WORDS: Elliott hughes | PHOTOGRAPHY: silverstone auctions
Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s 1972 Lotus Elan +2 S130/5 is joining the seven-car line-up of other celebrity-owned Elans from the Piddington Collection. All eight cars will cross the block on Saturday, February 25, as part of Silverstone Auctions’ Race Retro sale at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, UK.
With just 6920 miles on the clock from new, the car is expected to fetch between £60,000 and £70,000. According to Silverstone Auction’s Simon Lang, it was built in September 1972 and was allocated to Lotus’ Sales Department on October 9, 1972 for the personal use of Colin Chapman.
Chapman is credited with covering the first 6600 miles in JAH 567L before being allocated a newer model. It was then showcased in the Lotus Museum for many years before being sold into a private collection, where it has remained ever since.
Finished in its original Tawny paintwork over an Oatmeal Vinyl interior, the car still wears its original Dunlop SP rubber and has covered only 320 miles since being under Colin Chapman’s stewardship. Accompanying the one-of-a-kind machine is a copy of the car’s first V5 history file, as well as a Lotus Classic Certificate of Vehicle Provenance that was issued in 2017.
By entering the Piddington Collection, the ex-Chapman Elan joins a special group of cars assembled by former Cosworth engineer Deryck Norville. Headlining the Piddington Collection are Elans owned by the likes of Jochen Rindt, Ron Hickman and Emma Peel.
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