Description

The Lotus Elan was conceived by Colin Chapman with the aim of combining the very best features of the Elan Coupe with the ability to carry two adults and two children in reliable comfort. It utilised a backbone chassis and one-piece fibreglass body for ultimate lightness, and was powered by a Ford UK-derived 1.6-litre engine with a twin cam head, known as the “Lotus Twin Cam” engine. The rev-happy nature and spritely performance certainly fits well with the other virtues of the Elan +2 in terms of excellent steering and handling.

1972 Lotus Elan +2S 130

36,414 miles

Manual

Petrol

Great classic British sports car in sound mechanical order

This beautiful example has been pampered it’s whole life

Acquired in 2015 from only its’ second owner

It has a genuine 36,000 miles from new

Has extensive paperwork documenting the car’s life

Includes multiple MOT certificates and the original service book and user manual

Comes with many receipts for parts and work carried out

The car is accompanied by a Lotus Elan +2 workshop manual

Perfect for enthusiast owners who enjoy tinkering with cars themselves and providing a comprehensive guide to maintenance!!

Is illustrated with superb cutaways and diagrams

It also has the factory-supplied spare wheel under the boot floor

INTERIOR
The inside is absolutely immaculate
Unmarked wooden dashboard playing host to some beautiful Smiths gauges all of which are original to the car and function correctly
Including the electric windows which operate smoothly
Even the original Phillips radio is present and functional but obviously it can’t tune into any modern stations! (There is a brand new Alpine stereo/CD player in the passenger footwell also)

The black vinyl front and rear seats, steering wheel, gear lever, door cards and the rest of the trim is in pristine original condition
The seats have new seat foam making them a really comfortable place to be

EXTERIOR
The exterior of the car is in its’ original red with a gold flake roof
As demonstrated in the photographs, the paintwork is in excellent condition although there are some scratches and small chips commensurate with it’s 50 years of driving
All of the exterior glass is unmarked

The pop-up headlights have been sympathetically upgraded to a reliable electronic raising and lowering mechanism, which avoids the very common issue of vacuum leaks with the original Lotus system
They work as they should both with the original lights switch on the dashboard and the steering column stalk to “flash”
There has also been a battery isolator switch fitted in the boot

MECHANICS
The 1558cc Lotus Twin Cam “big valve” engine starts easily having has a 123 electronic ignition fitted in 2021 and runs perfectly
It idles easily and sounds fantastic on full throttle, pulling strongly through all four manual gears
The Ford-derived gearbox is in excellent working order too, feeling slick and precise through the changes
On the road, she is a delight, light and nimble whilst still providing enough power to entertain in the way only Lotus does

THE APPEAL
This is a stunning example of a rare Lotus Elan +2 Coupe in lovely original condition and with extremely low mileage
The owner has said "I have purposely not commissioned any cosmetic work during my ownership keeping the car in fine working condition, ready to drive and enjoy at a moment’s notice, just as has been the case with it’s previous two owners"