1961 Elva Courier

Frank Nichols was the owner of a garage and the builder of the Elva sports car. The name Elva is French for 'elle va' meaning 'she goes.' Elva cars of Bexhill, Sussex was formed in 1954 with the intention of building racing cars and like many manufacturers of the day, production road cars were essential for providing funding for the race car program. The Elva Courier arrived in 1959 and was intended as a sports car designed for production class competition. It used a conventional spaceframe chassis, clothed in lightweight fiberglass and powered by either a 1500cc BMC B-Series engine as fitted to the MGA and MGB or Riley unit. The suspension was independent at the front by wishbones and coil springs, with a well-located coil-sprung live axle at the rear. Front disc brakes provided the stopping power.

All early Couriers were exported and successful wherever they went. In the United States, Mark Donohue won two SCCA championships in 1960 and 1961 in his Elva Courier. Next came the MKII which gained a curved windshield and the new MGA 1600cc engine and was available in the United Kingdom as a kit car.

The production of the Courier changed markedly in 1962 when the U.S. distributorship failed financially leaving a large shipment of cars held at the docks. Nichol was unsuccessful in his attempts to recover his inventory of cars and ultimately was forced into a partial liquidation of Elva. Production rights to the Courier were acquired by the Trojan Limited Company which moved production to Croyden, Surrey, and began producing cars designated as the Mk III.

U.K. buyers were now able to purchase the Mark III as a complete car. It had a box frame chassis moulded into the body along with a Triumph front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering. The closed coupe body was available with either a fastback or a reverse slope Ford Anglia-type rear window. Power was from a 1800cc MGB engine.

The Elva Courier MK IV was first shown in the Autumn of 1962 at the London Motor Show. The new coupe wore a fiberglass body and was equipped with an all-independent suspension and an MG engine. Power was from the 1800cc MGB engine while later models could be purchased with the Ford Cortina GT engine. The Elva Courier Mark IV T-Type fixed-head coupe was the final iteration of the Courier line and came with a Lotus twin-cam engine and modified bodywork which resulted in additional interior room.

The Elva Courier was acquired from Trojan in 1965 by Ken Sheppard Customised Sports Cars of Shenley, Hertfordshire. Production ceased in 1968.

The Mk I and closely related Mk II were by far the most successful, with production lasting from 1958 to 1961. Total production is estimated to be about 500 units.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2022