SEVEN Lotus Elans - each with an illustrious past - are expected to fetch £700,000 when they come up for sale at auction.

The collection was put together by former Cosworth engineer Deryck Norville and is being sold at the Silverstone Auctions sale at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on February 25.

Known as the Piddington Collection, the seven Elans date back to 1966 and include models once owned by Peter Sellers, Diana Rigg and Jochen Rindt.

Rob Hubbard, sales director of Silverstone Auctions, said: "If ever you have wanted to purchase a Lotus Elan there will never again be an opportunity like this one,to choose your ideal car from this outstanding collection put together with a master's eye by Deryck Norville.

"Each one also comes with a provenance that just adds to their interest. This Piddington Collection is one for the true Lotus afficionado."

Among the Elans in the sale is a S3-SE which was delivered to Peter Sellers in 1966 and was driven by him and then wife Britt Ekland.

It has a guide price of between £80,000 and £120,000.

Another - an S3 Drophead - was driven by actress Diana Rigg who was given the car after filming The Avengers TV series in which she played Emma Peel.

The S3 also has a guide price of between £80,000 and £120,000 as does a S4 Coupe from 1969 which was presented to Jochen Rindt by Colin Chapman at Hockenheim in August 1970 after his win in the Lotus 72 at that year's German Grand Prix. It was to be Rindt's final win prior to his fatal crash at Monza a few weeks later.

Other Elans in the Race Retro sale are a Sprint once owned by designer Ron Hickman who led the teams behind the original Elan, the +2 and the Lotus Europa as well as creating the Black and Decker Workmate, a 1968 S3-SE which was prepared for racing driver Rob Walker to commemorate Stirling Moss' legendary Monaco Grand Prix win in 1961 aboard the Rob Walker Racing Lotus 18, an S4 Coupe given to Keith Duckworth, co-founder of Cosworth Engineering, by Lotus Cars to commemorate the first win by a DFV-engined Grand Prix car at the Dutch GP in 1967 and a 1975 Elan Sprint which was the last of its kind registered in the UK and originally supplied in kit form to the Ken Meyers Partnership who, at that time, were Lotus Main Dealers in Wellingborough Road, Northampton.