Author: János Wimpffen

Foreword: Sir Stirling Moss

Format: Hardcover, 9” x 11”, 552 pages

Photos: 405 black-and-white and 150 color photographs

The Cars, the People, the History

This signed and limited edition of János Wimpffen's award-winning book features a special cover and 36 additional pages highlighting Elva's brochures and advertisements—from the company's earliest years through the Elva Couriers of the 1960s. It is also autographed by a remarkable group of Elva drivers and insiders. They're led by Sir Stirling Moss, who wrote the book's Foreword and drove vintage Elvas after his retirement from professional racing. He's joined by American Elva drivers Burdette Martin, Augie Pabst, and Bill Wuesthoff, as well as designer Keith Marsden, vintage Elva supporters Roger Dunbar and Bruce McCaw, and author János Wimpffen.

2020 UPDATE: Sterling Moss signatures are no longer available due to his passing in 2020. The signature plates have all the other signers mentioned above.

In Elva: The Cars, The People, The History, racing historian János Wimpffen has produced the first complete history of the British car builder Elva, which rose from humble beginnings to become a major influence on the racing scene in the 1950s and 1960s. At more than 500 pages, this is the definitive account of a marque whose history was previously shrouded in myth, misinformation, and mystery.

Last year Elva won the Motor Press Guild's award for best book of 2011, and since then we’ve been working to assemble the following group of signatories for the Publisher’s Edition:

Sir Stirling Moss requires no introduction, but his enthusiasm for Elva deserves to be better known. After admiring the marque during his racing career, Moss first drove a Mk VIII-BMW at a vintage event in 1966. Two decades later he competed in a Mk VII-BMW in the first FIA Historic Car Championship.

Burdette Martin competed in Elvas before embarking on a career as a racing official, first with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and later as president of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS).

Augie Pabst may be best known for his stints with the Cunningham and Meister Brauser teams, but Elva fans revere him for his stunning victory with Bill Wuesthoff at the 1963 Road America 500. After driving the first half of the race in a Mecom team Ferrari, Pabst relieved Wuesthoff in the Porsche- engined Mk VII and brought home the win against a field of more powerful cars.

Bill Wuesthoff was an experienced racer in SCCA and international events when Elva founder Frank Nichols chose him to start at Road America in 1963. Making the most of the Mk VII’s handing and fuel economy, after 80 laps he’d built a two-lap lead before handing the car to his surprise co-driver Pabst.

Keith Marsden joined Elva as a mechanic, but soon went on to play a key role in designing many of the company’s most famous cars. Later in his career Marsden would join the design team at Ford, where he was responsible such popular models as the Capri, Escort, and Fiesta.

Roger Dunbar founded the Elva Owners Club in 1979 with support from Frank Nichols. The Club acts as a focal point for information on the various racing and sports racing cars built by Elva, and Dunbar’s knowledge and resources were invaluable to the research and writing of Elva.

Bruce McCaw bought his first Elva in 1968, a Climax-powered Mk VII that he still owns today. Over the years he has owned and has raced most of the marque’s other models. McCaw contributed the Introduction to Elva, and his support and enthusiasm were essential to the book’s publication and success.