A very elderly S2 Elise
Discussion
My little S2 Elise was registered 15 years ago on 2 November 2000. I will post up a few photos of its early life on the press fleet at Lotus and the 11 years it has subsequently spent with me. There have been ups and downs. Many more ups than downs thankfully!
It is the 7th S2 Elise made. Chassis 0007's first few days were busy. Registered on Thursday 2 November to Lotus Cars. It has it's 1,000 mile service on Monday 6 November! The obviously wanted it running in properly before letting journalists drive the car. However they ran it in, it has never used a single drop of oil between services so I am guessing they did a pretty good job.
I was told by Lotus that it was used in a road test on Channel 4's 'Driven'. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find any footage of this!
Autocar tested it for their 10 January 2001 issue. They gave it a 5 star verdict which is very rare for Autocar. They clearly knew they were in the presence of brilliance
Top Gear also featured it in their January 2000 issue:
Lotus kept the car until it was approx. a year old but from what I understand, didn't do a great deal more with it after February 2000 until October 2000. A lady by the name of Suzie Toner then had the car for a year. My memory isn't great after all this time but I believe it made a trip to Spain and she moved it on after falling pregnant. The next chap to own the car was the guy I bought it from. He lived in Aberystwyth and owned the car from September 2002 until October 2004 when I bought it.
I was in the market for an S1 Elise, despite wanting the S2. I thought I couldn't afford a S2 but a few things fell into place in 2004, mainly due to Lotus launching the 111R.
From memory, and without looking back at facts and figures (pedants look away) the S2 Elise 120bhp was somewhere around £23,995. Only very few (I've only ever seen one) were sold as completely bog standard as most people added Race Tech or Sports Tourer upgrades. These packs were just under and just over £3,000 respectively from memory. Then there was the 111S, 155bhp K series VVC which when optioned up (there was just a 111 available for those who wanted the 'go' without the 'show'. VVC 155bhp engine, no frills, Walshy had one...) were around £31,000. Lotus being Lotus decided to launch the 111R at somewhere around £29k (?) and realign the price of all models beneath downwards to suit. The net result was some solid price drops on S2 K series models as their list price new was dropped making nearly new cars look like very poor value.
So come October 2004, Sports Tourers were around £17,250 for an early example, all of which were Laser Blue I seem to recall. The less popular Race Tech models were around £16,800. Still beyond my budget. One night on eBay I spotted this car for sale. Buy It Now was £14,200. Much, much cheaper. I rang the chap up who was pretty despondent. He said lots of people had promised to come and buy the car but no one had shown up. I think it was a combination of this car being on an X plate (when the cars were launched on a Y plate) and his location, Aberystwyth. I told him I wouldn't mess him about and asked him what he would take for the car. He said £13,600 and on that basis, I agreed to meet him the following Saturday.
I get to view the car after a seemingly never ending journey! Car looked fine bar one of the sills was a slightly different shade to the rest of the car. I later found out from the archivist at Lotus that Tony Shute did a hillclimb in the car to promote the S2 Elise but hit a bale of straw necessitating a repair. Other than that, it looked good, drove ok and the history checked out. I managed to negotiate just a further £100 off which at least covered petrol to return and collect it a week later. You're not really in a strong position to negotiate when you've travelled over two hours and spent a further two hours looking around the car for what is the cheapest example in the UK!
After getting the car home, it replaced a 1985 Scirocco as my daily driver. I can't remember how long it was a daily driver for, perhaps only 18 months or so. It's a great car but the heater is absolutely shocking and it makes winter use all but impossible. This is just a nightmare for a S2 Elise:
Permanently misted up windows! No thanks, I can't be arsed with any of that carry on!
So the roles were reversed after approx. 18 months. The Scirocco became the daily driver again and the Elise became the second car. Incidentally, the Scirocco is still my daily driver now. 31 years old, 17 of those years with me! As a second car, we got on much better and still do to this day! Each drive feels more of an event and the specialness to the ride and handling that you become accustomed to in daily driving is much more evident with only sporadic use.
I did a few mods to the car. Braided hoses, Larini Club Sport exhaust and a decat pipe. Can't say that the hoses made a huge difference but the exhaust certainly made it sound different.
At around 50,000 miles circa autumn 2008, I spotted a leaking damper. I decided that this was the time to give it a complete overhaul of the suspension and steering. The rack was refurbed and the wishbones and ARB were powder coated. Literally everything else was replaced with standard factory parts.
The car is usually garaged but was stood outside for a month in worsening weather whilst this work was completed. Unfortunately, rain water managed to find its way between the bellhousing and block which knackered the clutch release bearing. This became louder and louder until I had to change it approx 6 months later. I did a report of this horrific job 'back in the day':
http://arc.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=220554&...
With all that misery behind me, I thought it was plain sailing going forwards. That didn't even last a year. 10 April 2010, a big momma of a Cadillac decided to reverse on top of the Elise whilst I was sat in it. This wasn't the first time a car reversed onto the front of the Elise. The mother parked her Passat on the front clam only a few months before. She has the skill to hit it square on causing zero damaged despite the rear wheels of the Passat being up in the air. The Caddy hit it at an angle cracking the clam here, there and everywhere.
Oh well. I put it into Chris Neils to be sorted. Told them to paint the rest of the car whilst they were at it. No more stone chips. No mismatched sill and no chance of a poor colour match.
They did a super job and it sat in their showroom for two weeks whilst I argued with Aviva that my excess was £250, not £500. I still remember the face on the reception lady when I refused to pay my excess! She said she wouldn't release the car until the excess was paid. I said that was fair enough, I'd leave it there and go home. Her face was a picture
Pride of place in the showroom looking like a new car:
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm prone to the odd bit of bad luck. Three days after collecting the Elise, this happened:
I could say that I laugh about it now but that would be a lie! The chap in the Ranger said I cut the corner. Clearly bull as he is miles over the give way line. It was scheduled for court some 18 months later but he threw his hand in the night before presumably when they saw this photo. That I'd emailed them about 28 times....
Back to Chris Neils for further beautification...
Got it back a second time and took it to show my cousin. For reasons only known to her, she decided to plonk her flatulent Pug on the windscreen!
By now I was only doing 2-3k a year in the car. I loved driving it as much as I ever did. I just didn't have the spare time I used to when I could disappear for a day.
Last year, all that changed. I was invited to a wedding in Sorrento. It took mere seconds to establish that I would drive to the wedding in the Lotus. I decided that it was a good idea to replace the now 14 year old standard radiator. Yvo at Elise Shop supplied me an alloy one. I think the core is slightly thicker. Fitted that myself. Time consuming but straightforward. Changed the towing eye post for a stainless version too. I also gave it an oil change and then Phoenix Motorsport fitted some new Yoko's and did the geo.
Finally, after ten years ownership, we were good to go! I'd wanted to go abroad in the Elise ever since I'd bought it so it was like all my Christmases had come at once to finally be able to do it!
No need to describe where I am here!
Hello Alps!
And hello Milan!
Autostrada, heading south. The Italians love to drive fast. You can do 100mph and you'll be overtaken at least once or twice a minute.
We made it! 1,500 miles from Liverpool to Sorrento. I did that in three days. You could do it in two in a 7 series or something I imagine. Just outside Sorrento, early evening:
View from my hotel window makes the Elise look like a toy!
I had grand plans to drive around Sorrento sightseeing. When I saw the standard of driving of the locals, I decided that was no longer possible! I did drive to Herculaneum in it and also the Amalfi Coastal Road. Here we are stopped for ice creams outside a little petrol station:
Decided I'd make an unscheduled visit to Germany on the way home. Stuttgart for the Mercedes and Porsche museums. Headed over the Dolomites. Amazing views as per the Alps.
I can highly recommend both museums. Mercedes in particular is amazing. At a bit of a loose end post Porsche museum, I decided that what every Rover K series really needs is a good Autobahn blast to blow away the cobwebs. The A7 was chosen between Stuttgart and Munich. I have decided not to post a photo but we're in 5th and the red light is on...
Of course the next photo can be nothing other than this
Another complete nightmare that could only happen to me. The mighty K spinning away like a sewing machine at 6,500 for twenty minutes managed to heat the alternator up so much that the black plastic bits melted incl the little plug with the two small wires.
This is Francesco. A Sicilian living in Ulm since he left school. Shockingly bad tempered even by my standards. We communicated via Google Translate. I fitted the alternator, he repaired the wiring. Still missed my boat home but there's bigger problems in the world.
So we are now at the present day and I'll show a couple of photos for the Insurance Valuation. Bar a few details, these little cars really don't look like a 15 year old design, do they? Perhaps I am biased!
It is the 7th S2 Elise made. Chassis 0007's first few days were busy. Registered on Thursday 2 November to Lotus Cars. It has it's 1,000 mile service on Monday 6 November! The obviously wanted it running in properly before letting journalists drive the car. However they ran it in, it has never used a single drop of oil between services so I am guessing they did a pretty good job.
I was told by Lotus that it was used in a road test on Channel 4's 'Driven'. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find any footage of this!
Autocar tested it for their 10 January 2001 issue. They gave it a 5 star verdict which is very rare for Autocar. They clearly knew they were in the presence of brilliance
Top Gear also featured it in their January 2000 issue:
Lotus kept the car until it was approx. a year old but from what I understand, didn't do a great deal more with it after February 2000 until October 2000. A lady by the name of Suzie Toner then had the car for a year. My memory isn't great after all this time but I believe it made a trip to Spain and she moved it on after falling pregnant. The next chap to own the car was the guy I bought it from. He lived in Aberystwyth and owned the car from September 2002 until October 2004 when I bought it.
I was in the market for an S1 Elise, despite wanting the S2. I thought I couldn't afford a S2 but a few things fell into place in 2004, mainly due to Lotus launching the 111R.
From memory, and without looking back at facts and figures (pedants look away) the S2 Elise 120bhp was somewhere around £23,995. Only very few (I've only ever seen one) were sold as completely bog standard as most people added Race Tech or Sports Tourer upgrades. These packs were just under and just over £3,000 respectively from memory. Then there was the 111S, 155bhp K series VVC which when optioned up (there was just a 111 available for those who wanted the 'go' without the 'show'. VVC 155bhp engine, no frills, Walshy had one...) were around £31,000. Lotus being Lotus decided to launch the 111R at somewhere around £29k (?) and realign the price of all models beneath downwards to suit. The net result was some solid price drops on S2 K series models as their list price new was dropped making nearly new cars look like very poor value.
So come October 2004, Sports Tourers were around £17,250 for an early example, all of which were Laser Blue I seem to recall. The less popular Race Tech models were around £16,800. Still beyond my budget. One night on eBay I spotted this car for sale. Buy It Now was £14,200. Much, much cheaper. I rang the chap up who was pretty despondent. He said lots of people had promised to come and buy the car but no one had shown up. I think it was a combination of this car being on an X plate (when the cars were launched on a Y plate) and his location, Aberystwyth. I told him I wouldn't mess him about and asked him what he would take for the car. He said £13,600 and on that basis, I agreed to meet him the following Saturday.
I get to view the car after a seemingly never ending journey! Car looked fine bar one of the sills was a slightly different shade to the rest of the car. I later found out from the archivist at Lotus that Tony Shute did a hillclimb in the car to promote the S2 Elise but hit a bale of straw necessitating a repair. Other than that, it looked good, drove ok and the history checked out. I managed to negotiate just a further £100 off which at least covered petrol to return and collect it a week later. You're not really in a strong position to negotiate when you've travelled over two hours and spent a further two hours looking around the car for what is the cheapest example in the UK!
After getting the car home, it replaced a 1985 Scirocco as my daily driver. I can't remember how long it was a daily driver for, perhaps only 18 months or so. It's a great car but the heater is absolutely shocking and it makes winter use all but impossible. This is just a nightmare for a S2 Elise:
Permanently misted up windows! No thanks, I can't be arsed with any of that carry on!
So the roles were reversed after approx. 18 months. The Scirocco became the daily driver again and the Elise became the second car. Incidentally, the Scirocco is still my daily driver now. 31 years old, 17 of those years with me! As a second car, we got on much better and still do to this day! Each drive feels more of an event and the specialness to the ride and handling that you become accustomed to in daily driving is much more evident with only sporadic use.
I did a few mods to the car. Braided hoses, Larini Club Sport exhaust and a decat pipe. Can't say that the hoses made a huge difference but the exhaust certainly made it sound different.
At around 50,000 miles circa autumn 2008, I spotted a leaking damper. I decided that this was the time to give it a complete overhaul of the suspension and steering. The rack was refurbed and the wishbones and ARB were powder coated. Literally everything else was replaced with standard factory parts.
The car is usually garaged but was stood outside for a month in worsening weather whilst this work was completed. Unfortunately, rain water managed to find its way between the bellhousing and block which knackered the clutch release bearing. This became louder and louder until I had to change it approx 6 months later. I did a report of this horrific job 'back in the day':
http://arc.seloc.org/viewthread.php?tid=220554&...
With all that misery behind me, I thought it was plain sailing going forwards. That didn't even last a year. 10 April 2010, a big momma of a Cadillac decided to reverse on top of the Elise whilst I was sat in it. This wasn't the first time a car reversed onto the front of the Elise. The mother parked her Passat on the front clam only a few months before. She has the skill to hit it square on causing zero damaged despite the rear wheels of the Passat being up in the air. The Caddy hit it at an angle cracking the clam here, there and everywhere.
Oh well. I put it into Chris Neils to be sorted. Told them to paint the rest of the car whilst they were at it. No more stone chips. No mismatched sill and no chance of a poor colour match.
They did a super job and it sat in their showroom for two weeks whilst I argued with Aviva that my excess was £250, not £500. I still remember the face on the reception lady when I refused to pay my excess! She said she wouldn't release the car until the excess was paid. I said that was fair enough, I'd leave it there and go home. Her face was a picture
Pride of place in the showroom looking like a new car:
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm prone to the odd bit of bad luck. Three days after collecting the Elise, this happened:
I could say that I laugh about it now but that would be a lie! The chap in the Ranger said I cut the corner. Clearly bull as he is miles over the give way line. It was scheduled for court some 18 months later but he threw his hand in the night before presumably when they saw this photo. That I'd emailed them about 28 times....
Back to Chris Neils for further beautification...
Got it back a second time and took it to show my cousin. For reasons only known to her, she decided to plonk her flatulent Pug on the windscreen!
By now I was only doing 2-3k a year in the car. I loved driving it as much as I ever did. I just didn't have the spare time I used to when I could disappear for a day.
Last year, all that changed. I was invited to a wedding in Sorrento. It took mere seconds to establish that I would drive to the wedding in the Lotus. I decided that it was a good idea to replace the now 14 year old standard radiator. Yvo at Elise Shop supplied me an alloy one. I think the core is slightly thicker. Fitted that myself. Time consuming but straightforward. Changed the towing eye post for a stainless version too. I also gave it an oil change and then Phoenix Motorsport fitted some new Yoko's and did the geo.
Finally, after ten years ownership, we were good to go! I'd wanted to go abroad in the Elise ever since I'd bought it so it was like all my Christmases had come at once to finally be able to do it!
No need to describe where I am here!
Hello Alps!
And hello Milan!
Autostrada, heading south. The Italians love to drive fast. You can do 100mph and you'll be overtaken at least once or twice a minute.
We made it! 1,500 miles from Liverpool to Sorrento. I did that in three days. You could do it in two in a 7 series or something I imagine. Just outside Sorrento, early evening:
View from my hotel window makes the Elise look like a toy!
I had grand plans to drive around Sorrento sightseeing. When I saw the standard of driving of the locals, I decided that was no longer possible! I did drive to Herculaneum in it and also the Amalfi Coastal Road. Here we are stopped for ice creams outside a little petrol station:
Decided I'd make an unscheduled visit to Germany on the way home. Stuttgart for the Mercedes and Porsche museums. Headed over the Dolomites. Amazing views as per the Alps.
I can highly recommend both museums. Mercedes in particular is amazing. At a bit of a loose end post Porsche museum, I decided that what every Rover K series really needs is a good Autobahn blast to blow away the cobwebs. The A7 was chosen between Stuttgart and Munich. I have decided not to post a photo but we're in 5th and the red light is on...
Of course the next photo can be nothing other than this
Another complete nightmare that could only happen to me. The mighty K spinning away like a sewing machine at 6,500 for twenty minutes managed to heat the alternator up so much that the black plastic bits melted incl the little plug with the two small wires.
This is Francesco. A Sicilian living in Ulm since he left school. Shockingly bad tempered even by my standards. We communicated via Google Translate. I fitted the alternator, he repaired the wiring. Still missed my boat home but there's bigger problems in the world.
So we are now at the present day and I'll show a couple of photos for the Insurance Valuation. Bar a few details, these little cars really don't look like a 15 year old design, do they? Perhaps I am biased!
Your quote.......I had grand plans to drive around Sorrento sightseeing. When I saw the standard of driving of the locals, I decided that was no longer possible! Unquote.
When we visited Sorrento (17 years ago though) we were impressed by the locals general driving (we were used to Essex though!)
Stats may prove me totally wrong, but we got the impression that they had eyes everywhere, and (although they didn't want to stop) they would avoid everything! Their "parking by audio" wasn't a great method though
When we visited Sorrento (17 years ago though) we were impressed by the locals general driving (we were used to Essex though!)
Stats may prove me totally wrong, but we got the impression that they had eyes everywhere, and (although they didn't want to stop) they would avoid everything! Their "parking by audio" wasn't a great method though
Fantastic history and write-up OP.
My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
Tickle said:
Fantastic history and write-up OP.
My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
Was your Elise red too? The only one I have seen with black mirrors was a red car! I think there was a factory option to colour code them for £60. I would think a lot of people went for that.My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
MJK 24 said:
Tickle said:
Fantastic history and write-up OP.
My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
Was your Elise red too? The only one I have seen with black mirrors was a red car! I think there was a factory option to colour code them for £60. I would think a lot of people went for that.My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
johnwilliams77 said:
Fantastic post OP. How come you had to claim from your own insurance after the first front bumper repairs were required? (after someone reversed into you?)
The chap who reversed on top of the Elise told his insurers I had run into the back of him. Despite me being stationary, engine off, hand on horn at the time!It was settled 50/50 in the end. The claim was handled very badly by Aviva for many many reasons. I put a complaint into the Insurance Ombudsman who found in my favour and awarded me £350 for my troubles!
johnwilliams77 said:
TR4man said:
What a great story - really enjoyed reading that.
The photo of the Elise in the hotel car park - had you reversed into the wall? Looks very (too) tight from that photo angle.
I was going to ask this too. It would seem to be in line with the cars history (sorry!)The photo of the Elise in the hotel car park - had you reversed into the wall? Looks very (too) tight from that photo angle.
Fastpedeller said:
Your quote.......I had grand plans to drive around Sorrento sightseeing. When I saw the standard of driving of the locals, I decided that was no longer possible! Unquote.
When we visited Sorrento (17 years ago though) we were impressed by the locals general driving (we were used to Essex though!)
Stats may prove me totally wrong, but we got the impression that they had eyes everywhere, and (although they didn't want to stop) they would avoid everything! Their "parking by audio" wasn't a great method though
The car drivers were manageable! The mopeds and scooters were a law unto themselves however! Complete lunatics. The last time I was in Sorrento prior to 2014 was twenty years earlier, 1994 on a school trip. I didn't recall Sorrento being that bad then, but Rome was a free for all from memory. That said, I was only 13 or 14 then!When we visited Sorrento (17 years ago though) we were impressed by the locals general driving (we were used to Essex though!)
Stats may prove me totally wrong, but we got the impression that they had eyes everywhere, and (although they didn't want to stop) they would avoid everything! Their "parking by audio" wasn't a great method though
MJK 24 said:
The chap who reversed on top of the Elise told his insurers I had run into the back of him. Despite me being stationary, engine off, hand on horn at the time!
It was settled 50/50 in the end. The claim was handled very badly by Aviva for many many reasons. I put a complaint into the Insurance Ombudsman who found in my favour and awarded me £350 for my troubles!
Well done even though it will cost you more than that in excess and increased premium, its better than nothing. It was settled 50/50 in the end. The claim was handled very badly by Aviva for many many reasons. I put a complaint into the Insurance Ombudsman who found in my favour and awarded me £350 for my troubles!
Tickle said:
MJK 24 said:
Tickle said:
Fantastic history and write-up OP.
My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
Was your Elise red too? The only one I have seen with black mirrors was a red car! I think there was a factory option to colour code them for £60. I would think a lot of people went for that.My first Lotus was an S2 that wasn't a Race Tech or Sports Tourer. IIRC it didn't even have colour coded mirrors... pretty sure the metro they were sourced from had colour coded mirrors!
Great cars and the plus points during ownership outweigh the niggles along the journey.
I was a few years out of Lotus ownership due to mortgage, kids etc. Now back and loving it!
How do you compare it to your S1? I've seen photos of your S1 in the Liverpool Cars & Coffee group on FB. I keep meaning to go. I'm only in Rainhill.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff