1960 Lotus Elite Series II

1960 Lotus Elite Series II• 1960 Lotus Elite Series II, American Market left hand drive• World's first fiberglass monocoque production car• Sold on 7/10/1960 to Jay Chamberlain Automotive Inc., North Hollywood CA• Sold new to a TWA pilot based out of Kansas City, Missouri• Only 3 owner car, all from the Kansas City area with only 20,944 miles• Chassis #1395 (built in line with the 1961 Le Mans reserve car #1367)• Lotus Invoice #844, engine #9062 • Bristol Invoice # EB1395 Body #428 of 749 ordered • Factory correct Lavender exterior with restored black interior• Complete professional restoration by Premier MotorSports of Kansas City, Kansas• Complete rebuild of engine, transmission and differential; parts sourced from MK14 Components • Numbers matching rebuilt 1.2L Coventry Climax SOHC four-cylinder engine #9062 • Brabham’s Racing Development Company racing head with five-bearing cam• BMC B-series four-speed manual transmission• 48 spoke 15x4 Dunlop built wire wheels and upgraded aluminum front racing brakes• Upgraded front oil cooler, NACA duct, stainless steel tank and Monza fuel flip cap • Included with the original Perspex removable side windows• Car comes with its own custom-built, body-colored trailer• Included with Dennis Ortenburger's limited edition Lotus Elite book• With the chassis number of the car matching the book with the late Mr. Ortenburger's signatureBred on the track... for highway driving! This elegant speedster threads docilely through town - or tours at a steady 100 mph! Gran turismo handling and acceleration… an entirely new kind of pleasure driving. Limited production restricts ownership to those few who appreciate true luxury sports car motoring. “Simplify, then add lightness.” That was Lotus co-founder Colin Chapman’s motto. It’s personified in this restored left hand drive 1960 Elite Series II. In the realm of European sports cars, few have achieved the exalted and sometimes mythical status of Lotus.At £1966 including purchase tax (about $5500 at the exchange rates of the time), the Lotus Elite was expensive, but it was beautiful and fast. A Motor magazine road test in 1960 achieved a maximum speed of 111.8 mph with 0–60 mph in 11.4 seconds, standing quarter in 18.4 sec, and an average gas mileage of 28.4 mpg (U.S.). Designed by an accountant, engineered by a maverick, with its aerodynamics tuned by a genius, Lotus built just 988 or so Elites between 1958 and 1963. This 1960 Elite for sale at Motoexotica Classic cars is a original American market left-hand drive, series II, chassis #1395 (built close in line with the 1961 Le Mans reserve car #1367), Lotus Invoice #844, engine #9062, Bristol Invoice # EB1395 and Body #428 of 749 ordered.This Elite was originally imported to the USA on 7/10/1960 to Jay Chamberlain Automotive Inc., North Hollywood CA. Jay Chamberlain was a sports car racer who competed almost exclusively in Lotus cars, for whom he was an early US distributor. He won his class at Le Mans in 1957. Tried a season of F1 in 1962 under the Ecurie Excelsior banner, driving a Lotus 18. In 1959 Chamberlain reorganized his company into Jay Chamberlain Automotive to sell Lotus race cars and the his other lines which by then included Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Borward, Triumph and Lancia! Jay Chamberlain sold this Elite to a Trans World Airline (TWA) pilot based in Kansas City, Missouri, where TWA was once headquartered. The pilot flew TWA’s transatlantic New York-London-Frankfurt route and was a serious British motor car enthusiast. He removed the cylinder head from his Elite and took the head with him on a flight to London, England. Once in London, he dropped off the head to Brabham’s Racing Development Company. Brabham modified the head to racing specs and a five-bearing cam, then added twin Weber Carburetors. The pilot a month later picked it back up and flew back to Kansas City to reinstall the new hot cylinder head!Brabham’s Racing Development is a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by two Australians, driver Jack Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year Formula One history. Jack Brabham's 1966 FIA Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name.In the late 1970’s the TWA pilot sold the Elite to a engineer at Vendo Company which was a large manufacturer of cold beverage vending machines based in Kansas City. The engineer kept the Elite original and sparingly drove it to work on nice days. In 1991 he put it up for sale in the Kansas City Star newspaper and a local race enthusiast Mr. Friske purchased the Elite as the 3rd owner from the Kansas City area. Mr. Fiske later on started a full professional restoration at his shop, Premier MotorSports of Kansas City, Kansas. They performed a full cosmetic restoration on the paint, body and interior, plus complete rebuild of the engine, transmission and differential with parts sourced from MK14 Components. Some upgrades were performed such as upgraded aluminum front racing brakes, front oil cooler with chin duct, NACA hood duct, custom stainless steel fuel tank and Monza fuel flip cap. Today still dressed in the correct shade of Lavender, the paint and trim are in overall excellent condition. This pert coupe’s Bristol body is solid, the engine bay is extremely tidy and the chrome bumperettes shine brilliantly. Even the small cargo area aft of the seats is in excellent shape and also included with the original Perspex removable side windows. The Lotus rides on Pirelli Cinturato P3 tires, size 155SR15, at every corner. Each tire is mounted on factory 48 spoke 15x4 Dunlop built wire wheels. The tires are in good condition with adequate tread while the wire wheels are in very good condition. Under the bonnet is the numbers matching #9062 1.2L Coventry Climax SOHC four-cylinder engine from Coventry Climax FWE, a British specialty engine manufacturer. This motor is all-aluminum and keeping with Chapman’s motto, the entire car weighs around 1,110 pounds. Backing this engine is a BMC B-series four-speed manual transmission. The Series 2 cars, with Bristol-built bodies, also had triangulated trailing radius arms for improved toe-in control, and were left-hand drive. Driver convenience features include rack-and-pinion steering and Girling four-wheel disc brakes, 9.5-inches and inboard at the rear and independent suspension. Spin that key and the 1216cc FWE Coventry Climax bursts into cantankerous life and the gear lever buzzes in sympathy. This car fits you like bath water, the black bucket seats curve round the spine and the wood wheel sits in your lap. The rev counter flutters up and down and the world outside starts to look rather more like a race track than it did five minutes ago. The black seats are in very good order, as is the matching carpet. The instrument panel, complete with an array of Smiths gauges, and inner door panels with map pockets are in great shape, as is the center console and console-mounted shift lever.The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare in 1952. The first factory was situated in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey, North London. Team Lotus, which was split off from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. They met with great racing success from the beginning by relying on Chapman’s motto of “Simplify, then add lightness.” Advanced aerodynamics contributed to the car's very low drag coefficient of 0.29 – quite low even by modern standards. This accomplishment is all the more remarkable considering the engineers did not have computer-aided design (CAD) or wind tunnel testing at their disposal. The original Elite drawings were by Peter Kirwan-Taylor. Frank Costin (brother of Mike, one of the co-founders of Cosworth), at that time Chief Aerodynamic Engineer for the de Havilland Aircraft Company, contributed to the final design. If classic British coupes are your cup o’ tea, then you should really make an effort to come to MotoeXotica Classic Cars to check out this Lotus Elite. It is a beautiful example of engineering, styling and performance in one package. As a bonus, there is a custom made trailer, two-wheel, custom-built trailer to fit this Lotus perfectly and painted to match the car’s exterior! Included with Dennis Ortenburger's limited edition Lotus Elite book with the chassis number of this car matching the book with the late Mr. Ortenburger's signature.Lotus VIN: PXED1395 Trailer VIN: 61696960169This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 20,944 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt Missouri title and a Kansas title for the trailer. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!
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