Most people in the UK, even car enthusiasts, have never heard of Elva, even though it was a successful British manufacturer of sports and racing cars from 1955. Because most of Elva’s racing successes were in the US, they were little known in the UK.
The Courier was Elva’s only meaningful production road car, built to help finance the racing side of the company. Mark Donohue, (a future Indy 500 winner and famed tamer of the Porsche 917) had his first racing successes in an Elva Courier winning the SCCA F Prod Championship in 1960 and the SCCA E Prod Championship in 1961. His success helped put Elva and himself on the map in the US racing scene.
Around 500 Couriers were produced. The Mk 1 used a 1500 cc MGA or Riley 1.5 litre engine in a ladder chassis with Elva designed independent front suspension. The engine was set well back in the space frame chassis to help weight distribution, which produced good handling, which is why it was so successful on the race track. After about 50 cars were made it was upgraded to the Mk II which was the same car but fitted with a proprietary curved glass windscreen, replacing the original flat-glass split type, and the larger 1600 cc MGA engine, with some later cars featuring the 1798cc MGB engine.
Elva’s demise began when its US distributor failed to pay for cars it had imported and despite a rescue from Trojan cars, production ended in 1968.
This car was sold new in London in 1959 and raced at club level by the first owner a Mr M.J. Collins. It is featured in the book, ‘Elva – the cars, the people, the history’. The car then passed through 4 owners before being taken off the road in 1967. It was then owned by an Italian in Coventry, stripped down and then abandoned in a garage when the owner went through a divorce and sold his house.
Elva enthusiast Barry Worsey purchased it in 2008 and completely renovated it including taking the body off & having the chassis repaired with 21/2 O tube supplied by John Roden.
Spec includes:
Peter Burgess 1990cc MGB engine
5 speed Ford type gear box
Disc brakes all round – Austin Princess front, V.W. Golf GTI rear
Limited slip diff, full race ½ shafts, twin axle bearings, Riley 1500 axle
Handmade Billet alloy dampers by Proteck with new suspension springs machined to weight of car by professional race car designer.
The car was chosen by the Elva register to represent them at the 60th Anniversary of the marque at Castle Donington in 2015 and acknowledged as the best Courier in the UK. Barry sadly died before being able to fully enjoy the car he put so much effort into.
Acquired by its current owner, John Moon, in 2020 from John Harper, a successful historic race car driver who had bought it from Barry’s estate.