Elva (car manufacturer)
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| British Sports and racing car manufacturer | |
| Industry | Automobiles |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Founder | Frank G. Nichols |
| Headquarters | Bexhill, Sussex, England, UK |
| Products | Elva racing cars Elva Courier |
| Website | www |
| Elva Courier | |
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Elva |
| Production | 1958-1969 500 approx made |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | sports car |
| Body style | 2-door convertible 2-door coupe |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 90 in (2,286 mm) |
| Length | 154 in (3,912 mm) |
| Width | 60 in (1,524 mm) |
| GT160 | |
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Elva |
| Production | 1964 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | sports car |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 93 in (2,362 mm) |
| Length | 150 in (3,810 mm) |
| Width | 60 in (1,524 mm) |
Elva was a sports and racing car manufacturing company based in Bexhill, then Hastings and Rye, East Sussex, United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1955 by Frank G. Nichols. The name comes from the French phrase elle va ("she goes").
Frank Nichols's intention was to build a low-cost sports/racing car, and a series of models were produced between 1954 and 1959. The original model, based on the CSM car built nearby in Hastings by Mike Chapman, used Standard Ten front suspension rather than Ford swing axles, and a Ford Anglia rear axle with an overhead-valve-conversion of a Ford 10 engine. About 25 were made. While awaiting delivery of the CSM, Nichols finished second in a handicap race at Goodwood on 27 March 1954, driving a Lotus. "From racing a Ford-engined CSM sports car in 1954, just for fun but nevertheless with great success, Frank Nichols has become a component manufacturer. The intermediate stage was concerned with the design of a special head, tried in the CSM and the introduction of the Elva car which was raced with success in 1955." The cylinder head for the 1,172 cc Ford engine, devised by Malcolm Witts and Harry Weslake, featured overhead inlet valves.
On 22 May 1955 Robbie Mackenzie-Low climbed Prescott in the sports Elva to set the class record at 51.14 sec. Mackenzie-Low also won the Bodiam Hill Climb outright at the end of the season.
The 1956 Elva MK II works prototype, registered KDY 68, was fitted with a Falcon all-enveloping fibreglass bodyshell. Nichols developed the Elva Mk II from lessons learnt in racing the prototype: "That car was driven in 1956 races by Archie Scott Brown, Stuart Lewis-Evans and others." The Elva Mk II appeared in 1957: "Main differences from the Mark I are in the use of a De Dion rear axle as on the prototype, but with new location, inboard rear brakes, lengthened wheelbase, and lighter chassis frame." The car was offered as standard with 1,100 cc Coventry-Climax engine. This went through various changes up to the Mark IV of 1958.
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Wikipedia