Lotus Elite Série Ii 1962 / Manual

This Lotus Elite was built in 1962 and exported to the United States, sold new to Ecurie Shirlee in California, then Lotus importer and agent for the West Coast.

The bodywork of this car was built by Bristol Aircraft Company, making it a Series 2 model. Its original colour is white.

Its full history is known and here are the details:

The first owner of the Elite was Walter Weber, a Canadian who kept the car in California until it was sold in 1988. The car is also known for its California registration GKH 420.

In 1988, it passed into the hands of Laurence Raphaël, who restored and improved the car (invoices on file). He kept it for around ten years, until 1998. This marque specialist spent almost 200 hours rebuilding the car.


The third owner, Mr Gregory Noblet, a well-known French collector, bought the Elite in 1998 and took part in the Tour Auto with it that same year.

In 1999, the Lotus changed hands again and was purchased by its fourth owner, Mr Bernard Consten. He carefully maintained the Elite and had covered just 3,000 miles with the car when he sold it to his close friend and founder of Amicale Jaguar France, Mr Claude Clérici.


In 2005 the rear suspension was rebuilt and optimised, while in 2006 the Coventry Climax FWE engine was removed for a complete overhaul (including conversion to unleaded petrol).

In 2016, the engine was again overhauled and a rare synchronised ZF gearbox was fitted in place of the original MG gearbox. Photographs are provided and the original MG gearbox is sold with the car which remains in excellent condition.