Fw: A Lotus 7-like Donkervoort that's For Sale...

[Douglas Jackson]

Hello Paul:

My name is Doug Jackson and I'm the Chairman of the Evergreen Lotus Car Club (ELCC)... and Mark Velky gave me this email address for Club Lotus NW.

The reason that I'd asked Mark for your club's address was because one of the ELCC's members has a very nice Lotus 7-like Donkervoort that he wants to sell right now and I told him that I'd try to send htis information out to your club, as well as the Lotus Car Club of British Columbia, and the Golden Gate Lotus Club (think San Francisco, California).

So... see below the message about the car that I set Mark, because he asked me to send it directly your club's email address.

If I can ask you to forward the message shown below to your club members, I'd really appreciate it.

Hello:

You'll see below a description and a few pictures of a 1984 Series 8 Donkervoort that a member of the Evergreen Lotus Car Club is interested in selling right now, and I'm wondering if you might be able to pass this information on to the members of your Lotus Car Club?

As you can probably tell in the pictures, the guy who owns the car right now (Larry Eppenbach) has taken very good care of the car since he bought it. It has pretty low mileage and it's in very good condition.

Larry has done a really good job of describing the car in his message, as well as the reasons he's decided to sell it.

BTW, this car is located up on Lopez Island (in the San Juan Island area) where Larry has lived for many years... and I'm guessing that's why it's been driven so few miles.

Feel free to email Larry's entire message to members of CLNW and the GGLC (if that's possible), and please let me know if this is something you'd be able to do. 

Thanks very much for your help with this.

Doug Jackson

I am writing to fellow Lotus Seven enthusiasts who might want a first look at the S8 Donkervoort I’m now planning to put up for sale on BaT next spring. You may have seen her at the ABFM in Van Dusen gardens in Vancouver BC or tooling about the San Juan Islands.


1984 S8 Donkervoort. (Clad here with original Goodyear tires, now on 195/60R-14 Falcon Azenis RT615K+)

She looks very much like a Lotus super 7 or Caterham, but a bit wider for twin bucket seats and with a longer wheelbase than the original 7s.  The twin air inlets on the front nacelle are the only visual clues to reveal you are looking at an early Donkervoort.

Disc brakes in front, drums rear with twin brake cylinders stop her. Front wishbone suspension with triumph uprights, Koni shocks, and a solid rear axle with panhard rod all tuned for street use makes for great touring with slight understeer.


This S8, driven only 35,980 km, is powered by a Ford 2 liter SOHC engine fed by two 40 DCOE Webers and tuned to only 110 HP,  feeding a sturdy 5 speed Sierra gear box. The car is setup for street use with soft shock settings and does not have a roll bar. She does have a rear tonneau, side wind deflectors, and complete side curtains and top. Her vinyl top with frame is seldom used and not quick to setup.

Yes, along with the German powertrain comes Bosch electrics which have never failed me.  After some initial work by Randel Fehr, a Lotus specialist in Seattle,  she had needed little maintenance over the last ten low-mileage years other than oil and filter changes.  Seats are fabric covered and dash board is complete and fully functional.

I first saw a Donkervoort when one appeared in an early draft of Dennis Ortenburger’s 1981 book  “Legend of the Lotus Seven”. My wife was Dennis’s editor and he called these Dutch cars “Netherland Sevens”.  Sarah and I visited Joop at his garage in Tienhoven, NL in 1984 about the time he was building S8’s and I knew then this car was special.  Alas,  with a S1 Elan in restoration at the time I was not able to purchase one.  Fortunately, Ed Harrison, an ELCC member was not so restricted and bought this S8 bringing it to the US in containers labeled car parts. Ed beautifully reassembled this car on the East Coast and brought her west where she was inspected and licensed in Washington State. Uniquely, she so impressed her State inspectors that they licensed her a 1957 Lotus 7 which she remains. 

I am writing Lotus clubs about my car to see if there are folks there primarily interested in a terrific driving machine rather than just the collector value of an authentic Lotus 7.    There are only a few classic Donkervoorts in America today that arrived before import controls tightened. I’ve not seen any though I’ve heard of one in restoration in Vancouver, WA.  The real market is in Europe where Joop and now his son are building carbon fiber rockets. You can see their current offerings at Donkervoort.com.  There’s also a listing of “vintage” models the factory is offering including a nice S7. And those prices in Euros are now off the scale especially the appreciation of the older models.

Since it’s anyone’s guess what an international BaT auction may yield,  I haven’t fixed on an asking price to date.  However I can say that if I found an enthusiast I could see pricing her nearer a nice Caterham and knowing she was in good hands. But it is not easy for me to sell this car as I can still slide in and out easily and find great exhilaration motoring about. However at 83 the fine sensations needed to coordinate clutch, brake, and throttle effortlessly are fading and beginning to take the fun out of driving her beyond tooling about Lopez Island.

If anyone would like more information or come for a ride I expect to remain here this winter and can be reached via email @ la...@epcodesign.com  or by telephone @ 1 360 468 4121.

I wish you all happy motoring and a safe and joyous winter and new year.

Larry Eppenbach,  Lopez Island,