The 1972 Lotus Elan Plus 2S first supplied to the late Formula One driver Ronnie Peterson is one of the undisputed — and very affordable — stars of the Historics at Brooklands summer sale in Surrey, UK, on Saturday June 11. It is one of 130 fine, classic motor cars, across a wide range of values, eras and marques, that will be on offer at the event.
With a tempting pre-event estimate in the £20,000 range, this very original Elan Plus 2S 130/5 is expected to attract considerable interest as, besides its proven provenance, it’s also the very first chassis to leave the Hethel production line fitted with a five-speed gearbox. Peterson was given the car by Lotus boss Colin Chapman in November of 1972 as a sort of “signing bonus” for joining Emerson Fittipaldi behind the wheels of the John Player Team’s Lotus 72s for the 1973 F1 season.
In its original Lagoon Blue coachwork, the matching numbers 2+2 is in very good order throughout, drives well and is to the same specification as handed to Peterson 43 years ago. An extensive history file contains documents authenticating his receipt of the car, together with personal photographs of the day, plus a large quantity of invoices dating back to the 1970s and a factory Workshop Manual.
For complete information about this and all the other cars available please visit www.historics.co.uk
