Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Seen at the VSCC meeting at Mallory Park.





The owner, an elderly gent, told me it was a unique creation by him and his son.

This will be a red rag to the purists

I like the concept, except I feel the snout is too far forward. It should have ended further back. The headlights though look good (mind you, any headlight mod on a +2 would be better than the ill fitting standard ones )

That is seriously ugly............D

Hi

Thats not half bad. I agree about the snout, but it does have a certain elegance about it. Mind you the starting point is even more elegant........

Berni

I still prefer the elan nose on the +2

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=24114&p=153243#p153243

Not sure I like the single round or twin tail

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=49537&p=359964&hilit=+Metier#p359964

HCA wrote:This will be a red rag to the purists )

Unless you are the type of purist who talks to the owner to discover that this car is a homage to the original design penned by Ron Hickman, rejected by Colin Chapman

PS: I’m speaking to Sean letter this week about Evante

Was there a rejected design? Are there any sketches of it?

I often wondered if the then Lamborghini GT300 was in any part an inspiration for the +2...?



I do like the headlamp positioning on the GT and often thought it would look well on the +2. I like the flat elegance of the +2 front end, just not the headlamps! Apart from not fitting well, they just seem to have been plonked there without any thought. A lot of effort on the other hand went into the front end design of the two seat Elan.

I look forward to Sean;s comments on the CoC! I ordered my lhd steering rack over the weekend, but did not ask the question on the CoC as by now it is obvious it is not high on the priority list, especially now Andy has gone!

Ive always thought it was the 330
Lusso or, well I cant recall the coachwork but the longer lower snout



I figure there were enough cars styling about the same

https://rapleyclassiccars.com/product/1 ... i-330-gtc/

Hi Donels.
The car was recently at Oulton Park so the owner is a race enthusiast.
You should have looked under the bonnet to check for modification.
Here is a photo so all can guess what 2l engine this is.
What a neat conversion into a standard frame and also a 5 or 6 speed box
See photos
Tony

Photos

It did sound sweet when he drove off, not at all like a T/C. That does look a neat installation!

I have to say it was all very well done and sort of looked ok. In the flesh the nose did not look too long.

When you said we could guess the 2.0l engine - I was quietly hoping your photos might reveal a John Wilcox 2.0l twin cam...! But even though it is a Mazda B (am I correct it has the turbo version?) it is as said a very neat installation.

Someone went to a lot of trouble, and no doubt fun, completing this car. My hat off to him - especially as he has addressed two things that really cheapen the +2 - light pods and hinges, and bonnet hinges. No big deal re the snout, if it is too long, then easily rectified

My understanding is that the +2 front end was quite heavily influenced by the Rover BRM gas turbine car (I have a feeling I read somewhere that one of the designers saw the Rover-BRM being wind tunnel tested). There is quite a strong resemblance esp if you look at the bonnet/headlamps/sidelights above the plexiglass covered lamps:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover-BRM

To me the A pillar back owes a lot to the original Lotus Elite (Type 14)...

I seem to recall reading that chunky's 'design brief' for the +2 was the back end of an Elite and the front end of the Rover BRM car

I do like the front end on this +2

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