Winning Amount: £ 13,500.00
User ID: N***c
“Now I am confident, both as an engineer and as a family man that in the new ‘LOTUS ELAN+2’ we have one of the finest cars available for the discerning motorist who demands safety, performance, styling and comfort in a motor car which reflects his own taste and ideas.”, A. C. B. Chapman BSc Chairman, The Lotus Group of Companies. Lotus Cars Ltd Elan +2 Sales Brochure.
As Lotus strove to move their range upmarket and their balance sheet out of the red, the Plus 2 version of the Elan became the backbone (sorry) of that strategy; it extended the Elan ownership demographic by another perhaps ten years with a hopefully associated increase in their customers’ disposable income. This theoretically allowed them to indulge themselves with an inherently more expensive product which would in turn boost Lotus’ margins. Though conceived way back in 1963, the grown-up Elan for grownups did not reach production until August 1967 with Lotus busy keeping up with demand for and developing the two-seater version, launching the Europa, relocating to Norfolk and winning a couple of Formula One World Championships as well as cleaning up in pretty much every other form of motor sport including the previously US-only Indy 500. Obviously, it made sense to retain the link to the hugely successful smaller version though there was an added bonus in terms of development and production costs to be had from utilising as many common parts as possible; it is just that on the +2, those parts were further apart. Though there was a family resemblance, the +2 appeared sleeker (wind tunnel tests proved this was not an illusion) and more sophisticated which was in keeping with its upmarket pitch and allowed Lotus to charge a premium for a product that probably didn’t cost dramatically more to produce - see above.
Replaced by the even more bells and whistles +2S after less than two years in production, the +2 is the rarest of Elan variants, early Type 26 models aside.
Not much detail is known of the Elan’s early life though an enquiry to the ever-helpful Lotus Factory Archivist would doubtless reveal a plethora of original build data, supplying dealer information and so on. What we do know is that the car displays a number of interesting features found only on the very earliest examples of the +2. Though all Non-S +2s have the lighter front seats from the two-seater Elan and ‘two large, four small dials’ dash layouts with toggle rather than rocker switches, according to the respected Lotus Elan Registry, by chassis number this is the second to last +2 to have an external boot handle, lever-type interior door handles, integrated lock exterior door handles and a transverse exhaust silencer (with the associated body moulding to accommodate it) all of which are present and correct today.
According to previous owners, the +2 was originally sold and registered in Jersey and returned to the mainland just three years later. On the 1st of May 1971 it was UK registered YCR 71J, so effectively as a ‘new’ car; common practice back then and doubtless someone was happy to have their pre-owned Lotus appearing to be fresh out of the Factory.
Since 1980 the Elan’s history is well known and detailed in the extensive history files that accompany it. The first documented owner is Mr Nick Cippola, apparently a footballer of some note in Stoke on Trent who had the car from 1980. The engine was rebuilt in 1983 and a Spyder exchange chassis fitted. A year later Mr Patrick Keen from Macclesfield bought the Lotus and fitted various new parts such as gas front shock absorbers, a rear bumper and alloy wheels from Lotus specialist Christopher Neil.
In 1988, having covered some 70,000 miles, the +2 was sold to Mrs Carol Williams via Christopher Neil for £11,000. Legend of the Lotus world Graham Arnold provided a valuation of £8,100 the following year though by that time the mileage had moved on to 80,466. Mr C Hayward of Porthmadog bought the car in 1995 before selling it to Mr Lloyd of Chester in 1998. Four years later Mr P Simm of Oldham purchased the Lotus and took it with him to Cornwall in 2004 replacing various items such as the headlining, door mirrors and starter motor along the way (probably not literally).
Mr David Burgoyne from Southampton then took the +2 on and in around 2008 the brake callipers were refurbished with stainless steel pistons. The engine was treated to a full professional rebuild in July 2009 with the key components showing relatively little wear:
Cylinders .002
Main journals .010
Big end journals .010
Thrust bearings +.005/STD
In May 2011 the gearbox was fully rebuilt by Gearlink of Salisbury and in the ensuing years items such as the radiator, thermostat, fuel pump, steering rack, handbrake cable, fuel cap, battery, starter motor, shock mounting rubbers, discs and pads were replaced. The Weber carburettors were serviced and set up and the cooling system filled with Evans Waterless Coolant.
The most recent private owner then acquired the Lotus in November 2013 and with the mechanical side of the car apparently well sorted, he turned his attention to its cosmetics, particularly the front end of the car which was looking somewhat worse for wear with some quite extensive crazing evident. The +2 was hence returned once again to Christopher Neil’s for ‘Repair to the nearside front body panel’ and in 2014 they fitted a new ‘mid front panel section’; for those of you sitting at the front of the class with your hands up, this explains the presence of the fog light recesses below the bumper not normally found on the early cars.
This bodywork restoration and paintwork, along with associated re-chroming, sundry servicing and parts such as fog lights, Rotoflex couplings, wheel bearings, boot hinges, wheel spinners, fuel cap, badges and screen rubbers has resulted in nearly £8,500 having been spent on the Lotus in the past nine years.
Used regularly, it is encouraging to see that the Lotus has covered around twenty thousand miles in the last fifteen years, though with just two thousand five hundred of these having been added in the last five, the time had come to pass it on to its next custodian.
Despite the lack of concerns with regard to corrosion, fiberglass cars often have their own bodywork issues such as crazing and poorly repaired damage and it is encouraging to note that this +2 has no evidence of either. It is straight and ripple-free with no sign at all of the tell-tale ‘spiders web’ effect in the paint that betrays deeper seated issues. Bearing in mind we are not talking about an Audi, the panel fit is generally very good with pretty even gaps and good shut lines. Tell-tales on +2s are the ridges on the tops of the front wings which are often blunted or lost altogether during careless pre-paint rubbing down or even by the application of too much paint; in this case it is great to see they are still factory-sharp.
Speaking of paint, the finish, in Lotus Carnival Red (L05), is excellent with fabulous shine and depth to it. There are absolutely no drips or runs and it is even with no ‘orange peel’ or (that bane of fibreglass bodies) micro-blistering anywhere. Please note that a very light shower mid-photography has left a few rain spots on the paint which are visible in some of the photos. You might just be able to pick out a couple of tiny blemishes on the nearside rear corner of the bonnet in the photo gallery but we had our work cut out to find these. There is also a chip in the paint to the left of the front radiator grill as you look at it, again this is shown in the photo gallery. Given the paint is almost ten years old, its condition is a testament to the quality of the work carried out by people who clearly know what they are doing.
Much of the chrome-work is either new or has been refinished to a very good standard and their condition reflects this. One gets so used to ‘pot metal’ light bases being pitted to some degree that it is nice to see both front and rear units, along with their lenses, in excellent condition while the bumpers and door handles are in similarly good order.
The refurbished ‘Brand Lotus’ alloy wheels seem to be in very good condition with no dinks, chips or distortion evident. The spinners are just a few thousand miles old and as one would expect they are in excellent condition. The tyres are good quality 165/80 R 13s Falkens which though they have a decent amount of tread remaining, are of indeterminate age and just starting to show some minor cracking in their sidewalls.
The interior of the Elan is in excellent shape with all the basketweave trim in very good condition, though there is some slight marking to the off side rear seat which might well respond to a good clean; please see the photo gallery. The carpets in the cockpit are very good and that in the boot probably just needs a good clean and vacuum. While in the boot, the boards are in excellent condition and the steel spare wheel, jack and spinner hammer are all in place, along with a battery cut out switch - a sensible addition for enhanced safety and security. The headlining is taut and stain-free and the couple of small wrinkles on the B post are behind the driver’s right ear so not particularly noticeable. The dashboard is less ‘over-finished’ than later cars’ and it is not suffering from any lifting of its varnish or veneer; there is just some very light cracking to the varnish. The period wood rim steering wheel harks back to the early two-seater cars, while the wooden gear knob and full set of white on black Smiths instruments add to the classy ambience of the cockpit. Thankfully this +2 is old enough to still have toggle switches with rockers just for the electric windows while a period-perfect Radiomobile long and medium wave radio is fitted. Those windows work, if a little slowly, though the party piece headlights pop up and down with alacrity.
Under the bonnet everything is very well presented from the correct cam cover and twin Weber DCOE31 carburettors. Interestingly the engine sports an early (and desirable) die cast cylinder head; these seem to have been produced up until about June 1966, a couple of years and a factory move before this car was produced. This is either indicative of a replacement head having been fitted at some point or Lotus’ less than exemplary stock rotation but either way it can be considered to be an unexpected bonus. It is good to see there is plenty of adjustment left on the cam chain tensioner screw (see slightly out of focus photo in the gallery), the correctly executed join between the body colour paint and the engine bay’s satin black, a Kenlowe cooling fan with adjustable thermostat, a high torque starter motor and Lumenition Electronic ignition.
Up on the vendor’s lift one can appreciate that things are similarly strong with everything well protected and the main mechanical components of engine, gearbox and differential all reasonably leak free. The Spyder chassis in great order with just a few areas of tyre fitter’s jack induced paint wear but no signs of rust that we could find; please see the photo gallery or better still view the car in the flesh to confirm this for yourselves. Spyder tubular lower front wishbones are present while the Rotoflex and CV joint hybrid driveshafts are considered by many to be the ideal compromise between the original Factory versions and the harsher solid setup often fitted. The Rotoflex’ themselves are relatively new and look to be in excellent condition as do the suspension bushes. A tubular manifold feeds into a stainless steel exhaust system which culminates in the correct transverse silencer box which sits neatly within its specific body moulding. New galvanised sill members are understood to have been fitted.
From cold with just a couple of pumps on the throttle, the engine fires easily and seems to be beautifully set up, pulling well and sounded super-crisp after a few minutes warming through, at which point the oil pressure sits at a perfect 45 PSI at 800 RPM, climbing to 50 at 2,500. With no appreciable smoke or nasty noises, it idled at a steady 800 RPM with the ammeter showing a positive 10 ampere charge at anything above 1000 RPM.
Our slightly limited test drive confirmed traditional Elan strengths such as lovely steering feel, a well-oiled rifle bolt gear change and powerful brakes, even if we couldn’t form an opinion regarding the presence of any lift-off oversteer.
Not one but two substantial history files are present containing an extensive collection of bills dating back to 1983, some seventeen old MOT certificates and a handy list of where various components were sourced from or can be obtained. There is also a useful summary of the Lotus’ owners and the main works carried out since 1980, some spare keys and an old V5 Registration Document along with maintenance manuals, some period photographs of the car and Club Lotus information.
Early +2s are rapidly gaining in popularity as the purest and lightest (something inherent in Lotus’ DNA even to this day) of the ‘Family Elan’ breed. It is also worth remembering that when it was a current model, the +2 cost some 35% more than the two-seater Elan whereas today the situation is dramatically reversed with the value of the former something like half to two thirds of the latter, which only reinforces just what cracking value +2s represent. This particular example is in superb condition with its engine having been rebuilt 17,500 miles ago, gearbox 14,000 miles ago and its bodywork restored just 7,000 miles ago. We can’t help but feel the estimate is hugely attractive.
Please note the cherished registration number FB 9127 is not included in the sale of the car but is available by separate negotiation. The Lotus will revert to its original registration number, YCR 71J.
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Thanks for all the interest and bids so far. During a pre-MOT test check over, the owner noticed a front damper issue and is replacing both front spring and damper units with items sourced from Tony Thompson. The Elan will then have an MOT test certificate valid for 12 months. Good luck to all bidders!
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Hi NILOC Sorry, we missed your comment. Yes, no problem at all, do give us a call on 07976 707395 and we will set that up for you.
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