Elva (car manufacturer) Elva (car manufacturer) Elva was a sports and racing car manufacturing company based in Bexhill, then Hastings and Rye, East Sussex, United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1955 by Frank G. Nichols. The name comes from the French phrase "elle va" ("she goes"). Frank Nichols's intention was to build a low-cost sports/racing car, and a series of models were produced between 1954 and 1959. The original model, based on the CSM car built nearby in Hastings by Mike Chapman, used Standard Ten front suspension rather than Ford swing axles, and a Ford Anglia rear axle with an overhead-valve-conversion of
Ford Taunus TC could now specify one of the compact V6 units carried over from the top range P7 models, the six-cylinder engines offering a choice between 1999 cc and 2294 cc engine displacements. All the Taunus engines except the smallest 1.3 litre unit could be specified in combination with a Borg-Warner B35 three-speed automatic transmission in place of the standard four speed manual box. The Taunus TC received its only significant face-lift in September 1973. Through the 1960s rival manufacturer Opel had set the pace in terms of frequent model changes and face-lifts, reflecting North American practice and the deep pockets of