OCTOBER: 1976 LOTUS ELITE 501

Although it’s often considered to be somewhat of a gamble to purchase an abandoned project, Leon Douch threw caution to the wind and bought his Lotus Elite from a dealer as a finished project and took most of his newly acquired car away in a series of cardboard boxes. A thorough investigation revealed this particular Lotus was a very original example, Leon went on to entrust the rebuild to a well-known marque specialist. Over the next couple of years while the Lotus was being brought back to life, Leon spared no expense and had the Elite’s interior re-trimmed using fine Connolly hides and the car’s 1993cc DOHC inline four overhauled along with the car’s often-troublesome five-speed gearbox. Luckily for Leon, a previous owner had invested in a replacement galvanised chassis and when all the work had finally been completed, this fortunate owner now uses this finely presented Elite 501 whenever the sun threatens to shine.