Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hello,

I have owned a 1971 Lotus Elan +2 S130 Hexagon DHC for the past 18 months and in that time I have been quietly doing an amount of re-commissioning, renovating, repairing and improving the car with the specific goal of getting it to Castle Coombe this weekend so that it can be part of the 50th anniversary of the +2 model. I think I have got there (more or less) and here are a couple of photos...

I have made the car known to Andy Graham at Lotus and Alan Morgan at Club Lotus. Consequently I have been able to learn about its history and it is quite rich.

I also contacted Paul Michaels at Hexagon to see what he could recall about this and the other +2 DHCs. He did remember the one used in their adverts at the time but he couldn?t put a number to how many they made, unfortunately.

So??.if anyone out there has one currently, had one in the past, or knows about the fate of any others I would be delighted to receive any further information the community may have.

For those attending Castle Coombe I will hopefully see you on Saturday morning (the M4 journey will be a little test for it?.).

Regards,
Peter

Peter,
Welcome to the forums.

Great photos, I look forward to seeing you and the car on Saturday.

Look out for these signs in the paddock!

Thanks - is there a specific time you are looking for folks to arrive at? I am not taking part in the track day, just there for the assembly and lunch time parade.
Regards, Peter

Hi Peter,
Turn up at whatever time suits you. Those that are doing the track day generally arrive before 9am to do the drivers briefing and noise testing, but apart from them and us early risers who are marking out the +2 parking area the paddock generally starts filling up from 10am onwards.

Unless you are going on track, the whole day has a very relaxed atmosphere. Lots of cars to look at and lots of like minded people to chat to.

Be prepared for the weather, no matter what the forecast says (and it looks good!) Castle Combe has it's own micro climate. Last year we got a sun tan, and hopefully we will this year too, but it has been known to be sunny and warm on one side of the circuit and pelting with rain on the other. So bring a brolly, bring suntan lotion, but most of all bring your car!

I look forward to seeing your car. If I have time I'll look out the info I have on the Hexagon DHCs. Only a handful were made by them.

Tim

That would be great - I know there were not many made and for all I know even fewer survive and was hoping with the help of the forum to get a handle on both numbers.
Thanks, Peter

Peter

Best I do this here as I'll probably forget tomorrow!

My records indicate that there were only two Hexagon Plus 2S 130 DHCs made, which chimes with the two so called Elanbulance Sprint estate conversions they did. Having met with Paul Michaels about those it's clear no records were kept about the cars.

Of the two we are interested in, one was a dark colour, the other appeared to be white. The dark one, JUW 711K was used in their advertising. I have a note that in 1974 the dark car was bought by an old boy in Jersey. The light coloured car is a lesser known quantity; I do not even have its reg no.

I note that your car was first registered on 2 Jul 71. Hexagon did the Sprint conversions in mid 1972, so its a fair assumption that the Plus 2s were done at around the same time. Perhaps yours was carried out on a second hand car, rather than a new one. That of course begs the question as to what you know about the original colour of your car. Is it scribed on the VIN plate? If so it might help identify yours. What do you know about the previous owners? Only five so you may just be able to track them down.

Here are some photos. One is from the Hexagon magazine and a couple that I tracked down at some stage - perhaps even on here!

Tim

And: