1972 Lotus Elan Sprint

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

The Lotus Elan has become a benchmark sports car thanks to its sublime steering and precise handling, and it perfectly embodies the lightweight ethos of legendary marque founder Colin Chapman.

The Elan Sprint being offered for sale here was first registered in January 1973, which was the final year of Elan production at the Hethel factory. A replacement Lotus galvanised chassis was fitted during the mid-1990s, having been sourced from marque specialist Mick Miller, and more recently the car has been treated to an in-depth mechanical refurbishment.

A solid driveshaft conversion was carried out, replacing the standard Rotoflex couplings, a Safety Devices roll bar with side-intrusion bars was installed, and the interior was retrimmed in black leather. A new hood was fitted and the Elan now sports genuine Minilite centre-lock alloy wheels.

In 2017, new stub axles and rear wheel bearings were fitted, and the braking system was overhauled. Three years later, the Twin Cam engine was rebuilt by JSWL Classics, after which dyno testing showed that it was producing 140bhp at the flywheel. It also benefits from electronic ignition and an alternator upgrade.

In 2022, the Elan was sold to its current owner – a discerning collector and marque enthusiast– via renowned Lotus specialist Paul Matty. As a late Sprint, it’s a highly desirable example of a car that still has few peers when it comes to pure driving pleasure.

MODEL HISTORY  

When it was launched in 1962, the Elan was crucial for Lotus. The outgoing Elite had been a critical success but a financial failure, and it could ill-afford to repeat that experience. 

As a result, the Elite’s advanced glassfibre monocoque was abandoned and the open-top Elan instead featured a steel backbone chassis. Onto this was mounted a GRP body, while beneath the bonnet a Ford-based engine replaced the Elite’s expensive Coventry Climax unit. In order to provide suitable performance, more power was needed, so Lotus designed its own twin-cam cylinder head.

The Elan was originally launched in 1962 with a 1498cc version of the ‘Lotus Ford’ Twin Cam engine, but that would soon be enlarged to 1558cc during 1963. There was independent suspension all round, disc brakes, and rack-and-pinion steering, and when Autocar tested an early Elan it commented on the car’s ‘almost uncanny cornering power’.

Elan production covered a golden period for Lotus, during which it won multiple Formula 1 World Championships with drivers such as Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Emerson Fittipaldi. There were near-constant updates and developments along the way, including the introduction of a 115bhp SE model, the 126bhp Sprint, the addition of a fixed-head coupé, and a Plus 2 model that featured a larger body and rear seats.

The original Elan lasted until 1973, and the name was reintroduced with the 1989 launch of the front-wheel-drive M100 Elan. A financial and critical success, it remains one of the most important Lotus models ever built.