1975 Lotus Elan Sprint

We love cars to have a pinch of character here at The Coolector and that’s definitely a compliment which can be paid to this small but perfectly formed 1975 Lotus Elan Sprint which is going under the hammer with Silverstone Auctions. It has a guide price of £50-80k which seems entirely reasonable for such a classy-looking steed and if you’re in the market for a unique and standout addition to your classic car lineup you, sir, need look no further.

Incredibly rare, this is the last Elan Sprint to be UK-registered and, quite possibly, the best Fixed Head Coupé in existence so it stands to reason that there will be a lot of interest when this one goes up for grabs at Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro Classic Car Sale. The glass fibre-bodied Elan may only have been available initially as a Roadster Kit but its specification was incredibly advanced and it stuck to Chapman’s ‘just add lightness’ engineering philosophy.

For this impressive-looking machine, the power came from Harry Mundy’s Ford-based Lotus 1,558cc DOHC engine and it was fitted with disc brakes all round, and the independent suspension was set up to really make the most of the ride quality and handling finesse; qualities for which this awesome little car is still appreciated for to this day.

Presented in immaculate condition, this car was entrusted to the well-respected team of Ken and Neil Myers to carry out a full body-off, restoration to standards that the vendor describes as “beyond Concours”. Pleasingly the chassis, body and engine are all the original ones and the car was re-finished in its original Sprint colours of Carnival Red and Cirrus White with striking Gold Lacquer front and rear bumpers, low-gloss black wheels with stainless ‘Rimbellishers’ and gold sidewinder decals.

Following the completion of the painstaking, two-year restoration, this 1975 Lotus Elan Sprint was started and fully checked before being placed into its heated, carpeted garage where it has remained and has never been driven on the road since so you’ll be hard-pressed to find a car in a more impressive condition than this one for the age.

The lot is accompanied by an original Elan tool kit and an engaging history file with hundreds of photographs, an MOT history, old MOTs, V5s etc, lots of interesting correspondence (the vendor owned the whole Collection), an Owners Handbook, an Elan 4 Service Book, an Elan Sprint brochure and more. Like what you see? Make sure you don’t miss out on this one.

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