The seller of this Lotus Eclat claims to have 50 project cars in his collection and that lost storage is forcing him to start selling some of his cars off. This Lotus Eclat is the first one up, and it’s one of two that he has. The car shown here on eBay is a 1977 model with left-hand drive steering but he also has a European-market car with the right-hand drive configuration. These Lotuses are often forgotten about as they linger in the shadow of the Esprit, but with fiberglass construction and a generally robust 2.0L 16-valve Type 907 engine, this project may make good sense to revive despite its lair-like dwelling.

Check out the background of this photo: what else do you see? I’m very intrigued by the yellow Porsche 996-era 911, as you don’t see many of those in that shade. In addition, based on the clear/red configuration of the taillights, I wonder if that 911 is a desirable C4S edition. Regardless, you’ll have to watch the seller’s eBay page to determine if it’s coming up for grabs in the coming weeks, along with anything else he has squirreled away in here. The seller refers to the space as “his warehouse” but it sounds like he is still losing access to the kind of space that makes it possible to acquire this many project cars.

Like many sports cars from the era, there was a migration from strictly two-seaters to 2+2 setups in an effort to support a driver’s lifestyle that included a fair amount of grand touring. It’s an interesting footnote in the history of sports and performance cars that so many of them made design updates that accounted for rear seat occupants. The Elite and the Eclat were very similar cars visually, but the Eclat shown here featured a traditional trunk lid and fastback design. The interior is not as bad as you’d expect for a neglected project, but that’s assuming the warehouse doesn’t suffer from moisture issues or rodents. The RHD Eclat does look more intact, and the buckets in that car show no tears.

The 907 engine was mounted longitudinally and sent 160 horsepower to the rear wheels. The weight balance was damn near perfect in the Eclat, and it was also very lightweight, clocking in at a scant 2,160 pounds. The seller claims the engine will run on ether spray but that he hasn’t gone any further for fear of sucking contaminants into the fuel system. The next owner will have to drop the tank and do a proper clean-out and reseal, but that’s par for the course for any car that’s been sitting. Is this Lotus a brilliant path of entry to vintage sports car ownership or a potential rabbit hole you’ll never get out of?