Lotus cars are coming out of the woodwork these days, as Barn Finds has featured several lately. These British sports cars were mostly fiberglass with mostly useful engines producing almost enough power. From the early Elite to the later Esprit, and all the Elans and Europas in between, the vintage versions were made from 1948 to about 1980. Sleeved in there, the Elan coupe was produced from 1965 to 1973 (later cars were called the Sprint). All Elans shared a backbone chassis and fiberglass body, fantastic handling, and a twin-cam four-cylinder motor. Here on eBay is a right-hand drive 1967 Lotus Elan S3 coupe, bid to $15,300, reserve not met. The car is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A flyer pictured in the eBay ad indicates that the owner is looking for $35,000 before he’ll let it go. The car has been restored to driver quality as a tribute to Jim Clark, a Formula One racer who was given Lotus Elan serial number 001 as a gift by Colin Chapman. The Carmine Red/Mercedes Benz Silver paint replicates the livery on the Clark car.
This car is a Series 3, Special Equipment (SE) version. Its twin-cam inline-four cylinder motor displaced 1558 cc’s and made about 115 bhp. This car has dual Weber carburetors and a four-speed transmission. It weighs in at just over 1500 lbs; its zero to sixty time was about 7.5 seconds. The top speed was about 118 mph. Early road tests were noncommittal, with complaints about the lack of torque and its price new – almost $5,000 which was a lot in those days – but praise for the handling. The seller indicates that the car’s mechanicals have been “refreshed” though further explanation will require a conversation with the seller.
The interior is a “B” in my book, with new door panels, seats, headliner, and sun visors. However, the wood dash remains in its patina’d state, with some cracking in the finish. If your personal dimensions are on the – ahem – larger side, you will find the cabin just about intolerable. The seats are snug and the headroom is not copious. The pedals are tiny and clustered together, though legroom rates well. No, it’s not hard to drive shifting with your left hand, but the visual aspect of looking at the fog line instead of the center line takes some getting used to.
The car’s strong suit is its paint and bodywork which appear meticulous. I noted that the paint used was a clear coat system. I am not a big fan of clear coat on vintage cars, as I think the result strays from a vintage look. But I wouldn’t kick this one out of the garage, either.
The Elan Coupe is simply not an easy-access proposition for my 6’2″ self. A roadster, and I’d be drooling!
These are wonderful little cars. It’s no wonder Mazda drew inspiration from them for the Miata. I like the Elan better though.
But any prospective buyer should be asking questions. I’d be particularly interested to know if the rear axle shafts (with their sometimes-squirmy, always failure-prone “Metalastic” inner U-joints have been replaced, and whether the backbone chassis has any corrosion issues.
Otherwise, I’d accept the less-than-perfect dashboard and simply drive the daylights out of it, which is what these cars were made for. If, that is, it was a roadster….
Beautiful Elan.I always liked the coupe version the best.And the red/silver paint combo is perfect.And it’s a Weber head one.
Good looking ride. Agree with RayT on the concerns.
Given what a tiny sports car this is, I would hold out for the convertible drophead version. In a convertible you can zoom around without feeling that you are inside a straitjacket. Even Diana Rigg, who was quite slender, once said she found her two Elans from The Avengers to be a bit too small. Upon leaving the series, “Mrs. Peel” bought herself an E Type.
This was listed on BaT in August so you can go there for more and better pictures and information. It was bid to $27,677.
The frame looks great and the donuts look OK. I like donuts. I find them to be part of the experience of driving an Elan which requires smoothness over all else. Of course a switch to solid couplings is what a lot of people want to do, that’s fine. But you still have to learn to roll off the throttle and squeeze the brakes to drive it smoothly and quickly.
$35k seems reasonable enough, the coupes are a small market.
The listing, https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-lotus-elan-s3-8/
I’d like to get my hands on that 1948 Lotus!
https://lotus-library.com/autographs-2/
Primitive! But I would give my eyeteeth for one of these.
The Barber Museum in Alabama has nice replicas of both the Mark 1 and Mark II. And the Mark II appeared in the British Comedy “Brothers in Law”
https://archive.org/details/BrothersInLaw1957 first time about minute 6
The Barber museum and track is one of the best museum/track experiences I have ever had. Thanks for reminding me of it. I was there in conjunction with the Lotus Rendezvous (not with a car, just a stopover on my way to NYC) and I was astounded at the detail, inventory, artfulness, and just all-around classiness of the entire facility. Wow.
$25,100 now, reserve still not met, too small for me to fit.
Back in the seventies I owned 26/004. That car whose body was modified by Chinetti, was also reported to have been a gift from Chapman to Clark. But the shipping clerk messed up and sent 004 to the U. S. A physician recieved a baby blue elan instead of a British racing green. Doctor (from Long Island) had chinetti install flares and two orifices in the nose the repainted.
I bought it off Kirk white. Sold it to a guy in Japan (right hand drive). I so wish I had that car back.
Bob, any pictures of that car?