Front wheel drive Lotus Elan.
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:12 pmYes, you read that correctly.
In 1967 an S2 Elan hillclimbed by Ralph Johnson in Barbados suffered an engine fire. The car was written off by the insurance company and scrapped, the bits ending in the hands of local racers (as they do).
One of the hot rodders, Michael Gill, reasoned that since the Elan wheelbase was 84" and his Mini's wheelbase was 80", a particularly light Mini special could be built.
The bottom was cut from the Lotus bodyshell and fibreglass-grafted to a modified Mini floorpan. This car went on to be hugely successful in hillclimbs, sprints and the early days of circuit racing at Bushy Park.
The 10" wheels give the game away!
In 1967 an S2 Elan hillclimbed by Ralph Johnson in Barbados suffered an engine fire. The car was written off by the insurance company and scrapped, the bits ending in the hands of local racers (as they do).
One of the hot rodders, Michael Gill, reasoned that since the Elan wheelbase was 84" and his Mini's wheelbase was 80", a particularly light Mini special could be built.
The bottom was cut from the Lotus bodyshell and fibreglass-grafted to a modified Mini floorpan. This car went on to be hugely successful in hillclimbs, sprints and the early days of circuit racing at Bushy Park.
The 10" wheels give the game away!