Jochen Rindt?s Lotus Elan S4

[1964 S1]

A photo from the great Ross and Robinshaw book "The Original Lotus Elan".

Somewhere in one of my books lies a color shot of the same car, I suppose it was all from a promotion exhibition.
I know it's not his personal Elan but the history in this discussion is like connect the dots.
Was Jochen about to get a new +2?
The stories of Jim Clark, his Elan keys, and the +2 on the way are also interesting.
Hello Peter Windsor.

Eric

[clarko1230]

So finally Rindt?s Elan plus was yellow....
Searching info about Lotus Elans owned by Team Lotus drivers if found this


"Question:

Hello the,my father owns a Yellow lotus elite which Ronnie used to own in 1974,do you remember this car,or have any pictures of ronnie with it??i have a few pictures,one of colin chapman handing ronnie the keys to his new car,hope you might help...

dave
Answer:

Hi Dave!

I do remember a blue or green Lotus Elan because I use to drive it when I was there. But I think he got another Lotus late in 1974. Maybe that?s the one. Take good care of it!

Kind Regards
Tommy "

http://www.ronniepeterson.se/subc/eng/fs.html

Grrrrr.....another one to find

[Thornts]

My 2 pennyworth.

It seems that the Team Lotus drivers were given the "latest" model to help promote it; to be seen in if you like. Jimmy had a yellow S3 SE in spring '67 (LHD as he was sharing a flat in Paris with Jabby Crombac at that time) and Graham Hill had the same in RHD form. Pictures attached of GH receiving the keys to his car in a staged handover for the benefit of the press at Ian Walker Racing in North London. The other young blade is Roger Putnam - Lotus PR chief who drove the car down from the factory (picking up his 1st speeding ticket on the way), collected Graham from his house and took him to IWR for the staged photoshoot. Colin was no doubt pleased with the resulting puplicity as apparently a picture appeared in the main-stream press the following day.
As many of us know, Jimmy passed his car onto Jabby with Lotus' blessing - not sure what if any financial implications there were - as he was about to take delivery of a +2, the next big thing to be pushed by Lotus, though tragic events overtook him before he received the new car.
Graham also moved onto a +2 and Roger tells me it is likely that his S3 went back to the factory to be sold as just another 2nd hand Elan. It apparently took Lotus months to sell one of Jimmy's earlier Elans from the used car lot at the Cheshunt factory...
When Jochen signed for Team Lotus, the S4 was the new model so I guess the PR boys wanted him in one of those. The Sprint shots are I think just to publicise the new model and he may not have ever "owned" the car.
It would be great to find the S4.

Cheers

Rob
S3 SE FHC - yellow, fast enough to get a speeding ticket in 1967
S2 7

[Thornts]

Sorry, can't figure out how to post more than one picture...

[Thornts]

I drove the Sellers car about 20 years ago with a view to buying it but never concluded the deal - the battery fell out on the drive! Might have tried harder had I seen ardee's picture - fabulous!

Rob

[trw99]

The Rindt in a Sprint car was a concept car, at least four of which were produced in July or August 1970; these were a LHD fixed head and LHD drop head, as well as a RHD drop head and RHD fixed head. These cars were all matt black over yellow, with the black line much higher on the flanks than the Elan Sprint production version. Who thought of the Sprint name is not known.

Publicity shots of the car, the left hand drive DHC, show Jochen Rindt at Brands Hatch posing with it before his death at Monza on 5 September 1970. However, these were S4 cars with the paint job and Sprint on the registration plates; underneath mechanically they were pure S4. The resulting publicity sheet confirms this and includes some blurb attributed to Colin Chapman, concerning the design concept of the paint job.

The Sprint was announced at the Earls Court Motor Show on 14th October 1970 and the right hand drive DHC and FHC concept cars were on the stand. However, the same publicity sheet as above had the Big Valve engine specifications added to it. Lotus World carried the press announcement, which indicated that the Sprint would be sold with three final drive options, thus justifying the sprint name. It also mentioned the Big Valve engine, of 135bhp (!), as well as the two tone paint finish.

Tim

[archigator]

Emerson Fittipaldi also owned an Elan (although it could have been a factory loaner for all I know.) I recall reading a small blurb in Autoweek a few years back where Fittipaldi recalled how he would fly in to the airport back home after each Gran Prix where he had just driven the absolute state-of-the-art motor racing machine, get into his Elan (which I assume was left in a car park), and it would always refuse to start...

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[garyeanderson]

Emerson Fittipaldi also owned an Elan (although it could have been a factory loaner for all I know.) I recall reading a small blurb in Autoweek a few years back where Fittipaldi recalled how he would fly in to the airport back home after each Gran Prix where he had just driven the absolute state-of-the-art motor racing machine, get into his Elan (which I assume was left in a car park), and it would always refuse to start...

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

Emmo should have had a primer bulb in the boot!

[clarko1230]

Many Thanks Thornts for your pics
As promised here are 3 photos of your sister car.
The one that belonged to Jim Clark
It was sold 2-3 years ago in Paris
By the way Thornts....I saw in the Hill?s Elan a stripe behind the doors with Lotus name
Does your car keep the sticker?.Which colour is it?

[ardee_selby]

I have the same pic from a newsapaper but it's facing the other way...

FWIW, here it is:

[dlbutler]

Here's another Sellers-Ekland Elan photo.

[ardee_selby]

Hi all: I am reseraching info about Rindt?s personal Elan S4

As the discussion has widened beyond Rindts' car...there have been other related threads you may be interested in:

elan-archive-f16/famous-owners-t7021.html
free-parking-f19/elans-owned-the-famous-t17559-30.html

[elansprint71]

Re - Rindt's Plus 2 (perhaps):

Taken from "Glorious Foibles" by Nigel Roebuck. Supercar Classics, April 1988

"Mind you, if the heavier Plus 2 loses on acceleration, it's top speed advantage over the normal Elan is unquestioned. I found that out one morning, in the autumn of 1969, as I drove down the M4 towards Heathrow. There was little traffic about, and among the cars I passed was a yellow Plus 2, dawdling in the middle lane.

An instant later it had ceased to dawdle and was right behind me, headlights up and flashing. For a while we continued like that, until eventually I had to let him through. But the yellow Plus 2, instead of overtaking, drew alongside and held station. The driver, grinning wildly, was Jochen Rindt. I nearly hit the central barrier. The great Austrian, posthumous world champion the following year, never cared to be overtaken, and it seemed that being passed by another Elan put all his competitive juices to work."

Can't tell you how many times I've read that article. Incidentally Roebuck was testing Miles Wilkins' Plus 2.

Robbie

So, one +2 was faster than another?

[Robbie693]

No Pete, I guess my footnote caused confusion - The Miles Wilkins Plus 2 was being tested for the Supercar Classics article (published 1988), but the Rindt story he (Roebuck) was relating was something that happened to him back in 1969. Roebuck is a former Elan owner.

Robbie

[Thornts]

Many thanks Clarko - looking lovely but then it is an S3 FHC so what did I expect!
Yes, mine had the 'experimental' sill stripes but again in the pictures they look to be falling off allready. I will need to have them replicated and have a company in mind.
Unfortunately, we are currently in grey primer (which will probably have to come off again) but will be yellow eventually. Mark EITF - don't ask!
Anyone know where the JC car is now? I am pretty sure Peter Windsor bought it in the Paris auction and I did hear it went to the Jim Clark room in Duns. It would be nice to get them together.
Cheers

Rob
S3 SE FHC
S2 7