Canam Elva-McLaren
In 1965, Elva-McLaren built a chassis in collaboration with Luigi Colani. Colani was to build a body for this unique chassis, but this was never done. The chassis was never used. In 1990, it was purchased by Franco Sbarro from Luigi Colani to be exhibited for educational purposes.
(Re)birth
Franco Sbarro was attracted
to the chassis as an example of a riveted aluminum frame
with a tubular engine side. He acquired it for educational
purposes, no doubt already having in mind the idea of
setting up a school. Patrick Perron bought the chassis from
Sbarro and asked him to adapt a Lola T 298 body he owned. He
also had a 5.9-liter Chevrolet V8 small block engine. A
preparation in Belgium enabled it to reach 650 hp, thanks to
forged pistons, a special crankshaft, new H-rods... The
owner also supplied Sbarro with a Hewland FG 400 gearbox.
Three-piece aluminum wheels were fitted in place of the
original magnesium rims. All these mechanical elements were
as they should have been in 1965.
Historic model
The Canam built by Sbarro was not used much by its owner. It was for sale in November 2023 on classicnumber.com. This model is certainly a historic car, thanks to its unique Elva-McLaren chassis, its owner at the time, Luigi Colani, and its builder-restorer, Franco Sbarro. Three great names for a unique model.
- Chevrolet V8 engine
- Displacement: 5900 cm3
- 650 horsepower
- Longitudinal rear mid-engine position
- Rear-wheel drive
- New Hewland FG 400 manual gearbox
- 1965 McLaren-Elva Canam chassis
In brief
1- World-unique Elva-McLaren chassis
2- Owned by Luigi Colani in 1965
3- Franco Sbarro finally brought this Canam to life in 2006