If my intention was only to exhibit the naked chassis, then I'm done and this is #3 for 2024.
The photo shows two contrasting views of what a state of the art chassis ought to look like in about 1965, for a sports-racer of 1.6 litres. On the right, the Alfa TZ2 chassis with loads of teensy weensy itsy bitsy tubes. Shades of the Maserati Birdcage, or the 300 SL. On the left, Colin Chapman's folded sheet metal device for (probably) a tenth of the cost, and with torsional stiffness contributed by the floor pan and bulkheads of the fibreglass body shell.
Visually the biggest difference is the tires. The Alfa was packing 170 hp by the time the 620 kg TZ2 was released, which works out to about 275 hp per tonne. The Cortina-based Lotus twincam made somewhere between 105 and 125, depending on which Lotus publication you believe. Given the Elan weighed 680 kg, this is about 170 hp per tonne. So not as much need for tire tread.
As always the photos tend to highlight flaws. The old description of something as "good from far but far from good) is true of everything; the difference is in the definition of "far". Here I think 6" is probably about right -- one of my better efforts but doesn't stand up to the magnifying glass or the camera macro lens.
The rear suspension is a bit of an oddball, not that Chapman didn't also produce an oddball rear suspension.
Given the 1/24 scale, the engine compartment is really just missing wiring for the battery.
I plan to complete the interior and body, so I'm not calling it "Done" yet. This would get posed next to the chassis; and perhaps I can rescue the Elan body that I messed up so many years ago. Stay tuned!
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