<< Prev Page 2 of 2 The low-drag Elan was built on a standard backbone chassis but using the lessons learned during the previous season, Walker did make some detail changes. The first problem he tackled was the sharp angle of the driveshafts, which was the result of the lowered ride height and caused the doughnuts to regularly fail. He adopted sliding splines and also raised the differential. The chassis itself was also strengthened. To ensure the new Elan Fastback would last the distance, it was fitted with a relatively mildly tuned version of the Lotus twin-cam, 1600 cc engine. It nevertheless produced around 150 bhp.
Liveried in IWR's familiar gold with a green stripe, the light and slippery machine debuted at Montlhéry in the hands of a young and upcoming Jackie Stewart. It was pitched against much larger engined GTs and pure sports prototypes but Stewart nevertheless managed to place it third on the grid. He would go on to finish fourth and first in class. The final step in the preparation for Le Mans was the Nürburgring 1000 km. Unfortunately, Mike Spence had an off in practice and rolled the unique machine. Spence walked away unharmed but the car could not be repaired in time for Le Mans.
With his team preoccupied with running his other Elans and a Lotus 30 sports prototype, Walker decided to put the car away until the winter when it was fully rebuilt. The unique Elan's two appearances had not gone unnoticed as Walker received an order from Switzerland for a second car, intended for the road. This machine was equally unique and featured twin-headlights very similar to those fitted on the Gordon Keeble GT. The repaired racing car was sold by Walker early in 1965 to a hill climb racer who briefly campaigned it. The following owner campaigned it for a few more years in national events, with considerable success.
Built regardless of cost, the IWR Fastback remains as one of the most exceptional Elans ever constructed. It is a shame that it was only able to really show its capabilities in one outing. Whether it would have lived up to its expectations at Le Mans, we will never know but recent outings in historic events have shown the car to be true winner. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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The low-drag Elan was built on a standard backbone chassis but using the lessons learned during the previous season, Walker did make some detail changes. The first problem he tackled was the sharp angle of the driveshafts, which was the result of the lowered ride height and caused the doughnuts to regularly fail. He adopted sliding splines and also raised the differential. The chassis itself was also strengthened. To ensure the new Elan Fastback would last the distance, it was fitted with a relatively mildly tuned version of the Lotus twin-cam, 1600 cc engine. It nevertheless produced around 150 bhp.