Description
This is lot number 150 in the Bonhams Zoute sale on October 6th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
One of an estimated 60 left-hand drive Elites produced
Believed delivered new in France
Sold by Jean-Pierre Jarier to Jean-Pierre Beltoise in 1974
Owned by Beltoise for 30 years
Current owner since 2005
Desirable 5-speed ZF-gearbox
Offered from the collection of a distinguished Belgian collector
Eligible for prestigious international events including the Tour Auto
French carte grise and belgian E705
The Elite's introduction demonstrated that Colin Chapman's skills as a racing car designer and constructor could just as easily be applied to production road cars; it was, nevertheless, conceived with competition in mind, as Chapman's sights were set on class wins at Le Mans and the Monte Carlo Rally. A typically innovative design, the Elite featured a glassfibre monocoque body tub - the world's first - independent suspension all round and four-wheel disc brakes, the rears mounted inboard. Its engine was the four-cylinder Coventry-Climax FWE, a single-overhead-cam unit of 1, 216cc producing 75bhp, while the gearbox, an MGA unit fitted with an alloy casing and modified bell-housing, was sourced from BMC. The classically styled body - the work of Peter Kirwan-Taylor and aerodynamicist Frank Costin - although possessing an admirably low coefficient of drag (0. 29), made few concessions to comfort or noise suppression, not that that is likely to have bothered the Elite's customers, for whom its 180km/ h top speed and superlative handling were of far greater importance. The motoring press were fulsome in the praise, Autocar declaring: "The road manners of the Elite come as near to those of a racing car as the ordinary motorist would ever experience." Needless to say, it was precisely those attributes that led to so many Elites being raced, and highly successful they were too.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise had long cherished the ambition to own one of Colin Chapman's road cars and purchased this Elite from fellow Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jarier in 1974, the same year the French duo won the World Sportscar championship driving the Gitanes-sponsored Matra Simca MS670C. A rare left-hand drive version believed delivered new in France and finished in elegant British Racing Green with matching leather interior, the car was fully restored in 1982 by Danielson Engineering in Magny-Cours, France. Works carried out included stripping, repairing and repainting the body; a complete overhaul of the Coventry Climax engine; complete overhaul of the gearbox; rebuilding the rear axle; rebuilding the suspension and brakes; and reupholstering the interior.
The Elite remains in a lovely 'dans son jus' condition, exactly as it was when the current owner purchased the car in May 2005 from Bonhams' sale of the Beltoise collection at its Les Grandes Marques à Monaco auction (auction catalogue is on file). Although the current owner intended to road-register and drive the lovely Elite, this never happened and the car remained on static display in his important collection. Recently recommissioned by the collection mechanic after a long period of storage, the Lotus is now ready to be enjoyed by its next caretaker after some shakedown kilometres.
The car comes with the following documents: Original French Carte Grise in Jean-Pierre Beltoise's name; 2009 Belgian request of registration; photocopy of Jean-Pierre Jarier's Carte Grise (in his birth name, Jean-Pierre Jouck); photocopy of certificate of sale between Jarier and Beltoise, 12th May 1974; photocopy of request of registration by Beltoise, 15th May 1974; 2004 certificate from Joseph Le Bris of Danielson Engineering detailing the renovation carried out in 1982; 2004 fax from Jean-Pierre Jarier confirming that he sold the car in 1974 for 10, 000 Francs; 2004 French technical inspection report.
