DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

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Title courtesy of Dennis Ortenburger's excellent book.

So, to continue on from my earlier thread :https://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =1&t=69632

Why an Elite ?

Firstly the shape - in addition to looking great from any angle it had a drag coefficient that most cars still can't match (& very few road cars have ever beaten).

It was 'light years' ahead of virtually any other road car that was around in the late '50s/early '60s with so many advanced features for the time - fibreglass monocoque construction, all-aluminium SOHC engine, F2 independent front & rear suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes, etc.

I have wanted to own an Elite for 30+ years - but even further back than that, the seed was probably planted when my brother owned one in the late '60's.

Much like the 2.7RS which was produced in similar numbers, individual Elites are typically referred to by their chassis (or more correctly their CBU) number.

Over the past ~10 yrs I have compiled a data base of every Elite I've come across on the internet & have 1000's of photos & information on over 250 cars - so I was well-versed in what to look for should I ever be fortunate enough to be in a position to buy one.

I have come close on numerous occasions but the right car has never come up at the right time - until recently ...


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So why this particular Elite ?

I had originally come across this car back in 2015 when it was advertised (in the Club Elite Newsletter) on behalf of the long-term owner/restorer (who sadly died shortly after). I enquired about it back then but it was way outside my budget.

I regularly check most of the classic car sales websites but at any given time, it's rare to find more than a couple of Elites for sale - & many/most of those that do come onto the market seem to go through Paul Matty's on consignment.

Which is what happened with this particular car back in October.

Luckily for me Paul Matty Sportscars is only ~10 mins from my house so at the end of October I paid a visit & spent 3 hrs checking the car out & looking through the accompanying history - which comprised 2 x leather-bound Bonhams-branded box files brimmed full of paperwork - with absolutely no semblance of order whatsoever !

In brief discussions with the sales manager it was obvious I already knew more about the car than he/they did !

I was amazed that they hadn't checked through the history/invoices & described the car's spec more accurately – if they had, I'm sure that the asking price would have been increased significantly ...

Following another couple of visits, including a brief drive, a deal was done & a price agreed

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There are a number of important factors to consider on any potential Elite purchase:

1. Grp bodywork condition – this is the major consideration with an Elite since, being of monocoque construction, the whole car relies on its integrity/rigidity in order for the suspension & steering to function correctly.

Fortunately this car had been stripped back to a bare 'shell' in 2005 & any defects in the fibreglass rectified. Great pains were taken to ensure that only the absolute minimum amount of filler was used.

2. Paintwork – many cars have been repainted multiple times – often without proper preparation &/or by those without experience of painting fibreglass cars – all of which can be expensive to rectify.

Following the removal of any defects, the bare shell was then prepped & painted by renowned grp body & paint specialist Proline in Northants. Colour chosen was the period-correct combination of Primrose Yellow with a Silver roof (same as Jim Clark's road car).

In fact Proline still feature pictures of this car on their website:







- it wouldn't have been my colour choice but virtually everything else about the car ticked all of the boxes.

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3. Engine – the Coventry Climax engines being of all-aluminium construction, it's not uncommon to find past problems caused by inexperienced/'ham-fisted' mechanics (or previous owners) over-tightening fasteners leading to stripped threads, pulled studs, oil leaks,etc.

A common (but sometimes controversial) 'upgrade' is to convert the engine to FWB spec. This larger (1460cc vs 1216cc of the original FWE) has the benefit of greater torque but produces its max power at lower revs – which tends to alter the character to some degree (a bit like putting a 3.2 Carrera engine in an early 911).
Fortunately, when the (FWB) engine in this car was built, a great deal of research, care & attention had gone into deciding/producing the ultimate spec - with, in particular, a lot of work going into improving the cylinder head.

Love it Andy, that’s a fabulous car you have there.

Lovely
Looking forward to reading more Andy

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Thanks guys.

Jonathan - you need to tell us about this addition to your signature:

…..1952……..next one ………………………..)

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Here we go again you ve obtained another car I wish I could have afforded in the day
Enjoy

I know very little about these Andy so going to enjoy this

Great choice Andy, we've spoken of them before so you know I'm very jealous!

hot66 wrote:I know very little about these Andy so going to enjoy this

Ditto

Lightweight_911 wrote:.

Thanks guys.

Jonathan - you need to tell us about this addition to your signature:

…..1952……..next one ………………………..)

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Ok…..give me a little while….

Although I admire most of your cars this one is the only one that I would rather have than my 911.
Congratulations.
It is a nice colour too.

Lovely car Andy, always enjoyed my Colin Chapman cars.

Lovely car Andy, and like others know little about them. I do however know Proline, Gareth bought my GP Spyder back in 2003!