Sports car 'no one ever knew about' is to go on display

The automatic Lotus Elan Plus Two car was 'discovered by chance'

A sports car that was never tested or even known about, it is claimed, will go on display after it was "discovered by chance".

The automatic Lotus Elan Plus Two car will be revealed as part of an event held at East Carleton Manor in Norfolk, in honour of the Chapman family who brought the company to Hethel near Wymondham in Norfolk in the 1960s.

Malcolm Ginsberg, who worked in PR at Lotus for four years and is now the editor of a small travel publication, said the car was built in 1967 but was never tested and produced.

He said: "No one ever knew about it".

The car was discovered in Halstead, Essex, under a piece of tarpaulin by Tony Allery when he was looking on eBay for an engine for his Lotus Cortina in 2016.

Mr Ginsberg said: "As soon as he [Mr Allery] began to investigate he got very excited about it and he decided he better get his hands dirty.

"It certainly wasn't driveable, it was a wreck ready to be scrapped."

Since then, Mr Allery has spent time restoring it, and because it was made from glass fibre, once it was repainted, Mr Ginsberg said: "It looked absolutely immaculate, as if it had just come out of the showroom."

The car was found under under a piece of tarpaulin in Halstead, Essex

Working at the car company, which was founded in the early 1950s by engineer Colin Chapman, he said Lotus was "the glamour team".

When Lotus moved from north London to Norfolk in the 1960s, Mr Ginsberg said it was a "major step forward".

"For a major, small car company to be attracted to Norwich, it brought a lot of employment and raised the profile."

While the event at East Carleton Manor on Saturday and Sunday is invite only, he said they are expecting about 200 people.

"When people see it, they will go, 'That's quite something'."

He added: "Clive Chapman, Colin's [Chapman] son is keen for people to see this remarkable heritage because there is nothing like it."