1967 Lotus Elan S3 Coupe

Description

The Lotus Elan, launched in 1962, was definitely the road car that put Colin Chapman's small company firmly on the map, its razor sharp handling, superb acceleration and excellent ride making the Elan a firm favourite with sports car aficionados throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Designed around an advanced steel backbone chassis, with fully independent suspension and one-piece fibreglass bodyshell, the Elan was powered by a twin-cam engine based on the Ford Cortina block. The gearbox was also sourced from Ford and Girling discs provided ample stopping power all round. Available initially in open form only, the Elan proved a huge success, with more than 2,000 sold in the first three years and it single-handedly saved the Lotus Company in a time of real financial crisis. With the revised S2 of November 1964 came a number of improvements, chiefly better brakes and a new dash, and it was soon followed by the S3 fixed-head variant. Launched at the 1965 London Motor Show, the S3 was given a new type number (36) and was designed to be more civilised and comfortable, with better seats, proper carpets and even electric windows. The S3 coupe was soon outselling its open-topped sibling and approximately 1,200 were built in the period 1966-1968. From January 1966 the Special Equipment package was optional, featuring a close-ratio gearbox, brakes with servo-assist, centre-lock wheels and a more powerful 118 bhp version of the twin-cam engine.