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Elfin Sports Cars

Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd
Founded
1957
Founder
Garrie Cooper
Headquarters
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Key people
Don Elliott
Tom Walkinshaw
Parent
Walkinshaw Performance
Website
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 the estate of former British racing driver Tom Walkinshaw, through his company Walkinshaw Performance which also owns Holden Special Vehicles. 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.
Elfin is the oldest continuous sports car maker in Australia and one of the most successful with 29 championships and major Grand Prix titles. The original factory was located at Conmurra Avenue, Edwardstown in suburban Adelaide, South Australia. The company is currently located is at Braeside, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

History

The company was founded by Garrie Cooper, a successful championship driver and designer and builder of racing and sports/racing cars as Elfin Sports Car Company. In 1983, following the death of its founder, the firm was bought by Tasmanian Don Elliott, racing driver Tony Edmondson and mechanic John Porter who re-established the provision of parts and service to existing owners.
Garrie Cooper died suddenly from a burst aorta due to the vessels weakness due to medication he was taking to keep his blood thin after a heart valve operation in the mid 1970's's on ANZAC Day (25 April) in 1982, at the age of 46. Cliff Cooper, Garrie's father, completed outstanding orders, including six new generation Formula Vees, before offering the business for sale as well as designing a new Formula Vee, the Crusader, and a Formula Brabham car.
In 1993, Victorian Murray Richards acquired Elfin and set out to build new generation Elfin Clubman called the Type 3. In failing health, he sold Elfin to Bill Hemming and Nick Kovatch in 1998.
Currently, Elfin is owned by the estate of British racing driver Tom Walkinshaw.
There is a heritage centre dedicated to Elfin Sports Cars in Melbourne, Australia. The centre features around 12 current and historic vehicles on display.

Racing

Elfin won 29 championships and major titles including two Australian Drivers' Championships (1973, 1975), four Australian Sports Car Championships (1970, 1973, 1974, 1975), three Australian Tourist Trophies (1966, 1976, 1978), and four Australian Formula Ford Championships (1970, 1971, 1974, 1982). In addition Elfin cars also won the Singapore Grand Prix (1968), the Malaysian Grand Prix (1968, 1969, 1972), and the New Zealand Grand Prix (1973, 1974).
Drivers of Elfin cars included 1976 Formula One World Champion James Hunt, and French F1 driver, Didier Pironi. Others included Australian F1 drivers Vern Schuppan and Larry Perkins, as well asJohn Bowe, Frank Matich, John McCormack, Bob Jane, John Harvey, Allan Grice and Peter Manton.

Models

Current vehicles

Elfin is currently producing two V8 powered sports cars: the MS8 Streamliner and the MS8 Clubman and has recently introduced an entry-level model, the turbocharged four cylinder powered T5 Clubman. The engines are supplied by GM Powertrain.
Elfin MS8 Clubman
Elfin MS8 Streamliner
Elfin T5 Clubman

Historic vehicles - The Garrie Cooper era

The original company produced 248 racing and sports racing cars in 27 different models over a 25 year period.
Model
Total
Production
Description
Image
Streamliner
23
1959–1963
Sports racing car (front engined)
Elfin Streamliner of Ian Brock
Formula Junior & Catalina
20
1961–1964
Formula Junior racing car & racing car. The two models differed only in minor specifications and the majority built were Formula Juniors.
1962 Elfin FJ
Clubman
14
1961–1965
Clubman sports car
Elfin Clubman of Pete Ffrench
5
1962–1964
Sports racing car
Elfin Mallala
19
1964–1969
Australian 1½ Litre Formula racing car
Elfin Mono Type 100
Type 500
21
1965–1969
Formula Vee racing car
Type 400
4
1966–1967
Group A Sports racing car (V8 powered)
Elfin 400 Repco of Bill Hemming
Type 300
6
1967–1969
Sports racing car
Elfin 300 Coventry Climax
27
1968–1971
Racing car (various formulae)
Elfin 600E Graham Ruckert
17
1969–1972
Formula Ford racing car
1971 Elfin 600
Type 350
1
1969 only
Sports racing car
ME5
1
1969 only
Group A Sports racing car (V8 powered)
Elfin ME5 of Trevor Lambert
Type 360
3
1971 only
Sports racing car
Elfin 360 of Ian Ross
4
1971–1972
Australian Formula 1 racing car (F5000). The first F5000 car designed and built by Elfin.
Cooper 1972 Graham Ruckert
620 FF
20
1972–1975
Formula Ford racing car
6
1972–1974
Australian Formula 2 racing car
Elfin 622 of Mark Goldsmith
8
1973–1974
Australian Formula 3 racing car
Elfin 623
MR6
1
1974 only
Australian Formula 1 racing car (F5000)
MS7
1
1974 only
Sports racing car (V8 powered)
630
2
1974–1975
Australian Formula 2 racing car
Elfin 630B
700
7
1975–1977
Australian Formula 2 racing car
Elfin 700 of Keith Morling
MR8
3
1976–1978
Australian Formula 1 racing car (F5000)
Elfin MR8C
New Generation "NG"
29
1976–1983
Formula Vee racing car
792
3
1979 only
Australian Formula 2 racing car
Aero FF
1
1979 only
Formula Ford racing car
GE Two-25
1
1980 only
Australian Formula 2 racing car
MR9
1
1980 only
Australian Formula 1 racing car (F5000). The first open wheel race car to be designed and built in Australia using Ground effect aerodynamics.
Total
248



Historic vehicles - The post Garrie Cooper era


Model
Total
Production
Description
Image
FF84
1984
Formula Ford racing car.
NG "EP"
8
1984-1986
Edmondson-Porter run on of the NG Series Formula Vee racing cars.
Crusader
20
Formula Vee racing car.
852
1985
Australian Formula 2 racing car.
FA891
1
1989
Formula Holden racing car fielded in the 1989 Australian Drivers' Championship by Elfin Sports Cars. Follow up orders from competitors were not forthcoming, largely preferring to import the latest British designs from Lola, Ralt and Reynard. The FA in FA891 was the category's original working name, Formula Australia.
70
1998–2007
Clubman sports car. Powered by a supercharged Toyota 4AG ZE engine.
Elfin Type 3 Clubman



Last updated on 10 June 2014 at 12:41.

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