Not many people know that Lambretta Concessionaires had more than one iron in theor proverbial fire. A surf over to the Elva sportscar website found this lovely image taken outside the Lambretta Trojan works during the 1960s.
A chap named Frank G. Nichols was apparently the man behind Elva, starting the company in Bexhill, Sussex, England. UItilising engines from companies such as Ford, BMC, DKW and BMW, a road-going ‘sports racer’, the Elva Courier was built in 1958 at a new factory in Hastings. However, there were problems ahead and eventually Elva Cars was forced into voluntary liquidation and as a result Lambretta-Trojan Limited bought the rights to the Courier in 1961/62.
Production had been gradually moved to the LT works in Croydon, hence for a while during the 1960s sports cars and scooters exiting the same British factory doors. Apparently the smell of molten fibreglass used for the body shells, filtering through the offices was overwhelming on some days!