Elva began as a sports/racing car, powered by Coventry-Climax or Ford engines. The first road-going car was produced in 1958. This was the Courier.
Fiore of Paris designed the 2-liter Elva-BMW GT160, and the aluminum coachwork was by Fissore of Turin. The car was extremely low - it stood just 40 inches (1 meter) high. Powered by a 1991 cc dry-sump BMW engine, it was capable of a top speed of 160 mph (257 kmh). A fiberglass version was to be made available for the UK market.
In 1964 Elva was taken over by Trojan Ltd., and production ceased in 1969.
Source: www.philseed.com
Images: www.philseed.com; www.elva.com