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Lotus Elan GT - Roof floor

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Created on March 22, 2024

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Bonhams

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Bonhams

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - converted into a coupé by Surbiton Motors with an aluminum roof

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - the roofline corresponds to the prototype and is lower than on all other examples

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - the front remained unchanged

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - What is it? Together with the modified rear lights, the rear view is a mystery

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The vinyl cover was added later - and is a matter of taste

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - fastback coupé based on an idea and design by Barry Wood

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Gran Turismo: Surbiton Motors offered a touring and a sports version

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - fuel filler cap and trunk hinge are standard parts, just positioned differently

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - retrofitted lettering from an Elan S4

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - A decorative strip conceals the seam of the vinyl roof

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - retrofitted wheel arch extensions

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - While the prototype still had fixed lights under Plexiglas, the production model retained the folding headlights

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - retrofitted rear lights from Ford Escort

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - reference to Jim Clark's victory at the Indy 500 on the right fender

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Always Jim: the left fender refers to the Formula 1 world championship titles

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - 13-inch Revolution alloy wheels with center lock

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The rear wheel arch extensions were not part of the Shapecraft conversion

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Bournemouth Motor Club badge and a black instead of green Lotus emblem

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - It could hardly have been sportier in the seventies: matt black Talbot mirrors on the fenders

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - simple door panels and push handle instead of window crank

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The standard wooden steering wheel has been replaced by an accessory at some point

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - A wide-angle lens even makes the interior look almost spacious

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Smiths speedometer up to 140 miles per hour (225 km/h). A good 120 should be possible

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Combined instrument for oil pressure and cooling water temperature

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - rev counter with red area from 6500 rpm. Maximum power is 1000 rpm earlier

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The gearshift for the four-speed gearbox sits close to the dashboard

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The old trunk cut-out under the new lid remains unchanged

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The 1.6-liter DOHC engine is based on the Ford Kent engine and produces 105 bhp at 5500 rpm

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The 1.6-liter DOHC engine is based on the Ford Kent engine and produces 105 bhp at 5500 rpm

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Two Weber twin carburetors supply the four-cylinder engine with fuel

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - Surbiton Motors promised over 120 miles per hour

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - the roof superstructures were made by aviation supplier Shapecraft

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - The additional weight of the roof is said to have had little effect on acceleration times

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Lotus Elan GT (1966) - No need to shake the camera: the shapecraft coupé looks particularly sleek from the diagonal rear

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Summary

Before Lotus itself offered a coupé version of the Elan from 1965, a small workshop in Surrey fitted the plastic roadster with a sleek aluminum roof and hatchback. However, despite its successful lines, the "GT by Shapecraft" remained a rarity. No more than 20 examples were produced within two years. In this article, we tell the brief history of the small two-component sports car and show an unrestored example that, for once, has not been converted into a racing car.

This article contains the following chapters

A kit
Three racing cars
Two stragglers

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the 1960s, England was a stronghold of small backyard workshops and creative tinkerers for whom commercially available products were not good enough. Even the successful Formula 1 teams Cooper and Lotus assembled their racing cars in better warehouses, which is why Enzo Ferrari, who had elevated racing car construction to an art form, referred to them disparagingly as "garagisti". Some of these small private workshops also tried their hand at building complete automobiles and occasionally even achieved considerable success. The vast majority, however, limited themselves to improving existing material. While names such as Weslake or Cosworth soon established themselves internationally, most of the small tuning workshops were only granted a short period of glory, regardless of their skills. Surbiton Motors in Surrey is also one of those forgotten tuning companies that are only known to connoisseurs today. The three-man business in south-west London was founded in early 1963 and specialized in the sale and optimization of Lotus sports cars for motorsport use.

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