With the advent of the U.S.R.R.C. in 1963 and the fact that under 2-liter sports racing cars could compete for overall honors in the 1964 championship season against their larger-engine counterparts on a points basis, the Elva-Porsche was conceived by Midwest Porsche distributor, Oliver Schmidt, Elva importer Carl Haas, and Elva designer, Frank Nicholls. Light, nimble, and powered by a reliable, yet powerful Porsche Carrera engine of 1700 cc, the Elva-Porsche stunned the racing world by winning its inaugural race in the U.S., the prestigious Road America 500 in August of 1964.
Resulting from that success, a production run of 19 cars was committed to over the next year and one half. This car, chassis no 70P/040 was built on March 25, 1965, and initially delivered to Mr. E. L. (Lee) Hall of Deerfield, Illinois. Lee proceeded to win the 1965 SCCA E. Modified National Championship with 24 points to his credit and figured strongly in E. Modified races throughout the Midwest.
In the spring of 1966, Lee sold the 70P/040 to Michael G (Mike) Rahal of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, who over the next several seasons campaigned the car throughout the Midwest in SCCA events culminating with a 2nd place finish in the 1968 SCCA B sports racing National Championship. Upgrading to a newer Porsche Carrera 6 for the annual SCCA National Run-offs at Riverside, California, in November of 1968, 70P/040 was sold to Dr. Hugh E. Wise who continued to house the car in the Rahals' racing garage for the next several seasons.
As before, Dr. Wise competed in local SCCA events throughout the Midwest. In May of 1970, Mike Rahahl 'borrowed' 70P/040 for a weekend of Canadian racing at Harewood Acres, Ontario. It was at Harewood that May weekend that Bobby Rahal, Mikes' son, made his racing debut in the very car - Elva-Porsche #70P/40.
Of the 19 chassis produced, only 12 are known to exist today. After years of discovery, with the assistance of many friends, 70P/40 returns to the Rahal family in the presentation reflective of that day in May, many years ago.
Resulting from that success, a production run of 19 cars was committed to over the next year and one half. This car, chassis no 70P/040 was built on March 25, 1965, and initially delivered to Mr. E. L. (Lee) Hall of Deerfield, Illinois. Lee proceeded to win the 1965 SCCA E. Modified National Championship with 24 points to his credit and figured strongly in E. Modified races throughout the Midwest.
In the spring of 1966, Lee sold the 70P/040 to Michael G (Mike) Rahal of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, who over the next several seasons campaigned the car throughout the Midwest in SCCA events culminating with a 2nd place finish in the 1968 SCCA B sports racing National Championship. Upgrading to a newer Porsche Carrera 6 for the annual SCCA National Run-offs at Riverside, California, in November of 1968, 70P/040 was sold to Dr. Hugh E. Wise who continued to house the car in the Rahals' racing garage for the next several seasons.
As before, Dr. Wise competed in local SCCA events throughout the Midwest. In May of 1970, Mike Rahahl 'borrowed' 70P/040 for a weekend of Canadian racing at Harewood Acres, Ontario. It was at Harewood that May weekend that Bobby Rahal, Mikes' son, made his racing debut in the very car - Elva-Porsche #70P/40.
Of the 19 chassis produced, only 12 are known to exist today. After years of discovery, with the assistance of many friends, 70P/40 returns to the Rahal family in the presentation reflective of that day in May, many years ago.
Related Reading : Elva Sports Racer History
In the year 1955, Frank G. Nichols founded the Elva sports car manufacturing company. Based in Hastings, United Kingdom, the name Elva comes from the French phrase ella va which means she goes. Unfortunately, financial problems that were caused by the failure of the U.S. distributor the Elva Company was sold to Trojan in 1961. Production was relocated to Rye, Sussex, and again in 1966 to the main....
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