1972 Lotus Elan +2 S130/5
A 1972 Lotus Elan Plus 2 130/5, this car was built in September 1972 and assigned the following month to Lotus Cars' Sales Department for the personal use of company founder Colin Chapman. Finished in Tawny with a Silver Roof and Oatmeal Vinyl interior — only the second car painted in this colour — it covered approximately 6,600 miles under Chapman before being placed in the Lotus Museum, where it remained for a number of years. Now showing just 6,920 miles, it retains its original factory specification, including period Dunlop SP tyres, and is supported by factory provenance documentation.
Ownership
- 2023-02-24Auction saleSold £44,000 (≈ $55K)
- 1972-10-01 →Factory deliveryLotus Cars (Sales Department / Colin Chapman personal use)full documentation
Allocated to the Lotus Sales Department on 9 October 1972 for Colin Chapman's personal use. After accumulating roughly 6,600 miles, the car was transferred to the Lotus Museum, where it remained until a decision was made to sell off some earlier vehicles. The first V5 registration document lists Lotus Cars as keeper, and a certificate from the company archivist confirms Chapman's personal association with this chassis.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownLotus Museumpartial documentation
Stored in the Lotus Museum for a number of years following Chapman's use, before being released as part of a disposal of earlier cars from the collection.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownPrivate collector (current vendor)partial documentation
Acquired from the Lotus Museum disposal; offered at auction as part of a private collection alongside several other significant Lotus examples.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
No maintenance or restoration records.
Are you the owner of this car?
This car's public record is built from its auction and competition history. Register your ownership and privately add your own records to make it a verified Legacy Metrics passport — provenance that backs your car's value at sale and gives your insurer evidence to price against. Roy reviews and verifies every registration personally.