The seminal Elan doesn't get much more special than this
ByThe values of the original Lotus Elan have been climbing of late. And while the inflated prices of certain classics can be hard to wrap your head around, the Elan’s prized status makes complete sense. In many ways it’s the perfect classic sports car: light, pretty, superb to drive and powered by a much-loved engine. That it was a bit simpler than the Elite that preceded it has only endeared the Elan further to enthusiasts now the latest cars are more than half a century old.
Back in the '60s, BRM was a proper racing team. In 1967, Mike Spence joined their F1 team, where he and engineer Tony Rudd came up with the idea of powering up the Elan. By this time the 26R had happened, and the plan was to fuse some of that motorsport fizz with everyday usability. Spence had a good relationship with Lotus having raced for them previously, and with the approval of Colin Chapman the BRM project got going.
The BRM met with rave reviews - Autosport reckoned the extra power added ‘a great deal of excitement’ - but the collaboration was tragically cut short after Mike Spence died at practice for the 1968 Indy 500. A few ‘Spence Specification’ cars are believed to have been made after then, but only 10 with the BRM orange are thought to have been sold through his’s Lotus garage.
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