1968 Lotus Elan S3

First registered on the 10th of August 1967, this wonderfully prepared Lotus Elan S3 SE is most notable for having been campaigned by Sid Marler in Britain and throughout Europe in the late nineties and noughties. Very successfully too, as the 74-year-old won the Historic Sports Car Club’s Classic Sportscar championship with it in his first season.

He did it again the following year, taking the championship in 1999, too. He finally retired from competition in 2008 and there’s a plaque mounted on the glovebox lid to commemorate his decade with the car. A copy of his obituary, which features the Elan, can be seen here: https://www.autosport.com/national/news/149518/sid-marler-19242020

The Elan was sold after Sid’s retirement and left to languish for a couple of years before being bought by the vendor around a decade ago. He then set about restoring it to its former glory, stripping the car before rebuilding it back up to an incredibly high standard.

He’s since used it for just one sprint event and a few road events, during which the Elan performed to very well. Only being sold because he’s got too many cars, it is being offered with a reserve price that represents just a fraction of what it owes him.

The red coachwork, which is set off by those fabulous yellow bumpers, is in fine condition. While that of many racing cars is more functional than it is attractive, this one seems to be a cut above the rest showing straight panels, decent shutlines, and an above-average finish to the red paint.

The chromework is all good too, as are the light lenses, badges, and glass. Three white racing roundels have been applied, one on each door and one on the bonnet, and two handles, one for the fire suppression system and one for the electrical cut-out, are fitted to the offside scuttle. The bonnet is drilled on its edge for lightness and is fitted with safety hold-down pins.

The black centre-lock alloy wheels are taken from a Lotus Elan +2. Five-and-a-half inches wide, they’re shod with matching Yokohama Advan A048 tyres that still have good tread. The owner, no mean helmsman himself, says that they are getting a bit old now.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The red low-back driver’s seat is paired with a black passenger seat of a similar design. Both are in great shape and the driver’s seat is fitted with a Securon harness, while that for the passenger is from TRS; the latter is believed to be in date, while the Securon isn’t. The seats have been chosen as a compromise between comfortable road and supportive track features.

The wooden-veneer dashboard is new and only recently fitted, so looks terrific. The necessary modifications for racing – extra switches for the fuel pump, rain light, and fan, plus safety labelling for the ignition, electrical cut-out and fire extinguisher – have been very neatly carried out. An extra 12V charging socket has been fitted, as has a rain light on the rear parcel shelf.

A suitably small suede steering wheel sits in front of it and the iconic Lotus wooden gearknob falls readily to hand. The roll cage is by Tony Thompson, and a full fire suppression system is fitted – and if you doubt the care with which this car has been built, then can we draw your attention to the door release handles, which are easily removeable via R-clips? The extra drivers-side protection bar for the cage is supplied but not fitted.

Then there is the boot, which is almost completely filled by a beautiful alloy fuel tank. Supplied by Tony Thompson, it’s 30-litre capacity is usefully large and it is, of course, foam-filled. A race battery is tucked away for better weight distribution and it is retained by an alloy bracket.

Oh, and the boot lid hinges have been fitted with quick-release pins to enable it to be easily and quickly removed to give even better access. Beautifully done, all.

NB: While the interior fixtures and fittings are all of a very high quality, some or all of it may be out of date for homologation purposes, depending on your intended use.

The engine, which is freshly rebuilt and has only been used for one sprint event since being completed, has a wonderful specification: based upon a 711 block, which makes for a 1710cc capacity, the vendor claims it produces 190bhp at the flywheel, or 150bhp at the wheels. (This may require a re-submission of the various homologation papers in certain formulae)

The cylinder head was built to race spec by Nick Stagg with Phase Four camshafts and brand-new Weber 45 carburettors. It also has an EN40 steel crankshaft, forged and balanced pistons, and a properly baffled sump.

Unsurprisingly, the owner describes it as now being “bulletproof”.

There’s a lovely alloy oil catch tank under the bonnet too, and the entire engine bay is ridiculously clean and beautifully appointed but then that’s par for the course with freshly – restored, championship-winning cars, isn’t it?

The gearbox has been recently reconditioned and now features an alloy bell and tail housing. It drives the rear axle via a standard twin-cam clutch assembly and a 4.125 ATB limited-slip differential with alloy casings. The solid, UJ-type driveshaft has been stripped, cleaned and re-greased. The brakes, including the master cylinder, were refurbished with new pistons and seals.

The rear suspension top mounts are also courtesy of Tony Thompson - as is the exhaust manifold and system - and both front and rear suspension comprises fully adjustable height and damping.

The underside is more a work of art than a chassis. Witness to a great deal of thoughtful engineering and meticulous maintenance, it is clean, straight and undamaged.

The Elan’s provenance is documented to a degree we have rarely seen before. Occupying four lever-arch files plus another couple of smaller folders, every single race result from Sid Marler’s time is listed along with the car’s specification for that meeting. The contents also detail its maintenance, modifications and upgrades over the years, along with reams of old invoices and bills.

It also has an old FIA Historical Vehicle Identity Form, which is now out of date but could, the vendor tells us, be updated for HSCC or similar racing.

There is obviously way too much to list here so why not pop along to the offices and set aside a couple of socially distanced hours to browse through them if it matters to your bidding?

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of just some of this paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained and modified to an incredibly high standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

And please be reassured, we’ve undertaken a full COVID-assessment and put into place strict control measure to enable us to safely facilitate a no-contact, socially distanced viewing that includes disinfection of the vehicle before and after your viewing.

If you want to go historic racing then there are few better cars to do it in than the Lotus Elan – and if you’re going to buy one then surely you want one with an impeccable provenance and proven championship-winning status?

Which is what you’d be getting here. Beautifully engineered and meticulously finished, it’s been shaken down but never really used in anger, making it box-fresh and ready for action.

Whether you fancy racing it in one of the many historic championships it’s eligible for, using it for the odd hillclimb and sprint, or even using it as a (very) fast road car and the odd trackday event, this little car appears capable of doing it.

And, it promises a lifetime of learning behind the wheel; this is an Elan whose specification means that you will almost certainly be the weak link – and, ego aside, isn’t that what we all need from a race car?

It’s not as if it’s going to be especially expensive. Sure, our guide price of between £35,000 and £50,000 isn’t cheap but it represents a fraction of the money the vendor has invested in it; simply put, you couldn’t hope to build one for even the higher estimate, which means you get its status and provenance for free.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.