 bowed out in 1996, the diehards felt the handling balance of the original car had been compromised, even if the hike to 350bhp (and a similarly impressive quotient of torque) must have done much to address the observations present today.

But this is far from being a slow car, it just doesn’t reward a driver not prepared to work to get the best from the Esprit. Focus in on the task at hand and the Esprit comes to life. The handling is everything you might hope for, the steering full of feel and easy to place and, by comparison with modern cars, the Esprit doesn’t fill the road as much as you might expect. It’s a fantastic experience – a big brawny old-school supercar.

And so to the Evora. Despite a cabin that feels far more open, airy and spacious, it’s no easier to get in and out of. But once there, it’s completely different to the Esprit. Here you sit up in the cockpit, with a large open wraparound windscreen offering unfettered view of the road ahead. It’s an upright driving environment with the dash below you (rather than in front of you in the Esprit). The seats in this car are later examples and they not only bring the Evora S bang up to date in terms of looks, but offer superlative support. Despite the different driving position that materialises as a consequence, this too is an excellent location from which to make the most of the Evora’s talents.

If there were question marks in period regarding Lotus’s continued reliance on its 4-cylinder engine in the Esprit, the Evora has also struggled to shrug off the impression that a Toyota 3.5-litre V6 may not cut the mustard either. Supercharging is the preferred method of forced induction here, and 350bhp the result.

From the moment you start the car there’s a lightness to the Evora that is in stark contrast to the Esprit. It feels far more wieldy and while the Esprit never felt large on the road the Evora, by comparison, feels positively wrapped around you.

The gearing of the 6-speed transmission is also far more appropriate for fast A-road driving and flicking between the cogs is light and easy.

If the Esprit pats you on the back for being

MEET THE OWNER EVORA S – GEZ MEDINGER Gez Medinger is new to Lotus ownership but he’s a serial petrolhead with several cars to his name, not least a DeLorean (he also fronts his own YouTube channel at https://tinyurl. com/32yur3z7). It was the DeLorean that led him to Lotus and, over the last few years, keeping an idle eye on Evoras. Budget meant an original naturally aspirated car was his first focus, but he was disappointed to find that many he considered were looking tired both internally and externally.

When this Evora S came up teasingly close to his budget via a private seller he went to see it and immediately knew it was the right car. Not that it was perfect, but a subsequent £3k session at Bell & Colvill addressed a surprisingly long list of gremlins, with the Evora emerging in fine fettle.

Gez has been enjoying the car since buying it last August, and he’s also taken the opportunity to upgrade the seats to much later examples (selling the original leather Recaros to offset some of the cost) as well as getting the steering wheel retrimmed and a few other interior upgrades.

The result is a car that feels factory fresh.

Boot space opening more restrictive than Esprit.

In supercharged form the Evora is plenty quick enough to entertain on public roads.

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GENERATIONS ESPRIT v EVORA

2.2-litre turbocharged engine works hard in the S4.

Engine cover conceals supercharged V6 beneath.

Headlights rebuilt with SJ Sportscars refurb kit.

brave enough to get the best from it, the Evora positively encourages you. Yet again the steering feel is superlative and the suspension has that magic Lotus ability to soak up the humps and bumps of British roads while still delivering seemingly total control. The Evora does all the important things utterly brilliantly when it comes to driving a car fast and safely on suitable British roads – great gearing, superb brakes, feelsome steering and handling you can lean on further than you could ever imagine. Everything tells you exactly what’s going on. Drive the Evora fast and it makes you feel like a hero. It is one of the most rewarding cars I’ve ever driven. But it doesn’t feel like a supercar.

Parking the car beside the Esprit there’s a moment to reflect. It would be easy to expect the conclusion of this feature idea, Generations, to summarise that while there are differences, the two cars do indeed have the same design brief – Lotus was thinking the same thing when it came to create these cars, despite the decades that separate them. And there are indeed similarities beyond the obvious ones of engine location, forced induction and interior sophistication. Both

have those Lotus hallmarks of steering feel and suspension lightness of touch. The Lotus DNA flows obviously through them both, but they are not cut from the same cloth.

The Esprit is an utterly intoxicating driving experience. Weighty, substantial, demanding respect and rewarding the work that must be put in to really show what it is capable of. Both interior and exterior shout old-school supercar, even if the 4-cylinder turbocharged engine ultimately struggles to deliver the thump such styling might suggest.

What the Evora lacks in visual drama it more than makes up for in driver focus. This is a car that comes alive the harder you drive it, feeding information back to the driver almost telepathically. In particular the steering feel and handling are standout features that raise the Evora S into rarefied territory where I suspect few from any car manufacturer can compete. It is not a supercar though, be that old-school or new.

Instead, this is a hugely capable fast GT car.

If you ever get the chance to own either, then you are in for a treat. If you already do, then you knew that already!

Esprit S4

Evora S

Engine/transmission: Lotus 910S 2.2-litre turbocharged engine. 264bhp. 5-speed transaxle Chassis: Backbone structure, galvanised Suspension: Front – Double wishbones, coil-over dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear – Transverse links, coil-over dampers, anti-roll bar Brakes: Vented and drilled discs, 4-pot calipers, ABS Steering: Rack and pinion, power assisted Weight: 1336kg Dimensions: Length – 4.36m. Width – 1.87m Height – 1.16m

Engine/transmission: 3.5-litre supercharged Toyota V6 VVT-I, 345bhp, 6-speed manual gearbox Chassis: Three-part aluminium bonded and extruded chassis with aluminium front crash structure and steel rear subframe Suspension: Double wishbone with coil springs and dampers, anti-roll bars front and back Brakes: Vented discs and 4-pot calipers, ABS Steering: Rack and pinion, power assisted Weight: 1437kg Dimensions: Length – 4.34. Width – 1.84m Height – 1.22m.

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YOUR ADVERT HERE CALL K AREN TO ADVERTISE ON 0330 1234 885

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ME AND MY ELAN S1 RACER

TRACK RECORD Andy Somerton’s 1964 Elan S1 raced through the mid-’60s.

Now it’s back on track and faster than ever.

Words and pictures: Emma Woodcock

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ME AND MY ELAN S1 RACER

Twin Webers contribute to an estimated 170bhp.

Andy Somerton is out for one last season in 2021.

T

his is the tale of two chassis and the Lotus Elan S1 racing car that unites them. It starts in summer 1964 when Colin Chapman and co sell 849 URO to motorsport fanatic Brian Sherwood. With him, the car ricochets through dozens of British club races and a return to road car normality, before entering a new chapter with serial Elan owner Andy Somerton. He has rebuilt it to FIA Appendix K historic motorsport regulations and it’s racing again, after four decades away.

A return to racing had been inevitable ever since Andy and the Elan S1 were introduced in 2003. He was racing a 1966 Elan S3 in the Oulton Park Gold Cup that weekend, when he found a note tucked under his windscreen wiper.

It was from model specialist Norman Lupton and it asked Andy if he’d like to buy an Elan S1 racing car. “Yes! I did! My Elan S3 was just too new to compete in the FIA pre-1965 class, which is where I really wanted to race.”

A couple of years make all the difference. Elans built before the end of 1965 are eligible for prestigious British and international historic GT racing series.

Days later, he bought the car. Then painted red with exceptionally wide wheelarches grafted to an otherwise standard but unoriginal body, the Elan S1 was almost complete but basically unusable. “It wasn’t in movable condition, let alone race ready. Even then I knew the rebuild process would take years.” Stripping the car down to its components made the scale of the project even more apparent, as Andy scrutinised each part for its motorsport capabilities. The engine, gearbox and differential were sent to a driveline specialist to be rebuilt but everything else had to go.

“None of it was suitable for competition,” he explains. “The body was exceedingly heavy and I couldn’t trust my life to the chassis.

I sold everything that had a market.” Andy quickly cleared out the fibreglass bodyshell, all four Minilite wheels, various suspension components and a range of ancillary parts, all to raise funds for the upcoming restoration.

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“THIS ELAN IS RACING AGAIN AFTER DECADES AWAY FROM THE CIRCUIT” Only the original Lotus chassis wasn’t sold.

“The metal was old, corroded and out of shape, so in the end I took a hacksaw to it.”

The steel backbone has served one final purpose from beyond the grave. It confirmed this S1’s history. “I spoke to the mechanic who prepared 849 URO in the mid-’60s and he explained all the modifications he’d made while it was racing, which makes me certain this is the same car.” Building on initial investigations by Norman Lupton, Andy now holds a full dossier of his Elan’s competition career. “Norman found most of the race dates and I’ve spent the years since going to classic car shows and leafing through old programmes and magazines to find positive confirmation.” He can place the Lotus at 22 events between 1964 and 1967, with first owner Brian Sherwood at the wheel each time.

Original Twin-Cam beyond repair, so an LH Owen Performance unit was fitted during the most recent rebuild.

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ME AND MY ELAN S1 RACER

“I SAID 2018 WOULD BE MY LAST YEAR RACING, THEN 2019, THEN 2020. I’VE STAYED ON AN EXTRA YEAR AT WORK TO FUND THIS FINAL, FINAL, FINAL ATTEMPT!”

Andy Somerton has rebuilt the Elan racer himself.

Car is built to FIA Appendix K historic regulations.

Light lenses wired together to prevent loosening.

Brian wasted no time in getting his new purchase out on track. Having purchased the Elan direct from Lotus in August 1964 – though the paperwork went through American Lotus agent Dutchess Autos of Millerton, New York, for reasons unknown – the Wokingham engineering works owner enters his new sports car in its first race at Silverstone on 3 October. The home of British motorsport quickly became a favoured, venue too, accounting for 19 of the pair’s known competitive appearances. Two races at Snetterton and one at Mallory Park round out the historical record.

The location was a near-constant but car and driver enjoyed a varied club racing career over the next three seasons, often running under the Team Minilite insignia. Sherwood made two attempts at the 750 Motor Club’s annual Birkett Relay six-hour race in consecutive years, tried his hand at another teams contest and started sprint races with eight different organising clubs. After running near the front in 1965, the combination hit their stride in 1966 to record third place overall in a May 750MC race before snagging a class win at a Peterborough Motor Club event later in the year.

After entering Sherwood’s ownership with a standard drophead Lotus body, the Elan also gained a quartet of fixed headlights by June 1965 and gradually evolved a coupé body thereafter. Now incorporating a pair of headlights

in scalloped recesses, the new shape featured squared-off wheelarches and an elongated roofline with rear quarter windows. It was completed by August 1966 but its purpose remains unknown. “Sherwood’s mechanic Rex Bates built it using chicken wire,” Andy adds, “but that’s all the information I have.”

A final pair of images record what happened next. After spinning out during a Silverstone race meeting, the Elan was struck by an errant AC Shelby Cobra and the new nose exploded across the tarmac. It’s unclear whether the Elan was rebuilt or raced again after the accident.

Sherwood lost interest in the Lotus soon after, replacing it with one of the very first Piper GT sports cars. By 1968 he owned Piper Cars, only to perish in a road accident the next year.

One rumour suggests that Norman Surtees bought the car from Sherwood but correspondence with the Australia-based motorcycle racer and his F1 champion brother John met with no recollections, adding to a threedecade mystery that runs until 1996. That’s when the Elan resurfaces in the small ads at the back of Autosport. A woman in Kent had the car for the next five years, before it passed to Norman Lupton and Andy.

The mechanical challenge is easier to quantify, at least for a man who bought his first Elan in 1986 and raced his S3 across Europe until 2004.

“Any Elan is like a big Meccano set,” he says.

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ME AND MY ELAN S1 RACER

The Elan’s 13in wheels are period 26R items.

Elan S1 Racer Engine/transmission: LH Owen Performance 1.6-litre Lotus DOHC Twin-Cam naturally aspirated inline-four, Est. 170bhp, 4-speed manual gearbox with Tran-X straight cut gears, Transport limited-slip differential, close ratio 4.4:1 final driveline Chassis: Lotus Elan 26R specification reproduction steel backbone chassis Suspension: Front – Kelvedon adjustable double wishbones, Leda adjustable shock absorbers and Tony Thompson Racing HD anti-roll bar. Rear – Kelvedon A-frame with full rosejointing, Tony Thompson Racing rosejointed top mounts, Tony Thompson Racing adjustable shock absorbers, Kelvedon anti-roll bar Brakes: Discs with Girling AR calipers front, rebuilt Lotus calipers rear Steering: Rack and pinion Dimensions: Length – 3.68m, Width 1.42m (Standard Elan), Height – 1.11m

“The technology is simple enough that you can look after it yourself.” Andy isn’t just talking the talk. He rebuilt his S3 racer from the ground up after a Brands Hatch smash in 1992.

“Not having the funds to pay anyone else, I had to work out how to put it back together myself!” The knowledge he gained back then served him well with 849 URO. Working steadily over nine years, he assembled the historic S1 single-handedly in a domestic garage.

A new chassis marked the first step back to the circuit. It’s an officially licenced item to original Lotus Elan 26R specifications and it supports an equally accurate lightweight bodyshell which Andy has modified with 26R wide wheelarches.

“I sent the body away to have them fitted and made my first big mistake,” he groans. “You should really get that work done after the chassis is fitted. I didn’t.” The 13in, period specification 26R alloy wheels weren’t sitting square with the freshly repainted body.

Option 1 Sports Cars stepped in to save the day. The Bromsgrove fibreglass experts removed and repositioned the bodywork extensions, then resprayed the car a second time. “I’ve had it painted three times in total,” Andy adds. “The scuttle in front of the windscreen shrank and rippled a few months after I replaced the glass, so back it went to Option 1. It must be the only racer on the grid with £10,000 of paint on it!” Inspired by the iconic Goldbug racer, Andy chose metallic Audi Hellebleau for his racer. It constantly shifts shade in the sunlight, giving the Elan an unmistakable visual allure.

Andy is more concerned with the technical specification, which includes a driveline and

running gear all built to FIA compliant historic motorsport specification. The car gained its homologation papers and in 2018 the pair were ready to race. There was just one problem. The Elan wasn’t competitive. “The engine felt rubbish and the suspension wasn’t any good,” he explains. “Then I returned for 2019 and the engine blew a plug out of the head at the first event.”

Giving up wasn’t an option, so it was time to seek specialist opinions. Ricketts Racing recommended dropping the final drive ratio from 4.1:1 to 4.4:1 for better ontrack performance, and the team there also transformed the handling. “Malcolm Ricketts fitted stronger springs all round, a thicker antiroll bar at the front and a Kelvedon rear anti-roll bar. He has put it on a par with the rest of the racing Elans.” Kelvedon front wishbones, Leda front dampers and Tony Thompson Racing rear dampers give scope for adjustment too.

With the original Twin-Cam beyond rescue, a fresh LH Owen Performance engine completes the latest rebuild. It uses twin Weber 45DCOE carburettors and a Farndon steel crankshaft to produce an estimated 170bhp, driving through four straight cut Tran-X ratios in the rebuilt gearbox. Andy hopes it’ll be enough to battle for position in 2021. “I said 2018 would be my last year racing, then 2019, then 2020. I’ve stayed on an extra year at work just to fund this final, final, final attempt!” He’ll be contesting the HSCC Guards Trophy and some HRDC events too.

Fifty-seven years have passed and 849 URO is still racing at every opportunity. Everything changes but some things stay the same.

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BENCHMARK LOTUS 25

SMALL WONDER The Type 25 redefined the grand prix car and provided Jim Clark and Team Lotus with championship honours.

We recall a Formula One titan that was small in stature.

Pic: Goodwood

Words: Richard Heseltine Pictures: Archive

Andy Middlehurst en route to second place in the Glover Trophy race aboard the Classic Team Lotus 25-Climax during the 2018 Goodwood Revival Meeting.

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Clark during the Type 25’s maiden World Championship outing, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

t’s an expression that has become trite shorthand for something – anything – that is merely different as opposed to revolutionary. In many ways, and on so many levels, the term ‘game changer’ has ‘jumped the shark’. However, Lotus has always been one for uprooting goalposts, pushing envelopes and thinking outside of boxes, and never more so than in Formula One. The Type 25 in particular was ground-breaking. Team Lotus claimed 14 World Championship victories with the model, not to mention a brace of constructors’ titles and as many drivers’ gongs.

Type 25s also bagged eleven non-points grands prix wins.

One rather hyperbolic retrospective likened the arrival of the 25 to the Big Bang. Another reckoned its impact on Formula One was equivalent to the Beatles’ on music. There is no denying that its impact was seismic. The Type 16 was perhaps the most sophisticated front-engined grand prix car of its era, but it arrived too late and was hobbled by poor reliability. The Type 18 ‘Biscuit Tin’ followed Cooper’s lead and placed the engine behind the driver and made Lotus a winner, the Type 21 adopting a low-drag ‘cigar tube’ outline that remained a constant through the 1960s. But this was something else. The Type 25 was the first F1 car with a fully stressed monocoque, after all.

“THE TYPE 25 IN PARTICULAR WAS GROUND-BREAKING. TEAM LOTUS CLAIMED 14 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORIES WITH THE MODEL” However, the shock that greeted its arrival at the 1962 season opener, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, was also freighted with anger. Most of this ire was directed at Colin Chapman by customer teams; the ones that had stumped up for the Lotus Type 24 Grand Prix challenger. Their new cars were already also-rans. So much for the promised works/privateer parity. Chapman had pulled a fast one, they reasoned, and it’s hard to argue to the contrary even if the two cars looked relatively similar and shared some componentry.

If there was going to be a Big Bang, it would belong to Team Lotus.

There are various stories surrounding how Lotus came to employ a stressed-skin monocoque.

A well-known font-of-all-knowledge website suggests that a conversation over some pub grub

between Chapman and Frank Costin ignited the spark. However, another version suggests that the kernel of an idea was formed after tests had shown that the Type 21 campaigned during the 1961 season lacked torsional rigidity. A new car powered by the latest 1.5-litre Coventry Climax FWMV V8 was mapped out – again a spaceframe design – which succeeded in being 4.5kg (10lb) lighter than its predecessor. However, there was negligible difference, if any, in terms of stiffness.

This new car became the Type 24.

Chapman apparently had a eureka moment after tests of the prototype chassis for the Lotus Elan persuaded him as to how strong such sheet-steel fabrications could be made. It’s at this juncture that a little brainstorming over lunch – most likely with Mike Costin – enters the narrative again. According to the doyen of motorsport historians and author of Theme Lotus, Doug Nye, Chapman sketched his ideas for the Type 25 on a table napkin while dining in a Cheshunt eatery.

Chapman told Nye: ‘I thought: “Why not space the sides of the backbone far enough apart for a driver to sit between them?” If we made the sides of the backbone as box-sections, we could carry fuel inside them as rubber bags.’ Accordingly, the twin-pontoon, open-topped ‘bathtubtype’ monocoque evolved. However, while the monocoque wasn’t a new idea, here there was a certain amount of reaching for the stars. As such, there was a degree of trial and error before the design was finalised.

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BENCHMARK LOTUS 25

Jim Clark claimed honours in the April 1963 Pau GP in his Team Lotus 25 equipped with a new short-stroke V8 that was also equipped with Lucas fuel-injection.

Having battled for the lead with BRM’s Richie Ginther early on, Clark had to settle for second behind Graham Hill during the 1963 Lombank Trophy race.

Another day, another win… Clark bagged 1963 BRDC Daily Express International Trophy honours at Silverstone for Team Lotus.

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“THE TYPE 25 WAS THE SLIMMEST CAR EVER TO RACE IN FORMULA ONE, HAVING BEEN TAILORED TO SUIT JIM CLARK’S BUILD. THE SEMI-PRONE SEATING POSITION ENSURED THAT HE COULDN’T SEE THE ROAD DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE CAR” An area of the Cheshunt workshop was partitioned off to construct the prototype in secret.

On sitting in a mocked-up monocoque, Chapman decided it was too wide and instructed veteran spanner man Ted Woodley to: ‘...take an inch and a half off it.’ With only 1.5 litres to play with, he wasn’t about to waste power on excess frontal area or weight. The undertray was also sliced and diced and reconfigured. Mechanic and future Cosworth legend Dick Scammell recalled to Nye: ‘None of us really knew what we were doing, but it all took shape very nicely and it certainly looked right. Mike Costin [who helped conceive the scheme] was in there wielding a riveter because he had experience in the aircraft industry, so we all thought he must know what he was doing. It was that kind of project.’

The prototype monocoque weighed just 24.5kg (65lb) and rigidity was, according to period stats: ‘1000lb ft degree twist rising to 2400lb ft degree twist [with the engine in place].’ This rendered it three times stiffer than the Type 24’s spaceframe.

Also, there were no strap-on alloy tanks and corresponding bracketry. The result was one of the prettiest GP cars of its era; one where the engine was mostly cowled-in. It was also the slimmest car ever to race in Formula One (just 1549mm/61in wide), the Type 25 having been tailored to suit Jim Clark’s build, the semi-prone seating position ensuring that he couldn’t see the road directly in front of the car...

Suspension was rooted in the Type 24 that had already been mapped out. It comprised a welded-up cantilever top arm which operated

inboard spring/damper units, and twin lower wishbones. The rear-end had lower wishbones with a single inboard mounting point, a single upper arm and twin radius rods, plus an antiroll bar. The 1497cc Coventry Climax unit was fed by four twin-choke downdraught Weber DCNL-4 carburettors (later Lucas fuel-injection).

It also contributed to the chassis’ rigidity and was allied to a five-speed ZF ’box. All in, the Type 25 weighed just 451kg (995lb).

According to Nye, recently-exiled Team Lotus man Innes Ireland was delighted when he saw the Type 25 being unloaded at Zandvoort first time out. Now driving for UDT-Laystall, the partyhearty Scot had been promised a ‘1962 car’ and reportedly said: ‘This is beautiful, Colin. When do we get ours?’ He wouldn’t. Instead he would be driving a different ‘1962 car’ so already strained relations between the two descended even further into acrimony. Not that Chapman was the least bit bothered. Why should he be?

Nevertheless, he did have his reasons for the subterfuge that stretched beyond him merely not wanting to let others play with his toys. He said years later: ‘[We] didn’t have a clue if monocoque production was going to work. We couldn’t expect customers to suffer the development problems we might have. In any case, the 25 was not ready until the season had begun, and then we had no spare capacity to build such complicated cars with any confidence in being able to ensure sufficient quality.’ This sounds plausible, but... The upshot was that privateer squads clearly felt that they had been bamboozled.

Nevertheless, it was a Type 24 that placed some way ahead of its trailblazing sibling in its first international outing between the sand dunes at Zandvoort: Trevor Taylor finished second to BRM’s Graham Hill in the works car, while Type 25-mounted team-mate Jim Clark came home a lowly ninth, having battled clutch problems for much of the race. The irony is that the team had originally planned on running the sainted Scot in the Type 24 and equipping Taylor with the brave new monocoque design (it proved to be his – and the Type 24’s – best-ever result at this level).

The rest of 1962, however, saw the Type 25 – and Clark – in the ascendant. He bagged pole next time out at Monaco, but retired his car which had begun the race on seven cylinders, before claiming his first-ever point-paying grand prix win next time out at Spa (a circuit which he loathed). Dan Gurney won the next round at Rouen to claim Porsche’s sole World Championship F1 win, but the second half of the season became a Hill versus Clark battle. The latter won the British Grand Prix at Aintree by a handsome margin (having already won that year’s non-points Aintree 200 in a Type 24), but made his one big mistake of the season during the Germany GP meeting at the Nürburgring: he forgot to turn on his fuel feed on the start-line.

Hill won, Clark came home fourth.

Hill subsequently won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza while Clark recorded a DNF. However, Clark bested Hill to win the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It also looked as though he had December’s season-ending South African GP Absolute Lotus 77

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Pic: Goodwood

BENCHMARK LOTUS 25

Andy Middlehurst on the hill in the Classic Team Lotus 25-Climax during the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

at East London wrapped up until a wisp of blue smoke emerged from his car late in the race. This soon became a plume. Hill came home the victor and claimed the drivers’ title, with Lotus being narrowly beaten to the manufacturers’ crown

by BRM by one point. But for Clark’s ‘issue’ in Germany, it may have been a different story.

By the same token, had it not been for three retirements through mechanical failures, it would similarly have been a different picture.

In 1963, reliability improved appreciably, something which has been credited to the input of Len Terry who had been tempted back to Team Lotus having been fired by Chapman in 1959 (after he had attempted to unionise employees...).

Developments stretched to the use of lighter gauge monocoques, fuel-injection, and more besides.

The result was a Clark steamroller: he won seven of ten World Championship rounds, scoring in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico and South Africa. Not only that, he accrued wins in non-series races at Pau, Imola, Silverstone, Karlskoga and Oulton Park.

Clark and Team Lotus claimed their respective titles with maximum available scores of 54 points.

This was the same year that Lotus also contested the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, let’s not forget. Chapman told Motor Racing magazine: ‘...in the back of my mind was the comforting thought that in Formula One we were using the same machine as in 1962. If we hadn’t been at Indy, we would probably have been sitting in the garage thinking up improvements on the last year’s Lotus 25 – and those improvements would have got us into trouble!’

Chapman told the same title: ‘One lesson I have learned in motor racing is that improvements have to be tackled slowly and progressively. We have stopped experimenting in major races...’ And while the Type 33 came online in 1964, Clark spent much of the season competing aboard a Type 25. He claimed further World Championship wins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain, and in 1965 used chassis R6 ‘Old Faithful’ (seven cars were made) to win the French GP at Rouen. It was

a remarkable denouement for the Type 25’s frontline career.

The car’s influence went beyond merely inspiring its contemporaries, too. A young college student managed to get close to the Team Lotus 25s at the Westmead circuit in Durban, South Africa in December 1962. The 20-something was transfixed by its engineering, and 25 years later he told Classic & Sports Car: ‘I just thought they were the most elegantly-designed, best-packaged, most exquisite bits of kit one could ever conceive of manufacturing. And when Jimmy Clark and Trevor Taylor took them out on the track and just zapped everybody and finished first and second, it really convinced me that looks and finish and packaging and detail thought in every part of a design is all-important.’

And the name of this youthful onlooker?

That would be one Professor Gordon Murray CBE who would later turn Formula One on its head before redefining the supercar. The Type 25 may have been on the small side but it cast a long shadow.

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19/05/2021 9:12 am

BUYERS’ GUIDE ELITE AND ECLAT

THE LUXURY LOTUSES Once two of the most expensive four-cylinder cars in the world, the Type 75 and 76 were huge departures for Lotus in the 1970s. Today, however, both can be had for relatively little money, if you’re careful.

Words: Jack Wood Pictures: Adam Wilkins

The shooting brake profile of the Type 75 was new for Lotus.

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W

ith a decade of F1 wins behind it – with more to come – the 1970s would see Lotus attempt to shake off its kit car roots in favour of a new-found prestige image and line-up. The all-new state-ofthe-art, all-alloy 900-series engine was at the heart of this upmarket push, with two make-or-break models developed around it to take on the likes of Ferrari and Jaguar in the showroom. By 1975, both the popular Elan family and Europa would be dropped from the range entirely, and the cash cow Seven sold on. The supercar Esprit and fourseater Elite and Eclat replaced all three.

The Esprit alone was a huge gamble for Lotus, but the Type 75 grand tourer would be its most significant production car departure yet.

Luxury and lightness rarely go hand-in-hand, yet the top-tier Elite would price itself into direct competition with the likes of Jaguar’s equally new XJ-S (later XJS), which had three times the cylinders and nearly double the horsepower. Where the Jaguar was a difficult evolution of the much loved, but ageing, E-Type, the new Elite was a whole new entity and modern through and through.

Like the original Type 14, the Type 75 was a revolution in the market. Under two thirds the weight of the competition, and much more aerodynamic too, it allowed that busy 2.0-litre four-pot to make the most of the Chapman influenced chassis and suspension. Yet with its svelte shooting brake bodywork, from ex-Jaguar draughtsman Oliver Winterbottom’s ruler, and stylish interior, from Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Elite was just as handy in the city. A professional athlete, in a tailored suit.

A year after the Elite’s launch, the more conservative Eclat coupé joined the range.

Available in cheaper 520 form, it featured smaller brakes, a Ford 4-speed gearbox and none of the special amenities deemed ‘too soft’

by Lotus’s grassroot supporters. Initially the least popular of the ‘wedges’, the Eclat would go on to lay the foundations for both cars’ replacement model, the Excel (originally Eclat Excel) in 1982.

When new, the Elite was the most expensive four-cylinder car in the world yet, in the years that followed, both it and the Eclat have struggled to keep up with Lotus’s more budget-orientated designs, in both popularity and sales. Now the tides appear to finally be turning, as more and more enthusiasts buy into the last of the Chapman developed production Lotuses.

Don’t let their reputation for trouble deter you from joining the club; with careful selection, and a few choice upgrades, an Elite or Eclat can make for a very rewarding ownership experience today.

Here’s how to grab a good one, while their values are still on the up.

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BUYERS’ GUIDE ELITE AND ECLAT

I OWN THREE Martin Williamson is a passionate Lotus fan, with no fewer than three Elites and three Esprits in his growing Lotus collection – which includes the silver Elite S1 photographed for this guide. Martin admits that he originally purchased the car with the intention of using the parts to restore one of his other Lotuses, though the condition and smart silver colour scheme soon won him over.

While in great condition, Martin’s car currently features a Rover V8 engine in place of the 907 unit expected, though he has a correct engine on his workshop table that’s awaiting fitment soon.

Otherwise the immaculate interior, fully-working electrics and tidy chassis make it a fine example of the breed. It has an interesting history too, having been owned by a sound engineer for the Rolling Stones twice before, and features an unusually tidy Rover V8 conversion that used a new engine at the

time – one that had only covered 2000 miles at the time of writing.

In addition to this Elite S1, Martin also owns a later 2.2-litre Elite S2 and a rare 504 3-speed automatic example.

The 900-series is strong, but requires maintenance.

CLUBS Team Excel: W: www.lotusexcel.co.uk F: www.facebook.com/groups/lotuseliteeclatexcel Chassis corrosion can make restorations difficult.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR?

As with any potential classic car purchase, the process for buying the right Elite or Eclat should start at home. The killer with both cars is maintenance, or lack of it. Two decades of criminally low values haven’t helped matters here, and until recently it was quite difficult to find an Elite or Eclat that hadn’t been run on a shoestring budget – though times are thankfully changing.

Research is key. As well as checking through the advert for positive signs, such as a full specialist service history and a clean recent MoT, it pays to look through the photos thoroughly.

The pop-up headlights can be a dead giveaway on S1 cars. If the pictures only display the lights in the ‘up’ position, then there is probably a leak in the vacuum operated system, which could signify a serious corrosion issue. Elite and Eclat S2s featured electronically operated units in their place, meaning the jammed lights are likely due to an electrical fault instead.

The backbone chassis on S1 cars (Type 75 and 76) weren’t galvanised, and early rust protection from the factory wasn’t great – some cars were known to have had replacement chassis at as young as three years old. Elite and Eclat S2s (Type 83 and 84) featured a much improved galvanised chassis, and many earlier cars will have received these or similar aftermarket replacements over the years. Despite this, it pays to thoroughly check the steelwork on all potential purchases. Rust is often most prevalent where the crossmembers meet the bodywork, as the protective felt barriers are known to absorb water. Replacement chassis are still available from suppliers such as Lotusbits, though it’s obviously a body-off, engine-out job and very involved. It’s likely to cost more than the car is worth – though this may not be the case for much longer.

As with the previous Lotus range, the Elite and Eclat borrowed heavily from the British Leyland and Ford parts bins, with Standard Triumph providing several of the suspension components. The Triumph Herald front uprights are a well known weak link, which require regular lubrication with heavy oil – not grease – to stay

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at their best. The Austin Maxi derived rear wheel bearings need regular greasing too, and must be torqued up to 200lb ft when refitted – a higher figure than many home mechanics have access to.

Like many cars from the era, appropriate upgrades are well worth seeking out if you want to use yours regularly. Later bushes are a particularly good addition to well worn cars, though do check that all upgraded parts are attached using later Lotus specification nuts and bolts, as earlier items were made of a weaker grade of steel.

All but the base Eclat 520 – which inherited the Plus 2’s Triumph front brakes – featured sizeable discs and strong calipers at the front, and MGB derived inboard drums at the rear. The MG derived parts are relatively tough and easy to source, though extremely difficult to access on the Elite and Eclat. For this reason, you should check the rear differential for any leaks that could lead to brake contamination, then feel for any sponginess through the middle pedal.

The 900-series engine came in two forms over the Elite and Eclat’s production life. S1 cars featured the 2.0-litre 907 unit that was previously seen in the Jensen-Healey, and S2 cars came with the later 2.2-litre 912 powerplant that evolved from the Lotus Sunbeam Talbot project. All are great fun, and strong, assuming that they have been well maintained – large receipt files are again a huge bonus here.

Some oil consumption is normal, even on known good units. The earlier 2.0-litre powerplants are expected to consume up to one litre per 500 miles, which means the tiny 6-litre sump requires regular top-ups with the recommended Valvoline 20/50 formula oil (or similar). Oil leaks, however, should be viewed with more suspicion.

The cam covers on earlier engines are the most common area for seepage due to a poor early gasket design. A common side effect of this is an accumulation of oil around the spark plug wells, which often leads to shorting on start-up.

An improved gasket is all that’s needed to fix the issue, though leaks in other areas could suggest serious wear or a bodged rebuild – neither is

good news. All 900-series engines are of an interference-type design too, meaning cambelt health is of prime importance. All belts should have been changed every 24,000 miles, or more likely every two years (whichever comes first). The tensioner should be changed as well if it exhibits any sign of wear. One ill-advised but surprisingly common modification is the removal of the belt guard. Make sure any potential purchase has one, otherwise road debris may find its way into the mechanism. This can either damage the belt or help it break free, at which point you’ll be excavating valve gear from your pistons.

As an all-alloy unit, corrosion inhibiting anti-freeze is another must-have on these cars.

Excessive corrosion of the waterways will lead to hotspots, then more serious damage. The tight tolerances required by the 900-series can make home rebuilds difficult, so you’d be best to find a good one in the first place.

The Dell’Orto carburettors are well-regarded for their reliability and ability to stay in tune, though they can be difficult to set up once worn.

Unbalanced and out of synch carburettors will be most noticeable on tick-over, so keep that in mind. The last under-bonnet check is an obvious one, but make sure it is a Lotus engine! This may sound silly, but the cheap nature of the early wedges meant it was once common for them to be used as donor vehicles for Esprit restorations and Lotus Sunbeam rally cars. There’s nothing wrong with a Rover V8 conversion, or the like, but it’s not worth paying Lotus prices for one!

The Getrag 5-speed gearbox found on the later cars is probably the best reason to seek out a 2.2-litre engined S2 example, as it’s by far the best unit for both. All but the base Eclat 520 S1 manual cars inherited the Lotus made 5-speed box from the Plus 2, which could just about manage the weight of the old four-seater and its 1600cc Twin-Cam engine. The heavier GTs though, with their torquier 2.0-litre powertrain, could prove a little too much for the Austin Maxi derived internals to handle, especially when driven as a Lotus demands. The Ford Granada 4-speed found in the 520 is much tougher, if a little out of sorts with the grand tourer intent of

the Eclat. The optional Borg Warner 3-speed automatic, however, is much too GT-like for its own good in a Lotus – though also strong, if the fluids are changed on time. A later Toyota Supra or Ford Type-9 replacement is a bonus for anyone who isn’t looking for complete originality.

While assessing the life of the gearbox, it also pays to get a good feel for the clutch. It’s an inherently strong unit, but needs to be checked for any signs of wear or slippage as replacing it will be an engine-out job.

Bodywise, there’s not too much to worry about. As well as being the masters of chassis and suspension sorcery at the time, Lotus was well ahead of the curve when it came to fibreglass body production in the 1970s. The Elite and Eclat were the first Lotus models to pioneer the use of the revolutionary Vacuum Assist Resin Injection (VARI) process, which was borne from Chapman’s involvement in boat production via his Moonraker brand. The VARI system split the bodies into two halves, top and bottom, using vacuums to create a more uniform construction – the chrome strip on the Elite and Eclat hides where the two halves join. This process allowed Lotus to produce its best body finishes yet, and quality gelcoats ensured that each finish had a better chance of lasting the distance. Cars stored outside will still show their age, though repairs can be made at home with the help of a guide.

Accident damage is, thankfully, much harder to hide, due to the GRP’s propensity to shatter instead of bend. Any mismatched paint or uneven panels should be viewed with suspicion.

The Elite and Eclat were the beginning of Lotus’s leap into luxury, as such any well-specced model will feature lots of trim, dials and toys – all of which are difficult to source today. This means it’s imperative to check everything is there, even if it doesn’t all work. This also means the lower specced 501s (Elite), 520s or 521s (Eclat) can make more sense if you only intend to use the car sparingly. The ’70s beige and brown fabric hues soil easily too, and the headlinings sag, though all fabric or leather trim can be repaired or retrimmed by a specialist. A tired interior can be a good haggling point.

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BUYERS’ GUIDE ELITE AND ECLAT

CHECKLIST History: Check all the paperwork for signs of a properly maintained service schedule, go over the recent MoT history and look out for any receipts that hint at appropriate upgrades.

Engine: Check for oil leaks and any signs of engine fatigue. Ensure the belt guard is still fitted, before feeling the cambelt and pulleys for good tension and health. Also ensure that the car has been run using the correct antifreeze formula.

Transmission and clutch: Feel the clutch and gearbox for any wear, the earlier Lotus boxes can be particularly temperamental and difficult to fix. The later Getrag, Toyota and retrofitted Ford gearboxes tend to be much longer lived.

Electrics: Flick every switch to ensure that everything works as Lotus intended. Wayward headlights on S1 cars are typically vacuum faults, which can signify corrosion problems.

Chassis: Check the backbone structure for signs of corrosion, especially on early cars. Rust is most commonly found wherever the chassis meets the bodywork.

Bodywork: Check for any signs of accident damage or bodged repairs. Faded gelcoats can be sorted more easily at home.

Suspension: Assess the health of any rubber bushes and check that the Triumph and Austin derived components have been maintained properly, or replaced.

Brakes: Feel for any sponginess – it could signify an issue with the hard-to-access rear brakes.

Interior: Be wary of any interior with missing parts, as replacements will be hard to find. Worn fabrics and leathers can be repaired or replaced more easily.

TIMELINE 1972: The production Lotus 907 engine is unveiled as the powerplant for the new JensenHealey. The first M50 executive prototype (yet to be labelled the Elite) is completed at Hethel.

1974: Colin Chapman unveils the new Elite in May, which is built alongside the Elan Plus 2 until the following year.

1975: The more conservatively styled Eclat joins the range, with the 520 base model replacing the Elan Plus 2.

1976: The Lotus Esprit joins the range, further boosting Lotus Cars’ new-found upmarket image.

The Borg Warner 3-speed automatic option becomes available in all-markets for the first time.

1978: The Elite S2 and Eclat launch with the new 2.2-litre 912 engine, revised styling, a galvanised chassis and electric pop-up headlamps.

1981: The final Elite and Eclats are produced at Hethel, the targa-top Riviera model is launched.

1982: Lotus re-engineers the Eclat using Toyota Supra sourced parts, which is launched as the Eclat Excel. The Elite is dropped from the range.

1984: The Eclat moniker is dropped.

1992: Excel production ends at Hethel.

Leather interiors tend to wear better than the very ’70s hued fabrics.

RESTORATION, MODIFICATION AND TUNING

With the Elite and Eclat, it’s all about picking your battles. Engine work and drivetrain modifications are all perfectly doable at home on a reasonable budget, though engine rebuilds and chassis repairs are likely to be too involved and costly for many. GRP and interior repairs are all within the remit of the hobbyist restorer.

As both cars were the starting point of a long evolutionary cycle for Lotus, which ended with the Excel nearly two decades after the Elite’s launch, there’s no shortage of upgrade scope for early models. If it was our money, we’d replace as much of the Triumph and Austin derived mechanicals as possible, before looking towards upgrading the engine and gearbox.

The Lotus 900-series can see a healthy 200bhp from simple camshaft and head upgrades, and more so again with larger carburettors fitted. The Esprit Turbo ‘gubbins’ would be a nice-to-have, though are you really going to put your wallet and gearbox through all that stress? Speaking of which, if you have the weak-link Lotus 5-speed, miserly Ford 4-speed or Americanised Borg Warner automatic fitted then there is lots to be gained through a transmission upgrade. The Toyota Supra derived box from the Excel may sound like the best bet, but it’s actually the Ford Type 9 that’s the easier to fit – it’s also cheaper, and has more scope for swapping cogs.

WHICH TO BUY?

This all comes down to personal preference, and what you want from your Lotus GT. Fans with more traditional tastes tend to prefer the more conservative silhouette of the Eclat coupé, whereas Lotus-oriented fans tend to prefer their wedges as Winterbottom intended. Don’t be fooled into believing that an Elite will offer more

Original headlingings often sag with age.

versatility though. Its shooting brake styling isn’t quite as practical as it lets on, owing to its Citroën style glass boot partition and fixed rear seats.

Later cars do lose some of the earlier purity with their Rover SD1 tail lights and bigger bumpers, though the bigger engine, better gearbox, galvanised chassis and electric pop-up headlights make them our pick for usability.

When new, the Elite had four specifications.

The 501 was the base, 502 added aircon, 503 added power steering and the 504 an automatic gearbox. The Eclat followed the same structure, but with the 520 denoting a sub-base spec (4-speed gearbox and Plus 2 brakes) car, and the 521, 522, 523 and 524 specifications mirroring those of the Elite. As many of these cars will have been restored from the parts of other Lotuses, and as certain amenities fail, these specifications are no longer as important as they once were.

As with the previous range, there were special editions too. These included the rare sportier Eclat Sprint and semi-open Eclat Riviera, neither of which offer a totally different experience to the main range or affect values too much. In reality, it pays to buy on condition, then add your own upgrades later.

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WHAT TO PAY?

As little as five years ago it would have been possible to pick up a near-mint Elite or Eclat for less than £5000, which is around the value of a semi-usable rolling project today. The only ‘cheap’ Elite and Eclats left on the market are ones that are best avoided by all but the most masochistic home restorers. We’d expect you to pay at least £4000 for a project car, and £7000 for something more usable today, which is still very little money for what both cars offer. It appears that only the very best examples manage to break the £10,000 barrier privately, which cannot be the case for too much longer.

Stuck headlights could spell trouble on S1 cars.

Elite and Eclat

Elite and Eclat had several different wheels designs.

VERDICT

It’s fair to say that Lotus has come a long way since the launch of the Elite in 1974. For many the executive Lotus was too much of a push away from the manufacturer’s sports car roots, and it never quite received the same accolades, or ultimately sales, of the Elan and Plus 2 it replaced.

But to ignore it or the Eclat today, as the market has for so long, would be to ignore Lotus’s evolution into a true mainstream brand under Colin Chapman’s direction. You would also be sleeping on two of the best driver’s cars ever to be offered in the executive segment.

All the correct Lotus ingredients are there in the early wedges. Both have a small but powerful engine. Both have the classic backbone chassis, with the usual Lotus suspension trickery. Both are unique in their field, and both weigh over 100kg less than a current generation Ford Fiesta.

It’s time we finally gave the Elite and Eclat the respect they deserve.

Chassis: Steel backbone Suspension: Front – Independent wishbones with coil-over dampers. Rear – Independent with trailing arms and coil-over dampers Engine: S1 – Lotus 907 2.0-litre all-alloy 16v slant four with twin Dell’Orto carburettors, 150bhp. S2 – Lotus 912 2.2-litre all-alloy slant four with twin Dell’Orto carburettors, 160bhp Gearbox: S1 – Lotus 5-speed manual, Ford 4-speed manual (Eclat only), Borg Warner 3-speed automatic. S2 – Getrag 5-speed manual, Borg Warner 3-speed automatic Brakes: Front – Discs. Rear – Drums Wheels: Various alloy and steel options from the factory and selected dealers Interior: Adjustable leather or fabric front seats, with a matching fixed bench in the rear Wood veneered dash, various stereos, electric windows and optional air conditioning.

Exterior: Split VARI moulded GRP bodywork.

USEFUL SUPPLIERS Lotusbits Rugby, Warwickshire.

T: 01926 633211.

W: www.lotusbits.com Esprit Engineering Salisbury, Wiltshire.

T: 01725 514449.

W: www.espritengineering.co.uk FJ-RS Engineering Marton, Warwickshire.

T: 01926 290275.

W: www.fjrs-engineering.co.uk

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RUNNING REPORTS LIVING WITH A LOTUS

EXCUSES

With the Excel away and in need of parts, Angus has been without his prized Lotus for over three months.

ANGUS MARSHALL Car: 1990 Excel SE Owned since: 2004 Work done: Awaiting its return.

Angus’s Excel has over 200,000 miles under its belt, so it probably deserves a few upgrades.

There’s an Excel sized space next to Angus’s Morgan.

Anthony Kitching found a few issues with the car.

Here we go again. More excuses for not actually driving my car anywhere. It’s actually not my fault though, as I haven’t had the Excel at home since the end of February. As I reported in the last issue, I dropped it off with the team at Classical Gas, Darlington, to fit the new exhaust system, check it over and get it MoT’d. The good news was it passed without any trouble – if you heard a loud thud on 1 March, it was me falling off my chair when I found out! But that’s when the trouble actually began.

Anthony at CG had pulled the engine out, because it’s so much easier to remove and replace the exhaust manifold without the bodywork and chassis in the way. Problem number one was that, after nearly 210,000 miles and 31 years of use, the chassis had developed a bit of corrosion near the manifold, despite the pretty good galvanising. It doesn’t look like it had been rubbing, but the heat had done a bit of damage over the years.

My old exhaust system was still serviceable, so I put an advert on Facebook and Paul Burns – who owns a black Excel that I’ve seen around a few times – made a fair offer for it. It’s going to reduce the weight of his car, as he recommissions it this year. We also made sure to preserve my ‘special’ exhaust manifold, which was apparently taken from a development engine at Hethel – it has special taps on it for exhaust gas temperature sensors. Although more than a little

used, it’s a bit of history that I thought was well worth saving. The real trouble started soon after.

The exhaust-side engine mounting-leg was doing a pretty good impression of Auntie Gladys’s old doily, with some lovely lacy patterns where it should have been solid metal. Then the clutch proved to be about 80 percent worn – not slipping, but getting to the point where it would be soon. It shouldn’t have been such an issue, as a call to the usual suspects had us expecting the parts within a day. Unfortunately our calls went unreturned for a couple of weeks, leaving us a bit stuck. I eventually tracked down some alternative part numbers, but we couldn’t find any stock. I tried many suppliers, before PNM Engineering finally came up trumps.

The engine mounting-leg on the other hand was proving more elusive. That was until Bryan Barker reminded me that the dealer network can check Lotus’s own parts stocks, so a quick call to Paul at Oakmere Lotus delivered a good result.

Although the leg is now officially obsolete, some of them survived the Bahar-era parts cull and one or two were lurking in the warehouse.

One of them is also now in Darlington, awaiting fitment to my car.

This all leaves one last little problem. At the time of writing, the new exhaust was fouling on the sump and I’m reluctant to use a percussive persuader on it. This time next year, Rodney...

The Excel’s assumed-prototype manifold.

Angus’s car received a new exhaust recently.

Scott Beaumont of Classical Gas.

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EMIRA EXCITES Joe is still loving his Exige, but he’s more than a little tempted by its replacement.

JOE CROSER Car: Exige Sport 410 Owned since: 2019 Work done: Driving!

Joe’s Lotus shares garage space with his Ducati.

As I type this column, it is two whole years since I returned from a thrilling trip around the Highlands and West Coast of Scotland in my old Porsche 911 Turbo. The roads were rewarding, the scenery sublime, and the Porsche was almost perfect. Yet within weeks I had placed an order for an Exige. If you have followed Absolute Lotus for the past two years, you will already be familiar with my journey so I shan’t repeat the details here. Suffice to say, I wanted more excitement and, oh boy, do I now have it with my Lotus Exige 410 Sport, which is here to stay.

In the past few weeks my Lotus has been used for a shopping trip to Cambridge to buy some cool Doc Martens for my stylish daughter, and for impromptu coffee meets with my petrolhead pals. It’s also been on many early-morning and mid-afternoon back road blasts to widen my smile, reminding me why I love my Lotus. My enjoyment of it hasn’t waned a bit, yet when I read that Lotus had planned something of a ‘reveal’ for the upcoming Type 131 I couldn’t wait to learn more. Was I itching for another change? This is how it always starts, with a seed planted and a little ‘food’ to help it grow.

I duly logged on to the Lotus portal at the allocated time, and watched intently as the Lotus illuminati updated ‘us lot’ about their plans for the coming years. We were reminded of the 10-year plan published back in 2018, and we were shown how the three years that followed have delivered against it. Super, good job guys... now show me the Type 131! As it happened, we didn’t get to see very much, barring a few teaser pics.

However, we did learn that the launch date will be 6 July 2021, that it will have a petrol engine, with 4- and 6-cylinder variants, and it will be named the Emira – there’s more on Lotus’s Driving Tomorrow news event on page 8. We were also told that a pre-production prototype will be at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

My next act was to book my FOS tickets for the Friday. It will be four-plus years since my last FOS visit, so it wouldn’t ordinarily be time to return. But with the allure of the Emira, my deliberation time was eliminated – such is the promise of this new Lotus. I have zero intention of selling my Exige, so I am going to need to make additional space for another Lotus. That is assuming the Emira excites.

I am blessed and I know it. I have a good life. I have a job that I love – for the most part – and most importantly I have the good health to enjoy the spoils. So, when the chance arises to give a little back, I jump at it. As a Lotus Drivers’ Club member, I recently learned about an opportunity to support a Mission Motorsport event for veterans. Mission Motorsport is a charitable organisation that helps aid the recovery and rehabilitation of those affected by military operations through motorsport. The opportunity will involve me spending a day at the beautiful and historic Bicester Heritage site in June, when I will get the chance to take some veterans around the iconic Bicester test track, with its six technical turns and short straight, in my Exige. I am also expecting my Military Grey paint scheme to be a fitting tribute to all.

Joe has been out enjoying his Exige.

Spring cleaning in anticipation of summer.

Will the Exige be getting a Lotus stablemate soon?

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RUNNING REPORTS LIVING WITH A LOTUS

BACK TO IT With the UK set to re-open, Jon has been getting his VX220 ready for action.

JON SANDERSON Car: Vauxhall VX220 Turbo Owned since: March 2012 Work done: Upgrades!

Jon’s been very busy preparing his car for the trackday season.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, we have begun to see some normality resume in the UK, bringing with it the promise of opportunities to use the car again, meaning I can finally see the results of my extensive upgrades. First priority however, was giving the VX220 a major service – which is recommended every five years for the Turbo model. This time I used Type 116 Motorsport in Leeds, which was set up by fellow VX220 owner and Lotus expert Chris Redman.

Chris carefully changed the water pump, drive pulleys and cambelt with GM originals, and used the ‘hydraulic method’ to extract my worn valve stem oil seals, replacing them all with new parts.

It was certainly time to do these, as the car has a much reduced smoking habit as a result. This also saved us the headache of having to remove the engine, so my wallet was saved too!

Around this time, I also treated the car to a new 3in exhaust system from Chris Tullet Exhausts.

This is no normal exhaust, as it’s a bespoke shortened version to give a sportier sound. It’s a complete work of art, which was clearly designed and fabricated by a true expert.

Before I fitted the exhaust, it seemed only right that I reproduce my very own Formula One engine note (V8 of course) through the system in my living room – and record a video for the amusement of my VX220 friends on the forum. While I was in my living room with the exhaust system, I thought it prudent to heat wrap everything to reduce heat loss and absorption before it was fitted. I have to say it was a horrible

The Chris Tullett exhaust should add performance.

job, due to the itchy fibreglass stranding, but it was a good result nonetheless.

Was the exhaust worth the expense? Absolutely!

I was previously running a 2.25in Milltek system, and I was staggered at the difference the 3in replacement had made. It is now clear that the previous system was forming some kind of power restriction, as I would say there has been a considerable hike in both horsepower and torque.

It also has a lovely exhaust note, not overly loud, and there’s a flame thrown in every now and then for fun! I am going to be bold and say it is one of the best modifications to date.

I also used my time between issues to replace the light instrumentation panel with a part engineered by Type 116 Motorsport. In carbonfibre, it looks much more modern and prevents the switches from failing – a common occurrence on both the VX220 and Elise S2.

Jon doing his best F1 engine impression.

Carbonfibre trim works with Jon’s other upgrades.

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UPGRADES Lee takes us through several of the modifications he’s done over the years, to both his Lotus and home.

LEE PEPPER Car: Esprit Turbo Owned since: March 2018 Work done: New lifts, trailer and headlining.

A local trimmer created a custom headlining.

No longer relies on cassettes for in-car entertainment.

Lee Pepper uses the same hydraulic lifts as car collector Jay Leno.

Our house, when it was built 50 years ago, had a small three-stall horse barn attached. When we bought the property 16 years ago, I converted those stalls into two bays for parking my 1972 Porsche 911. It was not conducive to my car maintenance projects, and it was always a battle keeping squirrels and field mice away.

A couple of years ago we decided to build a proper garage where the barn was located.

After demolishing the building, and giving most of the barn wood away for recycling, we broke new ground with a four-car garage and lift. As I researched car lifts, I took note of the ones that Jay Leno used on his show. They were Bendpaks.

My Bendpak lift was shipped to an installer, who trailered it down to Nashville and installed it in half a day. The four-post lift has drive-on ramps, as well as scissor jacks for the times I need to remove the wheels. It also came with a set of handy plastic drip trays, which helps keep the floor a little tidier.

Our Esprit still had its original JVC radio until recently. I purchased some older cassettes of music I liked on eBay for use on my drives and cruises. It was fun showing my kids the way we used to listen to music. After a few months

those cassettes were beginning to show their age, leading me to purchase a Bluetooth enabled cassette from Aluratek that allows me to stream music from my phone. It’s been a complete game changer, giving me access to all of my classic ’80s tunes without the need to flip or swap tapes.

In other news, a new upholstery place recently opened near my house, advertising that it specialised in automotive interiors. I took the Esprit over to Elite Restorations, and the owner Layne Pollak took a special interest in the car. Its headlining needed some attention, and I had the idea to include a Union Jack into the new piece.

Layne personally created a beautiful flag insert in leather, designing the new headliner himself. The piece really sets off the interior and I cannot wait to show it off at events over the summer.

Speaking of car shows, we decided to pull the trigger on a new car hauler. We chose the Peter Brock designed Aerovault. These trailers are made of aircraft-grade aluminium and are designed to be easier to pull. For a novice like myself this is important. It also features an integrated winch and numerous storage options.

We’ve used it a few times already this spring, and we are regularly asked what it is by car nuts.

Lee’s new Aerovault trailer uses aircraft aluminium.

His Porsche 944 fits in with room to spare!

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RUNNING REPORTS LIVING WITH A LOTUS

THE OLD WAYS Raymond compares the process of adjusting the valves on the Europa’s Renault pushrod engine and the Esprit’s later Lotus 912 engine.

RAYMOND ROBINSON Cars: Europa S2 since ’78, Elan Plus 2 since ’81, Esprit S2 since ’85, Elite since ’88, Elite S1 since ’92 Work done: Cambelt and valve adjustments.

Raymond was pleased he didn’t need to remove...

Raymond’s Esprit doing its best snow plough impression.

It has turned out to be valve adjustment season recently. As mentioned in my last report, a friend had kindly provided me some space in his heated garage to do a cambelt replacement and valve adjustment on the Esprit. I’m grateful for Lotus not making me remove the engine to do these jobs, as is typical with many mid-engined cars, though I did still need to remove a few items.

My JPS car has aircon, and the tensioner for it is only easy to adjust if you’re lucky enough to have three arms. I removed the bolts for the compressor, so that I could lift it and slip the belt off. When you remove the auxiliary belt pulley on the crank, you must check that the timing belt pulley hasn’t moved. There is a grooved washer that sits between the sprocket that needs to be centred. If it isn’t, the sprocket will sit too far forward. I was once called out to look at an Esprit being repaired by a mechanic who did not know this. He was very confused as to why the belt was shredding so soon after starting the car!

When I lift the cam housing from the head, I push the tappet bucks down and lift the whole housing off – keeping the buckets and shims over the valve springs. I then place each tappet buck, and its shim, in individual plastic sandwich bags and number each to its allotted valve. I keep a list of my previous shim sizes in the car, so I can see what shim sizes I may need to order ahead of time. I only order new Lotus shims, with the hardened surfaces, when they’re required.

I rotate the engine 45deg when refitting or testing the adjusted valve clearances, only putting one cam housing in at a time to test the clearances. For final assembly, I place the shims on top of the valve, and the tappet bucks in the housing, with engine rebuild grease holding the tappets in place. I use Right Stuff Grey as my sealer between the cam housing and the head, as it never leaks. I also replace the O-ring for the oil supply roll pin, which sits between the head and cam housing.

When putting the timing belt back on, I offer up the belt from the crank on the side without the tensioner, then rotate the cam half a tooth counter-clockwise. Once you’ve tensioned the belt, shortening it basically, it will pull the belt wheels clockwise into the home position. Rotate the engine a few times, recheck the tension and ensure that the cam wheel positions line up. It takes patience and care to do it right, without forcing any parts into position. If you do it correctly it’ll sound glorious on start-up.

On the Europa you only need to remove three nuts, lift off the valve cover, rotate the engine, adjust the valve clearances (by backing off the locking nut), rotate the adjuster and tighten the nut. As a teenager I made fun of pushrod engines, but I get them now. You can get 80 to 90bhp-perlitre for only a few minutes work. It’s so simple you can serve yourself drinks while doing it...

It turns out they’re a great design after all!

...the Esprit’s engine as he adjusted the valves.

The rejuvenated engine should sound great.

The Renault engine is much easier to work on.

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OUT AGAIN With his native Scotland re-opening, Rory was straight out in his Plus 2.

RORY JACKSON

Rory’s car is immaculate inside and out.

Car: 1968 Plus 2 and Spyder Plus 2 project Owned since: 2016 Work done: Took the Plus 2 on a Scottish tour.

Tesla Model S and Chevrolet Camaro joined the run.

Rory was quick to get his Lotus ready for a group run into the Highlands.

With lockdown rules easing in Scotland, it has become possible to leave our local areas and travel. As soon as these relaxation measures were announced, plans were afoot to travel to Skye, an island off the north west coast of Scotland.

Sure enough, everyone signed up pretty much immediately for this mini-epic road trip.

There was the usual running around as the departure date approached, as I needed deliveries of spares and replacements for my run. My thanks to Spyder Cars for sending me what I required from its shelves in under 24 hours! I also had to order my coronavirus self-test packs, as Skye understandably wants visitors to keep the remote island safe.

The group met up and set off from Edinburgh on a bright Thursday morning. The eclectic mix of vehicles drove in a very loose convoy, travelling across the Queensferry Crossing before turning off to go past the Knockhill Racing Circuit. We then travelled through Glendevon, on the A823, before reaching Gleneagles and the rest of the crew. By now the cars and drivers were settling down, and the Lotus was on song.

From there it was onto Crieff, before hitting the A85 to Tyndrum. The spectacular scenery just keeps on coming as you travel north. As you transition onto the A82, you can see the West Highland Way – where walkers were just starting to use the route again. This trip across to Glen Coe, and past the iconic Buachaille Etive Mòr, is dramatic, no matter the weather!

Passing through Fort William, we then travelled on the A87 alongside the River Shiel. There was then a fantastic diversion as we headed west, travelling over to The Glenelg Inn for lunch. This is where the ground clearance and cornering ability of the Lotus really came into its own, before we caught the Glenelg ferry over to Skye.

We set up camp at the Duisdale Hotel on Skye and used its sister hotel, the Skeabost House Hotel, for lunch on our second day.

There are many different routes you can do on Skye, but I chose to travel on the lesser travelled single tracks to look at Loch Eishart, on the west coast. Sadly, I did not quite reach the destination due to the breakdown of a Porsche in our group. It was fortunate that the extensive tool kit in the back of the Lotus was able to get him back on the road again.

It was then up towards Uig, to do the island’s northern loop before ending another fine day.

To paraphrase the workshop manual, the third day involved returning home and was the reverse of the previous journey. We were fortunate enough to avoid the bulk of slow traffic, as the tourist industry creaked back into life in the north of Scotland.

The Elan Plus 2 ran beautifully with the usual minimal evening tinkering. It was the perfect car for the smaller roads and, as I drove home, I was again grateful to be custodian of such a fantastic Lotus.

Rory lends a helping hand to a broken down 911.

Scotland has some terrific views and roads.

There are a few shared genes between these two.

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CLASSIFIEDS CARS FOR SALE

MARKETPLACE Absolute Lotus’s Classifieds are available both online and in print and are the place to move your old car on and find a new one. Just £25 for two issues (private advertisers).

W: www.absolutelotus.co.uk T: 01476 978843 E: adam@performancepublishing.co.uk

Elise 111R 2004, 53,000 miles. Metallic Bordeaux Red. Touring Pack with black leather interior, ECU upgrade, full Lotus service history and recent new clutch. £22,350. T: Allon White Sports Cars – 01234 750205 (Bedfordshire).

Evora GT410 Sport 2020. Brand new with delivery miles. Finished in Autumn Gold, pre-registered saving on list price of £12,620. £87,995. T: Stratton Motor Company – 01508 530491 (Norfolk).

Exige GT3 2007. One of three cars made by Lotus Sport. An extensive specification is available online or over the phone. T: Lotus Silverstone – 01327 222888 (Northamptonshire).

Exige 410 Sport 2019. Leather and Alcantara interior with carbonfibre backed seats, body colour interior pack, aircon and cruise control. Sold new from Williams. £67,995. T: Williams Automobiles – 01454 315112 (Somerset).

Esprit HC 1989, 39,000 miles. Calypso Red, full light tan leather upholstery factory sunroof and aircon.

Full Lotus service history. POA. T: Barry Ely sports Cars – 01621 330284 (Essex).

2-Eleven SVA 8600 miles. Main dealer service history and full maintenance file. POA. T: Castle Sportscars – 01279 813907 (Hertfordshire).

Exige Sport 350 2019, 4650 miles. Exclusive Motorsport Green with red Alcantara interior. Full service history and paint protection. £56,500.

T: Central Lotus – 0115 912 3400 (Nottinghamshire).

Elan S1 1964. Extensive rebuild, silver hardtop, black ambla trim. Full details available online or over the phone. £44,950. T: Allon White Sports Cars – 01234 750205 (Bedfordshire).

Exige Sport 380 2018. Metallic Black with matching Alcantara interior. Carbonfibre hardtop, bootlid, front splitter, rear diffuser and access panels. £58,995.

T: Williams Automobiles – 01454 315112 (Somerset).

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Elise S1 1997, 23,000 miles. Nautilus Blue with cream leather interior. Both soft and hard tops included. One owner car. £24,995. T: Barry Ely sports Cars – 01621 330284 (Essex).

Elan S4 1969. Just arrived, recently fully rebuilt.

More details available online or over the phone.

POA. T: Allon White Sports Cars –01234 750205 (Bedfordshire).

Esprit Turbo 1984, 56,000 miles. De-seamed bodywork and roof rail delete. Lotus Certificate of Provenance included. £41,250. T: Castle Sportscars – 01279 813907 (Hertfordshire).

Exige S2 Espionage. One-off special edition created in collaboration with Saville Row tailors Gieves & Hawkes for the Harrods Truly British Display.

Specification available online or over the phone. £32,995. T: Maidstone Sports Cars – 01622 890233 (Essex).

Elan 1970. PJS Sports Cars restomod with 250bhp Dunnell tuned Ford Zetec, limited-slip differential, 26R-style body alterations. Too many modifications to list. £57,500. T: PJS Sports Cars – 01283 500428 (Staffordshire).

Elise 1.6 2014, 13,150 miles. Aspen White with black cloth interior. Power Pack upgrade. £26,000. T: Lotus Silverstone – 01327 222888 (Northamptonshire).

Elan FHC S4 1968, 88,000 miles. Full body respray in Lotus Mustard Yellow. Lotus Certificate of Provenance included in the sale. £34,950. T: Castle Sportscars – 01279 813907 (Hertfordshire).

Exige Sport 380 2017, 11,990. Optional Track Pack fitted, carbonfibre backed seats, full PPF film on the paint. Full Lotus service history. £58,995. T: Stratton Motor Company – 01508 530491 (Norfolk).

2-Eleven 2008. British Racing Green exterior with black leather interior. Tonneau cover included. €52,000. T: Lotus Oostende +38 (0) 59 51 81 55 (Belgium).

Esprit V8 1996, 69,500km. Calypso Red, good condition. €67500 T: Lotus Oostende +38 (0) 59 51 81 55 (Belgium).

Elise S1 Sport 135 1999, 57,500 miles. Full service history, Momo quick-release steering wheel. Hard and soft top included. £23,500. T: Central Lotus – 0115 912 3400 (Nottinghamshire).

Exige Sport 390 Final Edition 2021, delivery miles.

Metallic grey with black leather and Alcantara interior. Black forged wheels with yellow callipers. £72,515. T: Stratton Motor Company – 01508 530491 (Norfolk).

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SOUTH WEST LOTUS CENTRE LTD Lotus specialists with over 40 years experience

SOUTH WEST LOTUS CENTRE is a family run business based in Lifton, Devon just off the A30.

We have over 40 years Lotus experience and offer quality servicing, repairs, restorations and spare parts on all models in the Lotus range.

We supply new OE parts as well as remanufactured and used parts.

All servicing and repairs are carried out in our modern, clean workshop, which has 4 service bays and comes well equipped with all the latest diagnostic and tuning equipment.

We carry out normal day-to-day servicing, engine and transmission rebuilds and performance engine tuning, Air Conditioning servicing, Laser four-wheel alignment and on-car brake disc skimming.

Tinhay Industrial Estate, Lifton, Devon PL16 0AH Tel: 01566 784152 email: sales@thelotuscentre.com www.thelotuscentre.com

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96 Absolute Lotus

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NEXT ISSUE O N S A L E F R O M F R I D AY 3 0 J U LY

Final fling – taking the Evora GT410 Sport on the Absolute Lotus Scottish Tour Absolute Lotus 97

097 next issue.indd 97

19/05/2021 3:36 pm

GHOST OF MAGAZINES PAST LOTUS IN PRINT

SPORTS CAR MONTHLY The Lotus Elan had reached its 25th birthday by the time this short-lived title honoured this milestone

T

he coverline said it all: ‘Lotus Elan 25 years on.’ The October 1987 edition of Sports Car Monthly celebrated all things Elan-related, trumpeting the fact that this marque staple had long since become a copper-bottom classic. However, this was only a relatively small part of this long-forgotten title’s marque coverage. The thing is, the removal of the ‘Monthly’ bit from the cover, but its inclusion inside, speaks volumes of the identity crisis the magazine was facing at the time.

In a very roundabout way, it was born of Car Mechanics, which has been around since April 1958. A spin-off title was launched in September 1981 that was aimed at the enthusiast end of the DIY spectrum dubbed, imaginatively enough, Sports Car Mechanics. After a few years, the technical side was dropped and it became Sports Car Monthly, with features spanning everything from heartland classics to circuit weaponry via some of the better kit cars of the day. It was a super publication, too, the cover feature embracing the Elan’s history in great depth.

It reported: ‘With Motorfair upon us once again, and at the traditional Motor Show home of Earls Court, it serves as a timely reminder of the 1962 show, 25 years ago this month, when Lotus stirred up a storm with the announcement of the Elan. The little sports car received a rapturous welcome from the Press [their use of uppercase], who acclaimed it with a single voice as possibly the most effective example of the breed ever produced. An inspired combination of sleek good looks, light weight, healthy power output and sure-footed nimbleness prompted often cynical journalists to eulogise about the new Lotus.’

‘These eulogies were well founded, too,’ it continued. ‘It speaks volumes for the Elan that nearly 15 years after its demise [that] it is still held up as a model when it comes to the ideal performance/handling/ride package. Faults there were aplenty, but the car was a fundamental winner from day one, and its all-too-short 11-year life saw it refined by stages into a really effective sportster.’ The gushing didn’t stop there, either.

The text by Ian Ward went on to report on every permutation of road-going Elan ever to reach the market, plus the 26R competition variant.

From there, it concluded the state of the market in 1987 before recommending... a replica. Ward wrote: ‘There was an interim period during which the factory hardly wanted to remember

Words: Richard Heseltine

that it had ever produced the Elan, but now quite a few of the official Lotus dealers carry large stocks of parts, including galvanised replacement chassis. Then on top of this comes a network of independent specialists, each of whom offers a range of Elan-dedicated facilities, from unofficial parts supply through straightforward repairs and serving to full restorations. With the CN Sprint recreation on offer, it is still possible to experience Elan motoring first hand.’

Next up was a five-page feature on Rob Cox’s ‘Black Bullet’ ModSports Elan. Built by Racing Fabrications, it was powered by a Cosworth BDG ‘four’. There was also a piece about active suspension, in particular research carried out by Lotus, written by LJK Setright. Sports Car Monthly underwent another metamorphosis in February 1988. The emphasis was now placed on tuning upgrades, bodykits and so on. Reminted as Performance Tuning & Sports Car, it soon fizzled out.

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Tel: 01527 835 656 email sales@paulmattysportscars.co.uk “The care home for classic Lotus cars”

LOTUS CARS WANTED

Any condition or model considered. Top prices paid for beautiful, classic Lotus. Immediate decision, car collection with our own transporter. Any outstanding finance settled.

Lotus Elan S4 DHC PRICE: £37500 A super Elan S4 DHC, lovingly restored over the years onto a new galvanised Lotus chassis, registered February 1971, comprehensive history file including 33 MOT certificates, showing 82187 miles which we believe to be genuine, sensible upgrades include solid driveshafts, light weight alloy wheels, alternator and a Motor-Lita steering wheel. Sold by us in 2013 to the last owner, painted in full Gold Leaf colours, superb condition throughout, ready to enjoy the summer sunshine.

Lotus Elan Sprint FHC PRICE: £34950 A delightfully restored Elan Sprint FHC, supplied by us in 1988 to the last owner, genuine Lotus replacement chassis, new wiring loom, excellent interior with new dashboard, extensive history file, correct Colin Chapman signed steering wheel , finished in Lotus Yellow, a terrific example and ready to enjoy the summer.

Lotus Elite PRICE: £79950 A beautiful 1962 Lotus Elite, sold by us in 2009 to the last owner as a restoration project. This gorgeous type 14 has been the subject of a total nut and bolt restoration, the history file contains many invoices from specialists Tolman Motor Sport and MK 14 Components. Fully rebuilt 1460cc Coventry Climax FWB engine, stunning condition throughout.

Lotus Elise 111S *One Owner* PRICE: £25950 Another super find - A stunning Lotus Elise 111S, one local owner from new with just 19028 miles, great service history, AVO adjustable suspension, forged 6 spoke alloy wheels, cross drilled brake discs with EBC pads, includes the registration number PUD 645, super condition throughout, finished in Calypso Red.

Lotus Europa S Just in and rarely available, a stunning Lotus Europa S, registered 2007, just 51202 miles by 3 careful owners, comprehensive service history, finished in Starlight Black metallic with full tan l eather interior.

Lotus Elise 111S New arrival - a stunning Lotus Elise 111S, factory supplied in Krypton Green metallic with black leather interior, registered in 2004, just 36000 miles, comprehensive service history, close ratio gearbox, fantastic looking car.

Lotus Elan S1 Race Car PRICE: £44950 Lotus Elan S1 Race Car, 1963 Bourne Body, road registered with current V5, MSA Competition Log Book, suitable for Stage Rallying, Historic Hill Climbing and Sprinting, 165BHP Racing Fabrications engine (with Dyno Printout), fitted full Safety Devices Roll Cage, Compomotive ML competition alloy wheels, solid driveshafts, Lifeline fire extinguisher, a fantastic race Elan and with the correct modifications the potential to run as a GTS car.

Lotus Elan +2 S130/5 PRICE: £37,500 Lotus Elan +2 S130/5 - 1974. Sold by us to the last owner in 2011, this stunning +2 has undergone a total nut and bolt restoration and is finished to the highest possible standard, fitted with a new galvanised Lotus chassis and a solid driveshaft conversion, it is arguably one of the best available today, finished in Lagoon Blue metallic with a silver fleck roof.

Lotus Elan GTS PRICE: £77500 A superb FIA HSCC Elan GTS, arguably one of the finest examples currently available, 182BHP Craig Beck engine, recent gearbox rebuild, long range foam filled fuel tank, LSD, heated front windscreen, front and rear anti roll bars, documented history, road registered, campaigned in the 2017 HSCC Guards Trophy, Spa Summer Classic and the 2018 Donington Classic K series, immaculately presented, rarely available in this condition.

UK’s Largest Independent Lotus Specialist Est 40 Years

Much More Online and Instore

12 Old Birmingham Road, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B60 1DE www.paulmattysportscars.co.uk Absolute Lotus 99 ad Layout.indd paul matty issue 99 20.indd 1

19/05/2021 18/05/2021 9:12 2:08 am pm

STOP ON A SIXPENCE Peak performance. Competitively priced. Lotus approved brake discs and pads are now more affordable than ever. Save 48% on cross-drilled brake discs, 27% on standard brake discs, and 20% on all brake pads*. Contact your local retailer for further details.

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