1959 Lotus Elite S1 Coupe

The Lotus Elite was introduced at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1957. Until the introduction of the Elite, Lotus and founder Colin Chapman was famous for making racing cars to compete in road racing, hill climbs or club racing. The company's first attempt at a dual-purpose car that could be competitive in racing or driven on the road was the Elite. It proved to be a very capable machine both on or off the track, and would win six consecutive competition-class victories at LeMans.

It featured front and rear independent suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a low 0.29 drag coefficient. Perhaps its most innovative feature was the fiberglass monocoque construction. Mimicking the construction of a fiberglass boat with an upper and lower section bonded together to create a monolithic load-bearing structure, a steel subframe was attached to support the engine and front suspension.

This particular example was owned, restored and raced by Bob Akin. Originally raced in Great Britain, the car was imported into the United States in 1985. Two years later it was purchased by Akin, who owned the car for 13 years until he decided to sell it in 2000. During his reign of ownership, Akin performed refurbishment, restoration and race-preparation work on the Elite at a cost of more than $100,000. The car is fitted with a Stage V 1,216cc Coventry-Climax engine built by Marcovicci-Wenz Engineering. The suspension and brakes have been upgraded and fine-tuned for maximum performance.