Sold 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint 2146354748 Tweet

1973 Lotus Elan Sprint Roadster
s/n 450298K, engine no. T27299
Carnival Red with Black Interior

The Lotus Elan first appeared in October 1962 at the British International Motor Show at Earls Court. Jaguar had launched the E-Type the previous year, AC was offering the Cobra, and Ferrari the GTO. Against these big, powerful, and expensive machines, the lightweight and nimble Elan offered something very different and remarkable: a modern, simple design that delivered tremendous driving fun. Lotus packed the Elan with innovative technical features including a fiberglass body draped over the first backbone chassis of any road car and four-wheel independent suspension. Lotus would later revolutionize racing with their monocoque 25, further enhancing Lotus racing lineage. The 1500 lbs (670kg) Elan powered by the new Lotus Twin Cam engine delivered over 100 horsepower, providing endless entertainment for drivers of this featherweight roadster.

The new Elan offered a clean body design with hideaway headlights, and balanced proportions which mask the cars diminutive size. Seeing one in photos suggests a much larger car than it actually is in person. Customers swarmed for the reasonably priced Elan, proving to be a welcome replacement to the fragile, expensive-to-build Elite, becoming Lotuss biggest commercial success up to that point. Sales revived the companys overstretched finances and enhanced their reputation as a volume car builder. The Elan was later offered with a hardtop in 1963 and a coupe in 1965, but achieved some further improvements in the S4 series and finally between 1971-1973 as the most developed Sprint version.

The Lotus Elan Sprint featured the powerful twin cam Big Valve engine which increased horsepower by 20% using twin Weber 40 DCOE carburetors with different jets and chokes, a reworked head, and the rev limit increased from 6,500 to 6,750. Roadholding was improved via strengthened Rotoflex couplings and other suspension enhancements. The body remained largely the same, however the hood no longer contained the bonnet bulge, creating a flat smooth design consistent with the clean lines of the car. Finally a unique two-toned paint scheme was applied with gold theme on the bumpers and SPRINT stripes incorporated into the chosen base color. All Sprit models were painted with the chosen color over gloss white lower body panels.

This wonderful and highly desirable flat hood Weber carbureted Sprint is one of the last examples built, just before production ceased at the Lotus factory. Assembled in July 1972, the car was originally invoiced to Frank Boulton Datsun in Miami Beach, Florida, and later sold on March 16, 1973 to Marion (Richard) Kamp. Kamp is well known among Lotus enthusiasts as the man behind Kampena Motors, a premier Lotus specialist and performance source for these cars. Mr. Kamp retained this car for 35 years, treating it as a representation of his considerable expertise updating it with his sophisticated sense of how these cars should operate. In 2008, Kamp sold the car to the second owner, a local Northern California collector in San Francisco. Kamp continued to work on the car for the new owner. The car was sold to the current and third owner a few years ago, making this Sprint a documented three-owner car since delivered new. Under the care of Kamp and the second owner, the car was extensively improved and mechanically restored including replacing the chassis to the more robust and acclaimed UK developed Spyder Chassis which offers greater structural rigidity, performance, and longevity and is considered the ultimate performance improvement for these cars. Since new, this Elan has been thoughtfully cared for and all improvements carefully orchestrated by qualified Lotus experts.