7evin Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Hey Guys I came across this today in Melbourne Austraila. It comes with a Gen3 5.7L v8. From what I was able to gather from the owner there are only 25 in existence. Fit and finish is fantastic. I am supposed to go by tomorrow for a ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Love it! It looks tiny tho. Looking forward to more details. Maybe an engine compartment photo or two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Can you find out what is inside those side pods? Probably the exhaust but maybe some side protection. I think they will add another level of difficulty to entering and exiting the car. Ask how much it weighs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 LOL - I recognize where you are. You are just off City Road in South Melbourne, near the markets, less than a mile from my apartment at Victoria Harbour. The car is an Elfin - a very storied name in Australian racing. I used to race one of their Formula Fords. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfin_Sports_Cars Their current website is here: http://www.elfin.com.au/elfin/2008/ I have never driven one but by all accounts owners love them and they are very accomplished in their capabilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Skip - here are the details from the website for the Elfin MS8: Dimensions Length: 3200mm Width: 1700mm Wheelbase: 2290mm Front Track 1460mm Rear Track: 1430mm Kerb Weight 900kg The sidepods are exhaust sidepipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMike Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I love the compact look. Very tasteful interpretation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Dang it! Something else to 'want'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Love it! It looks tiny tho. Looking forward to more details. Maybe an engine compartment photo or two? From what the owner said, Some from Holden wanted one but he was to tall. So he had the engineers at Holden redesign the car so he could fit, Then he bought the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Can you find out what is inside those side pods? Probably the exhaust but maybe some side protection. I think they will add another level of difficulty to entering and exiting the car. Ask how much it weighs. Scannon: He said it was just an exhaust cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 LOL - I recognize where you are. You are just off City Road in South Melbourne, near the markets, less than a mile from my apartment at Victoria Harbour. The car is an Elfin - a very storied name in Australian racing. I used to race one of their Formula Fords. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfin_Sports_Cars Their current website is here: http://www.elfin.com.au/elfin/2008/ I have never driven one but by all accounts owners love them and they are very accomplished in their capabilities. Croc, Bingo you are correct. The Business is called F1 Modeling. We will be in town till Tuesday morning. Doing a trade show this weekend at the Convention center. I will be free after 6pm. I would love to meet up and see your car(s) Maybe tell some tall tails and have a cocktail if you have the time. Cheers Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Sorry Kevin but until Monday I am in New York, then Austin TX for 2 days then New York for 2 days then Hong Kong for 1 day then Singapore for 2 days then Male for 2 days then Laamu for 2 days then Singapore for 3 days then Hong Kong for 2 days then.....you get the idea! My primary home is NYC or on a plane somewhere and my car mostly lives in southern NJ. If you are ever up in NYC I am good for quite a few bottles of something very drinkable and lots of car talk! The possibly apocryphal story with Elfin was the two owners Hemming and Kovatch were approached to sell Elfin by Tom Walkinshaw of Jaguar Racing fame. Tom Walkinshaw had in 1989 set up the Holden Special Vehicles HSV operation (Holden is part of GM and HSV was a Shelby type of official enhanced vehicle shop). He had supposedly come across an Elfin Clubman somewhere but was supposedly unable to fit into it. So he bought one and had his HSV techies redesign it to make it bigger for him, enhanced the performance with a V8 instead of the 4 cylinder and generally cleaned up the quality. Using the results of that he bought Elfin and his estate still owns it today (Tom passed away in 2010). The reason I am not completely convinced by this story is that Tom Walkinshaw was not a big guy - I met him in person in October 1985. He was slightly shorter than me 5'9" and far less chunky. The Elfin is fractionally larger than a WCM Ultralite so he should have easily fit into one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Love it! It looks tiny tho. Looking forward to more details. Maybe an engine compartment photo or two? http://photo.netcarshow.com/Elfin-Clubman_MS8_2004_photo_18.jpg There are 3 pages of pictures here: http://www.netcarshow.com/elfin/2004-clubman_ms8/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hill Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Slightly off topic but Croc's Elfin links caused a power surge in my memory banks.... I seem to recall seeing an article in the mid 60s introducing a new mid-engined sports racer from Elfin called a Dolphin. My memory says it was 4 cyl powered, tube framed. I didn't see any mention of it in Croc's links. Anyone else recall seeing/hearing about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Slightly off topic but Croc's Elfin links caused a power surge in my memory banks.... I seem to recall seeing an article in the mid 60s introducing a new mid-engined sports racer from Elfin called a Dolphin. My memory says it was 4 cyl powered, tube framed. I didn't see any mention of it in Croc's links. Anyone else recall seeing/hearing about it? I've googled an Elfin Mallala and a Dolphin America; both early to mid sixties. :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 Sorry Kevin but until Monday I am in New York, then Austin TX for 2 days then New York for 2 days then Hong Kong for 1 day then Singapore for 2 days then Male for 2 days then Laamu for 2 days then Singapore for 3 days then Hong Kong for 2 days then.....you get the idea! My primary home is NYC or on a plane somewhere and my car mostly lives in southern NJ. If you are ever up in NYC I am good for quite a few bottles of something very drinkable and lots of car talk! WOW.... I thought I got around.... How do you deal with the jet lag? And how do you ever know what time it is? LOL It sounds like I might have a better chance stumbling across you some where on the road than in NYC.... I will let you know when I am in your area. Was kind of considering doing a 24 Hours of Lemons in NJ https://www.24hoursoflemons.com/events-results/article/146-the-real-hoopties-of-new-jersey in May. I will let you know if we do. Cheers. I will drink a good stout aussie drink for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7evin Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 The possibly apocryphal story with Elfin was the two owners Hemming and Kovatch were approached to sell Elfin by Tom Walkinshaw of Jaguar Racing fame. Tom Walkinshaw had in 1989 set up the Holden Special Vehicles HSV operation (Holden is part of GM and HSV was a Shelby type of official enhanced vehicle shop). He had supposedly come across an Elfin Clubman somewhere but was supposedly unable to fit into it. So he bought one and had his HSV techies redesign it to make it bigger for him, enhanced the performance with a V8 instead of the 4 cylinder and generally cleaned up the quality. Using the results of that he bought Elfin and his estate still owns it today (Tom passed away in 2010). The reason I am not completely convinced by this story is that Tom Walkinshaw was not a big guy - I met him in person in October 1985. He was slightly shorter than me 5'9" and far less chunky. The Elfin is fractionally larger than a WCM Ultralite so he should have easily fit into one. That is basically the story I was told. You version seems to be a little more accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Was kind of considering doing a 24 Hours of Lemons in NJ Kevin - Definitely let me know if you do this. I think a few of us locals would stop by for this one. My cars are kept in Millville and quite a few of us on this forum know the right places to go in town. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Definitely! We'll have a whole cheering section there for you. And Croc should have his GarageMahal finished by then. :smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5: Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hill Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 xcarguy Though I didn't see any mention of it when I did the same Google search I would have sworn the article I mentioned showed the Dolphin America being built by Elfin. Will check but doubt I can put my hand on the article. Sports Car Graphic? Popular Mechanics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Elfin and Dolphin were different cars. Stylistically they look very similar but they had separate origins, designers and builders. The resemblance may have sparked the association. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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