Sometimes, it is difficult to resist the temptation to take a chance on a project that is a project for good reason. That’s certainly a possibility here with this package deal for a pair of Lotus Elans. The seller has presented the cars as one with low mileage and clean history and the other as a parts car for that one. This photo shows the parts car in the rear, sitting on cheap, aftermarket wheels with peeling clearcoat and a missing rear window on the soft top. The Elan has always been a bit misunderstood in the marketplace but there’s a chance that will change as 90s cars rise their current wave of popularity. Find the pair of Elans here on craigslist for $12,000 in East Los Angeles.
The Elan has always been a bit misunderstood. First of all, it wasn’t the prettiest thing ever made and didn’t seem to the modern interpretation of the classic Elan like many enthusiasts were likely hoping for. The shape was bulbous, hardly svelte, and it was front-wheel drive. The engine came from an Isuzu, with a turbocharger bolted to it. Many Lotus faithful couldn’t bear the thought of Colin Champman driving such a thing, much less themselves. While it still delivered fantastic handling for a front-driver, it was a fry cry from the Lotus models of the 60s and 70s that cemented the company into history as one of the great sports car manufacturers.
Today, there’s really no significant presence behind this model that we can offer an opinion on in terms of its prospects as a collectible. For instance, a late-model Maserati is not a hard car to find despite the name conveying exclusivity. You can find a fairly new Maserati at any number of shady used car dealerships. The Elan never went down into the depths of beater status but also never emerged as a collectible. It became a quiet footnote in automotive history. The seller’s car looks decent inside, but that’s not saying much. These were pretty spartan machines, so it’s not like there’s a whole lot in here that will look significantly better if it was detailed.
The seller notes the better of the two cars is “…running funny but not ha-ha funny,” which is an add tone to strike with a car that many enthusiasts only want to buy from an informed owner. The good news about the Isuzu powerplant is that it is not terribly complex or difficult to work on, but parts sourcing is likely getting to be a bit of a problem. The seller notes that his mechanic told him the Elan needed new injectors, which seems like a cheap and easy fix, especially if it means selling one of the two cars as a strong runner. However, he may simply be at a point of wanting to get out of the obscure British / Japanese car business, and you can’t really blame someone when they’ve had enough. Have you ever driven a modern Elan?
These are wonderful affordable cars! I’m on my second and probably not last elan. There’s a large group of enthusiasts at https://www.lotuselancentral.com/ as well as several active facebook groups. Easy to get 200+ HP from the Isuzu-sourced engine. Incredible bang for the buck here.
I owned 2. Best handling front wheel drive I ever drove. Fit and finish weren’t that great, but they are a blast to drive. I modified my last one with a quaife I imported from GB, an Aluminum flywheel, and upgraded to a different brand turbo, custom intercooler, and increased boost. It dynoed at 220hp at the wheels, a significant improvement.
Lotus should have named this ”thing” something other than Elan.Not even close to what the original Elan was.
Lotus LTD (national lotus club) voted on the name back in the late 80s. Having driven both cars, the spirit is definitely present in both, albeit achieving amazing handling in different ways. Both revolutionary, with basically the same backbone chassis design.
We had an Izuzu powered fork lift that purred like a kitten. Handled pretty sweet, too!
This could be a great deal if you can work on them yourself.
Why yes, I’ve driven one, traded a Chrysler Crossfire for it. Was kind of rough, I painted it, put camshaft sensor in it and spun the tires a lot. It is considered the best handling front wheel drive car, no small accolade. In a moment of idiocy I traded it for a Chevy 3500 dually, the guy who got it turned it into a wall hanger. Yes he hung it on his wall.
I guess if I had kept it I would have gotten quite a few tickets, it was a blast to drive.
I own one. I used to drive it a lot. Even with snow tires, ice was no match for it’s front bumper – which is made of unobtainium. I had one fabricated, and hope to have it on the road within a year. Phenomenal in the snow. The cam angle sensor issues are resolvable, as are shift cable issues (that should be resolved by now on the cars shown).
A front wheel drive fiberglass car in the snow, sounds great except for salt on the snowy roads and Lotus light weight metal suspension components. I found a Buick Reatta to be a great snow car, I once got jerked into a divided highway median with about 6 inches of snow on the ground, I kept on the gas, and drove right back up and onto the slushy highway.
“…it wasn’t the prettiest thing ever made and didn’t seem to the modern interpretation of the classic Elan like many enthusiasts were likely hoping for. The shape was bulbous, hardly svelte, …”
looks same as the gull winged yellow one from the other day (just a vert & red) to me~
Not clear what “yellow one from the other day” you’re referring to? These were only ever made as convertibles, and AFAIK no Lotuses were ever made with gull-wing doors.
There was a yellow gull-winged Mazda Autozam AZ-1 posted last week, totally different car, and even tinier!
I’ve got a pair of metal lower seat corner protectors,
new,still in the wrappers,free if anyone wants them.