what is really cheap? lol i dont know how much these things go for on the market at all…for the condition that in.
That was pretty much my point Sam. It’s an amazingly fun car to drive. But it’s 165 HP, and ~2300 lbs. if I recall properly. It’s not going to win a lot of straight line races. But, it handles amazing for a FWD car, and it’s fun to drive. That’s all I was saying. There are no real problems known with this gen. Elan. Good engineered Japanese motor + Lotus design/handling = fun car. It’s a great formula. The price is still somewhat high for the performance I suppose, but it’s a Lotus, not a Mazda Miata.
Yeah, but the Miata will be more fun to drive, and you could buy at least two of them for the price of this Lotus.
personally i dont think its the hottest ride out by them, you see stuff like this all the time in europe putting around, its like a renault convertible
yea, dropped and black wheels would make it look pretty hot.
and some HIDs.
it would def. get you laid. chicks would love that
Hey “asshole” please quote where I said an Elan is “so bad”. Fucking illiterate douce bag Lotus sack rider.
And you could race one far more competitively, for less money. If you weren’t in to racing, you’d have a car that didn’t look god-awful, had a huge aftermarket, and was cheap to repair.
But wait… you couldn’t say you were driving a Lotus.
What a fuckwad.
I never said it was a horrid car in its day, but other than some pretentious Lotus collector, there are far better cars out there for the rest of the population.
So lets see, there are better performing cars, there are better looking cars, and there are cars that do both, and cost less. The one advantage you have is saying you have 1/599 Ugly Loti in the US.
Now that I say it, seems like a steal, buy it for any price :picard:
Only 3,000 were sold world wide before a stop was put to production in ’92.
That is because people didn’t appreciate their awesomeness :tantrum:
depends on price… 3-5K seems reasonable but they seem to be worth a lot more.
looks A LOT like a mercury capri
I, personally, wouldn’t be caught dead driving it 
(maybe a winter car?)
My problem with it is it’s the only FWD car Lotus ever made. That should tell you something right there.
The other issue, as has already been stated, for what it is there are so many other better options. If you’re going to take on the headache of having a very limited production exotic at least go all out and get something like an Esprit.
You seem to be looking at this as a “budget exotic” and there really is no such thing. No matter what you get into it for there will be so much more in parts and labor down the road that it will never be a budget car. If you’re looking for a great handling little roadster look at use Miata’s, S2k’s, even a first year Solstice that should be coming down in price as they start to come off lease.
who gives a rats ass what everyone on here thinks… do you like the car? do you think its a good deal/idea? then buy it. :shrug: doesnt seem to be that big of a deal.
Brian
Here ya go
- 1990s Elan
1990 Lotus Elan SE
1990 Lotus Elan SE
Lotus Elan from the front.
Lotus Elan from the front.
1991 Lotus Elan, US version.
1991 Lotus Elan, US version.
The second Lotus Elan (often known as the M100 Elan based on its internal Lotus model number), released in 1989, was a technical tour de force and defined Lotus’s “performance through light weight” tradition. Its styling by Peter Stevens, who was also responsible for the redesign of the Lotus Esprit, was also controversial.
Lotus Engineering had spent five years in tuning other cars and they put the knowledge from that into the new Elan. They wanted a very rigid chassis and used their gained knowledge to create a roadster chassis as rigid as a coupé.
The idea of a front-wheel drive Lotus, powered by an Isuzu turbocharged engine and motivated by an Isuzu five speed transmission, was a brave concept and its cornering performance was undeniable (on release the Elan was described by Autocar magazine as “the quickest point to point car available”). However the handling was negatively compared to the original Elan both by the press and some[who?] Lotus loyalists, often being accused of lacking driver feedback.[citation needed] According to Lotus sales literature, “The ride and handling engineers at Lotus found that for a given vehicle weight, power and tire size, a front wheel drive car was always faster over a given section of road. There were definite advantages in traction and controllability, and drawbacks such as torque steer, bump steer, and steering kickback were not insurmountable.” [1] However, it should be noted that this was the only front wheel drive vehicle made by Lotus. Every model made since the M100 Elan, such as the Lotus Elise, have been rear wheel drive.
The relatively high price of the M100 Elan (vs. e.g. the Mazda Miata), along with the mixed reviews and the downturn in the global economy in 1992 particularly in the USA meant it was not a sales success, list price being around $40,000 similar to that of the Elise when launched in the USA over 10 years later.
Production numbers are a highly debated topic among some. Ann Talbot of Lotus Cars USA cited US sales of 1,500 units in 1991, and Lotus Cars USA issued a statement that they sold more than 2,000 Elans in the US in 1991 and 1992.
However Lotus UK archives indicate total production of 3,855 vehicles from November 1989 - July 1992. Included in the 3,855 total is the series 1 production of 129 normally aspirated examples built for the UK market only. In 1991 the only year the vehicles were available in the USA, Lotus UK records indicate that 559 Elans were sold into the US market.
Official production figures for the Elan verified by the archivist at Lotus UK are:
* 1989 (Nov-Dec)14 * 1990 Jan-Dec) 1286 * 1991 (Jan-Dec)2060 * 1992 (Jan-Jul) 495 (S1 production ceased in July) * 1994 (June-Dec) 350 * 1995 (Jan-Sep) 450
US market vehicles featured a ‘stage 2 body’ which had a different rear boot spoiler arrangement together with a lengthened nose to accommodate a USA compliant crash structure and 16" wheels instead of the UK car’s 15".
[edit] Engine
The M100 Elan used a 1588 cc twin-cam 16-valve turbocharged engine, sourced from the Isuzu Gemini (a third generation of this engine was later used in the Isuzu Impulse), which produced 162 horsepower (121 kW). 0-60 acceleration time was measured by Autocar and Motor magazine as 6.5 s, and a top speed of 137 mph (220 km/h) was recorded.
In June 1992 Elan production ceased due to economic conditions and a desire by the then owner of Lotus, General Motors, to reduce losses which amounted to some 36 million UK pounds over the period the Elan was in production.
In 1996 and 1997, Kia built the Elan under license as Kia Elan for the Korean market, using a 151 horsepower (113 kW) 1.8 L engine instead of the Isuzu made 1.6.
[edit] Series 2 M100 Elan
A limited edition (of 800) Series 2 (S2) M100 Elans was released during the Romano Artioli era (produced June 1994–September 1995) when it was discovered that enough engines were available to make this possible. According to Autocar magazine, the S2 addressed some of the concerns over handling, but the 0–60 acceleration time allegedly increased to 7.5 seconds, which they thought was probably due to the legislative requirement to fit a catalytic converter in all markets. In overall performance the S2’s have very similar performance to the USA vehicles, having an identical engine management system calibration and a slightly lower overall vehicle weight…
or turbo it
The teal limited edition one is hot
It’s ugly, slow, overpriced, FWD, and a complete niche car with no real market. Buy a Miata, S2k, or something decent and call it a day. Even with handling by lotus, they still dont drive very well IMO. I’d rather be in an SRT4 all day long.
:dropsoverdead:
Yes, that’s me, an illiterate Lotus sack rider. If it’s got that badge on it, I’m all about it. In fact, I’m going to go out and buy another one soon, so long as I get past the whole literacy thing.
Are you upset I put some real info. in this “car forum” thread, or are you more impressed with the, “I like it, I hate it, it’s ugly, it’s…” comments? The thread starter asked abvout the car, and I gave answers. Fuck off.
You just shed so much shit in so many threads. Glad my comments got to you a little. You’re a pretty angry guy.
Those pics don’t really do it justice, it really is a great looking car, WAY better than a Capri (which drives like total crap compared to the Lotus) If only they made it like a REAL Lotus, if that thing came back today as a RWD car it would perfectly complement the Elise. It could be their luxury model instead of the ugly Europa that’s coming out.
Way to prove my point dumbass. Try and attack me, instead of defend the car :lolham:
You are a joke.
Right, bec. the info. I provided on the car in this thread wasn’t defending it at all? I could’ve swore I did that. Talk about illiterate…
And for what it’s worth, I feel the the same way about you.
ENOUGH BULLSHIT, BACK ON TOPIC: The Elan is a nice buy, if you’re looking to step into that type of car. It’s a fun, cheap, moderately quick, and good handling car. Also, it’s looks are so plain, I can hardly see why anyone would call it ugly. If nothing else, it’s very plain. Usually people that buy these do a lot of homework on them and know what they’re stepping into. They aren’t buying them bec. they think it’s a better alternative to an S2000 or Miata. In many ways, they absolutely are not, but they do have a lot of great traits to offer. They’re just a different kind of car, and it’s got a small market of buyers for it.
SilverGT, if you want any other info on them, feel free to PM me. What I couldn’t tell you, my friend Tony could. He’s had 4 of them.