Spirited, fast, quirky, elemental, affordable, idiosyncratic, and most of all, fun - these are among the many adjectives that have been used to describe British sports and sports-racing cars of the 1950s and 1960s. The cars of Elva fulfil all these descriptions and more: simple yet clever and competitive. For many automotive enthusiasts the Elva name has been known but its history has remained shrouded in myth. For Elva followers, the cars' and the company's successes and failures have been almost secret - until now. Like many of its contemporaries, Elva began modestly, but the specials built by Frank Nichols and his crew in Bexhill and Hastings, Sussex, (and eventually in Croydon) were soon recognized internationally for performance that often exceeded that of their peers, at a fraction of the cost. Elvas epitomized the concept of intuitive design. As one observer put it, "All that the mechanics seem to have were a set of tools consisting of a file and a hacksaw...not a drawing in the place. The cars just happen."
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By K. Nedokis
Format:Hardcover
A quality book, of large proportions. Most photos are B+W but very sharp, there are very several color pictures as well. A nice mix of pictures and text with detailed picture descriptions. A nicely laid out book.
I knew nothing about Elva ('she goes')before buying this tome but now I know considerably more, it's like a time capsule of what racing was like during the golden years of sports car racing in U.K. / U.S. The listing of all the Elva drivers is quite remarkable as there is many famous names (Carroll Shelby / Jim Clark / Bruce Mclaren / Roger Penske / Bernie Eccelstone etc) Highly recommended and reasonably priced at $65, a definite reference.
In Schlegelmilch's reference book on Brit sports cars, the lone Elva road car that made the volume (Courier), got a poor commentary. Who would have known that this quircky, hitherto unknown 'cult' car would have such a rich and interesting racing heritage with ties to DKW, BMW and Porsche ?!
I knew nothing about Elva ('she goes')before buying this tome but now I know considerably more, it's like a time capsule of what racing was like during the golden years of sports car racing in U.K. / U.S. The listing of all the Elva drivers is quite remarkable as there is many famous names (Carroll Shelby / Jim Clark / Bruce Mclaren / Roger Penske / Bernie Eccelstone etc) Highly recommended and reasonably priced at $65, a definite reference.
In Schlegelmilch's reference book on Brit sports cars, the lone Elva road car that made the volume (Courier), got a poor commentary. Who would have known that this quircky, hitherto unknown 'cult' car would have such a rich and interesting racing heritage with ties to DKW, BMW and Porsche ?!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
7 reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
SpeedReaders.info Review
Dec 18 2011
By Speed Readers
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Many years in the making, this is surely the definitive, if not the last word on this sparsely documented topic. Deservedly won the Motor Press Guild's 2011 Dean Batchelor Award. Any of the few book's with Wimpffen's name as the author can be recommended without reservation. The book is supremely well illustrated; much of the material being new to the record. The publisher offers a free 9 MB web download of one of the appendices (a Master Results Table with 12000+ entries) that, if printed, alone runs to 572 pages! Consider that indicative of the author's thoroughness!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting book but..
Jan 21 2013
By j.barton
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
As very little seems to have been written about ELVA this book is obviously a must for ELVA fans or indeed fans of British cars of this era.My first ever car was a Tornado Typhoon.I felt somehow let down perhaps by the very american slant to the story.
5.0 out of 5 stars
ELVA
Jan 14 2013
By Michael Scott
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good friend that owns several Elva cars told me I had to buy the book. besides being a great book It also has a photo of my wife, our son, and me in our Elva Courier along with Frank Nichols in another Courier. Great memories!
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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