The potential for a car to become a future collectible depends on many factors, but some of the common triggers include limited production numbers; exceptional performance; lineage of the brand; and a history of the marque showing a potential for appreciating. The Lotus Elan would seemingly check most of those boxes, save for the performance category, which may explain why these remain somewhat affordable to buy. This 1991 model listed here on craigslist is going for all the money for one of these, with an asking price of $28,900.
The Elan may have had the name and the badge to catapult it to greatness, but the driving experience wasn’t necessarily peak Lotus. This was a front-wheel drive Lotus with an engine pulled from an Isuzu – hardly the stuff of legends when it comes to open-top sports cars. There’s nothing inherently wrong with FWD sports cars, and this Lotus still handled quite well for what it was – but it wasn’t like its forebears, and the lineage factor is a big deal in Lotus circles.
The Elan still looked the part, however, with a true two-seater cockpit and driver-focused controls. But this wasn’t exactly an interior that Colin Chapman would have dreamed up – it’s pretty demure, with lots of hard plastics and a cheap vibe overall. There was some component sharing happening at this point in time, so some of these parts likely originated somewhere else before becoming part of the switchgear in an early 90s British roadster. The buckets are in decent shape and appear to retain good bolster support.
The engine bay is perhaps the best part of the car, looking quite clean and well-detailed. The turbocharged motor certainly made an obscure car like the Isuzu Impulse seem far more interesting, but it always felt out of place in a car like the Elan. The seller of this example claims he is going to put it up on a popular auction site to land an even higher sale price, but I’d be amazed if it pulls $15,000 on a good day. I like these obscure Elans and do feel they are under-appreciated – yet I’d stop short of giving it a thumbs-up at the current asking price. Thanks to Barn Finds reader PRA4SNW for the find.
Wow. For that price and FWD, I’d go for two NA Miatas. One track and one for driving with my wife.
Soft pass…sorry Colin…
These were also re-sold as Kias.
Where were these sold as Kias? Not in the U.S., I’m pretty sure.
My question is: Were these ever offered in the U.S. and if not, why?
Maybe the Miata beat them to the punch this time around.
They were sold as Kias in Asia, mostly in Korea and Japan I believe. They sold 559 US spec Lotus Elans
The Lotus Elan M100 was sold in the US market, but not the later Kia version after Lotus ended their production run.
Not “re-sold”, actually manufactured by Kia (with a switch to Kia engines) from ’96-99 after Lotus ended their production run in 1995.
The biggest mistake IMHO was calling this an “Elan”..Lotus should have come up with a whole new “E” word for this car…”Estero” hasnt been used? Apart from that I have heard these are pretty nice cars and that the front wheel drive setup works well. I certainly would not mind having it!
Way too much money, posted 25 days ago.
Having owned both the original Elan and an M100 I have to say they are both extremely fun to drive, but you can’t beat the original. The M100 has some flaws but certainly not in the handling department. It is also a great road car as I did 2 cross country trips in mine, and ended up selling at 160k miles. It could use cruise control however. I sold the M100 and purchased 2 Miata’s (92 & 93). I still had the original Elan and Miata’s at the same time. The Miata is superior to the old and new Elan in all respects, but I miss my original Elan the most.
I have one of these and it’s definitely a more attractive proposition in 2023 than in 1991. It does handle phenomenally well, only occasionally can you tell it’s FWD, it sticks to the road like my RWD cars do not. A common upgrade bumps the boost up and the power about +40 hp. At last weigh in, mine was 2250 lbs, and with 200 hp, it scoots!
This car already sold to someone on our forum I believe. Important to note that it’s in Canada, so the price is a more palatable $21k USD
Is the price quoted in U.S.$ or Canadian? Location isn’t the final answer.