One of this year’s automotive anniversaries that may not immediately spring to mind is the 65th birthday of Elva. No, not the latterday McLaren Elva – Woking’s most uncompromised road car yet and due later in 2020 – but the original Elva that lent its name to McLaren’s new Ultimate Series roadster.
This gorgeous Elva racer could be yours for less money thank you think
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Elva – or elle va in French, which translates as “she goes” – began life as a sports car and race car manufacturer in Bexhill, East Sussex, in 1955 and, largely thanks to building M1A racecars for McLaren, grew to be something of a giant-killer, especially in the US. It’s the McLaren-Elva M1A built from 1964 that the new Elva supercar honours.
Splashing out on one would be a great way to remember an important but little-known name from motorsport’s past, but Woking’s fastest-ever road car will set you back £1,245,000. For around a 15th the cost you can bag a real Elva.
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It’s a Mk1/B sports racer built by Elva’s founder Frank Nichols in 1955 – so it ranks as one of the fledgling firm’s earliest cars – and Bonhams will be auctioning it at its Les Grandes Marques du Monde sale in Paris on 6th February.
In the immensely grand surroundings of the French capital’s Grand Palais, the little English racer may not outshine cars like the seven magnificent Bugattis also in the sale, but it still retains plenty of style, and innovation.
The Elva Mk1/B featured a streamlined two-seater glass-fibre body – pioneering for the mid 1950s. It improved on the Mk1 by being powered by a 1,098cc Coventry Climax racing engine and being fitted with Elva's own independent wishbone/coil spring front suspension. With its rigid and lightweight tubular chassis the Mk1/B was quick and agile, and in sports car racing in the US especially proved successful. And you have to agree, it is very pretty.
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You’d be right in thinking there aren’t many real Elvas left. This is one of only a handful of survivors. It was a basket-case in the 1970s but rescued from oblivion and restored in 2010 to the condition you see now – good but, as Bonhams advises, still in need of some fettling. It comes with a Ford engine installed but also with the correct Climax unit as well.
McLaren’s new ultimate road car will soon ensure “she goes” has a higher profile than ever, which going forward could be good news for the few original Elvas left. Bonhams estimates it will sell for between £77-100,000.
Images courtesy of Bonhams.
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