Lotus 2-Eleven: Spotted
It may hold plenty of appeal beyond the track but, against stiff competition, will the 2 become a classic Eleven?
This process was slightly more time consuming, taking 20 months to arrive at the car we know today as the Lotus 2-Eleven. Underpinned by the same bonded aluminium tub as the original Elise and powered by the same supercharged Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine as the Exige S, it was so far so Lotus. Also in true Lotus fashion, though, the 2-Eleven tipped the scales at a featherweight 670kg - the entire, 13-piece, Coremat bodywork accounting for just 38kg of that. And as for that engine, it was now producing 255hp.
For an extra £1,100 Lotus would, as it did in the case of today's Spotted, make the car road legal. This involved the fitment of mundane items such as headlights, a horn, and a catalytic converter, and the removal of exciting ones like the Track Pack's carbon rear wing and enlarged splitter. But it also put the entire 246,000 miles of the British road network at the 2-Eleven's mercy.
At £29,995 after 17,000 miles, depreciation could be described as minimal, but it also opens our Spotted up to some fairly compelling competition. For the same money you could have a Caterham 310R with nearly a third as many miles, you're only £3,000 shy of a very nicely appointed Ariel Atom, and KTM X-Bows will be within budget as well. Which one of that lot to buy for the weekend would be a wonderful problem to have, each offering its own appeal, but whether any of them will hold the same classic status as the Lotus is likely to in decades to come is another question. Where would your money go?
SPECIFICATION - LOTUS 2-ELEVEN
Engine: 1,796cc, four-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 192@7,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 133@6,800rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2008
Recorded mileage: 17,000
Price new: £32,500
Price now: £29,995
See the original advert here.
- as denoted by the Yellow and black scheme and without the slightly less fragile Yamaha bike mirrors as seen on this one).
It's been great - the immediacy of the direction change, the fact you are sitting on the deck and the drama of the point-and-squirt performance. I've also had nothing but love from other road users wherever it's been. If anyone else owns one around the Cambridge area i'd like to know...
I have one eye on value, my hope is to keep it long-term and see. I suspect very clean S/C cars already creeping-up just due to the difficulty of ever finding one. But it will always be a small potential market. (My wife hasn't been in it - she refuses to engage on the basis of no windscreen).
Would be interesting to project forward 30 years to when we're all calling up electric cars on demand for A to B transport - is this type of car going to be most in demand for weekend hobbyists on airfields?
I'm also hoping to book onto the Lotus licence course at Hethel this Summer - i'm going to take it with me and see if I can blag it onto the track for a bit... (Note to any instructors reading this - I'll give you a lap for each one you give me) ; )
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