| Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd | |
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Key people | Chris Payne (Chief executive officer, Walkinshaw Performance) |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Parent | Walkinshaw Performance |
| Website | www.elfin.com.au |
Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd is the current name of the car company which was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1957. Elfin Sports Cars is owned by British Racing Legend Tom Walkinshaw through his company Walkinshaw Performance which also owns Holden Special Vehicles[1]. It was previously owned by businessmen and historic racing enthusiasts Bill Hemming and Nick Kovatch (who remains as technical director) who purchased it in 1998. The current manufacturer location is at Braeside, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Elfin is the oldest continuous sports car maker in Australia and one of the most successful with 29 championships and major Grand Prix titles[2]. The previous factory was located at Conmurra Avenue, Edwardstown in suburban Adelaide, South Australia.
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History
It was founded by Garrie Cooper (Adelaide 1935-25 April 1982), a successful championship driver and designer and builder of racing and sports/racing cars as Elfin Sports Car Company. There is a heritage centre dedicated to Elfin Sports Cars in Melbourne, Australia. The centre features around 12 vehicles on display.
Racing
Elfin won 29 championships and major titles including two Australian Driver's Championships, four Australian Sports Car Championships, three Australian Tourist Trophies and four Formula Ford titles, the Singapore Grand Prix (1968) and twice won the Malaysian Grand Prix. Drivers of Elfin cars included World Formula One Champion James Hunt and French Formula One driver, Didier Pironi. Others were Vern Schuppan, Larry Perkins, John Bowe, Frank Matich, Bob Jane, John Harvey, Allan Grice and Peter Manton.
Models
Current Vehicles
Elfin is currently producing two Chevrolet V8 powered sports cars: the MS8 Streamliner and the MS8 Clubman.
Historic Vehicles
250 racing and sports/racing cars in 27 different models were produced in 25-years, including sports and open-wheeler racing cars, such as the 1959 Streamliner, to Formula Vees through to 'big banger' sports cars and the MR9 Formula 5000 of the 1980's.
- Elfin Clubman - designed 1961 - 14 vehicles were manufactured
- …
- A new generation Elfin Clubman Type 3 sports car was launched in 1998 with 50 produced, in 'turn key' form or as rolling chassis kits.
Arcade Games
An Elfin car features in Project Gotham Racing 3, an arcade-style racing game that was released with the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 22 2005.
References
- ^ McGrath, McGrath (2006-12-15). Elfin joins the HSV club. Carsguide.com.au. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
- ^ Round, Jason. GOING FOR GOLD. HOT4s. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
See also
List of Cars in Project Gotham Racing 3
Australian Formula Two
External links
- Elfin Cars Pty Ltd
- Introducing the Holden Elfin MS8 Clubman and MS8 Streamliner
- Brian Ax with a profile of Elfin
- Video of Elfin Clubman and Streamliner MS8s
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