Fittipaldi's Elan plus 2

[LotusAnglia]

Hi,

I'm interested to find pictures of Fittipaldi's Elan +2. Are there any sources of pictures on the Internet of Fittipaldi and his Elan +2 ?

Does anybody know anything about the age and spec and colour that he had ?

Thanks,

Andy.

[trw99]

Here is a photo of Emmerson Fittipaldi's Plus 2S 130/5 in Lotus Yellow with silver metalflake roof. It came off the production line in March 1973 as an M Type, Rest of the World spec.

It is currently in private ownership in Italy, as I understand it.

Tim

[LotusAnglia]

Hi Tim and All,

does anyone have any evidence that he owned a green one - BRG ?

Andy.

[elanfan1]

Is someone claiming such history on a car? Are you trying to buy perhaps? A little more info might help.

Welcome to the forum btw.

[LotusAnglia]

Hi Steve,

you got it. Ok I won't play any games, and whatever the end of the story will be I'll share all the information at the end. I don't want to share everything right now, because, I have the chance of a +2 and the seller is saying that the "Technical Document" says that Fittipaldi was a previous owner.

What I want to be clear on is, for the Club and enthusiasts it's always interesting to know what cars are where, and so, where-ever my story ends at the end of the story I'll share all of the information with the club for their records.

I am outside the UK in mainland Europe as is the car and like I said the seller is saying that the "Technical Document" says that Fittipaldi was a previous owner.

I just spoke to the seller and he has promised that this evening he will photograph all of the documents and send me the photos so that I can try to verify them - he agrees that if I am interested in a car for it's history then I need to check the history.

So, as soon as I get the copies of the documents, is there somebody here I can private message with to maybe discuss the documents and what they are saying and their potential validity ?

To tell the truth, I am a massive fan of old cars, classic cars, I grew up with a 1937 Riley in my Dad's garage, and although not a blue-blood S2 fan, I would love to own one that has such a history, and I have been planning to buy my first "classic" for a numbers years so this if it plays out and is true would be a nice starting point.

Thanks,

Andy.

[Maulden7]

lotuselan-plus2-f51/emerson-fittipaldi-lotus-elan-t37980.html

A previous thread - proceed with extreme caution it seems.

Dave M.

[elanfan1]

Hi Andy,

Just do your due diligence with the car making sure the documentation hasn't been faked as there's a lot of money to be made claiming stuff that isn't necessarily true. Get the chassis no. from the VIN plate in the engine bay, also the original colour code from the bottom right hand corner (be L01, L05 etc) aswell as the engine number and send those plus any photos you have to Tim TRW99 above. He may be able to tell you straight away or will point you to the factory archivist.

Good Luck with your enquiries.

[LotusAnglia]

Hi Dave and Steve,

#1 - I won't be parting with any hard earned until I have done everything I can to validate the car and story

Steve, thanks for the tips on the info to gather.

The seller promised to send me photos of the documentation which he has this evening

I've read Classic and Sports car since I was a boy, and the stories are always nice of people who come across a car with some provenance, and whether it turns out to be true or not and as long as I don't buy it if it's not, then it is fun being in a position to play detective.

As soon as I have a copy of the documentation I'll give an update.

Andy.

[LotusAnglia]

Update:

I haven't yet received copies of the documentation

The seller was very polite, and said he is away and will send the copies of the documentation in a couple of days

I've told the seller I will be in his region and could view the car next weekend and I want to see the copies of the documentation before I visit

I'll send an update on the documentation when the situation changes

In the meantime, these are the photos of the car...

Seats

Interior

Wheels

Rear quearter

Rear above

Full car

Front

Engine

Any thoughts on the originality of the body colour and the wheels. And the engine, from the little I know of the details it's an earlier engine isn't it ?

In the original advert (which is no longer published) the seller wrote that the year of manufacture is 1962, but they didn't make these in 1962 did they ? I am curious to see what the technical papers say about that.

Andy.

p.s. when the advert was on the internet I cheekily grabbed the photos, and to protect the privacy of the owner and his property I have disguised anything in the pictures which is not about the car

[theelanman]

are we talking +2 or Elan......
I thought this was about a +2.....if so......the +2 came to the street in 1967.....
as for engines........there were only 2 type......
118bhp as standard then 126bhp? as the big valve....(that where the 130 comes in).......
the original 118bhp engine came with 2 style of cam cover.......the earliest being like the elan with 'LOTUS' written over each cam....the later type with 'LOTUS' being over the timing chain across the engine front.........

Emmo had his first race for Lotus as the 3rd driver in July '70......
was No 1 driver in '71.....
won the drivers and manufacturers title in '72
won the manufacturers title in '73
then left and drove for McLaren in 74.......

as a No3 driver I cant see him being given a car.....as No1 I could......so you'd think that he'd get a new one in either 71, 72 or 73...........I'm not sure he'd have one as a MacLaren driver........just my pure speculation......
no fact given or implied........lol

[nmauduit]

for what it's worth, the Belgian plus two register lists since 2010 73030265M as a 130/5 built for Emerson Fittipaldi in 1973 (L07 yellow with silver top), staying in Italy near Torino at the time...

[trw99]

Well, we are clearly talking about the Elan +2 here!

Andy, there is not sufficient information to go on here. If you'd like to send me a private mail with registration and VIN details I can give you a better indication of the likelihood that this car is at least in period.

From the photos It looks like a +2S. The wheels are after market fitment. The cam cover should be red crackle finished, though lots have had the paint removed by POs. That of course assumes that it is a Type F engine, SE Weber for both domestic and export markets. The steering wheel is an after market fitment. BRG ceased to be offered as a standard colour from Oct 1970.

As mentioned above, Fittipaldi did not join Team Lotus until Jul 1970. The in-house magazine, Lotus World, often carried photos of the drivers receiving their company cars. Unfortunately I only have Feb, Mar, Oct & Nov 1970 copies in my collection and can find no reference to the car in them. Anyone else have copies of Jun, Jul, Aug or Sep 1970 Lotus World?

Tim

[LotusAnglia]

Hi Tim,

thanks - appreciated, as soon as I receive photos of the paperwork I'll send it over to you, and thanks for the info about the colour.

Confusion about the Elan or +2, that's my fault, when I first posted that reply the pictures weren't attached - not "theelanman";s fault

Andy.

[wotsisname]

I had the pleasure of meeting Emerson at Goodwood FOS a few years back, he was very pleasant and quite happy to chat about his career. A very quick google &.....

https://www.facebook.com/emmofittipaldi

Might be worth a punt ?

[LotusAnglia]

thanks Wotsisname,

somebody showed me the twitter and email etc yesterday - I tweeted but didn't get a reply.

I'll try again once/if I get to see the paperwork

Andy.