Tuesday 25th April 2017

Lotus Elan (M100): CIWYC

The Elise Sprint is coming - but if money's tight, why not take advantage of one of its most accessible forebears?

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Heads up: later this week, we'll be telling you all about what the new Lotus Elise Sprint is like to drive. But to whet our appetites until then, we've been looking at old Lotuses to find out how the Elise's predecessors are doing secondhand.

Cast aside your prejudices, it's good!

Now, this being Catch It While You Can, and it being a new Lotus Elise in the offing, it'd be no surprise if we were to take a look back at the original Elise, to tell you all about how you should buy one now just before the prices start to bimble their way skywards, having been sitting stationary for some time. (You probably should, by the way.)

The thing is, that's just what they'd be expecting us to do. So instead, we're going to tell you about a different Elise predecessor, and one you should also catch while you can. Not because prices are set to go up anytime soon, you understand. More because it looks like a bit of a bargain.

The more observant among you (by which we mean 'anyone with eyes') will already have worked out that we're talking about the Lotus Elan. And not the original Elan, either, but the wedgy, slightly plasticky, very front-wheel-drive M100 version, and equipped with your choice of a 1.6-litre Isuzu petrol engine, or the same engine with an IHI turbocharger strapped on.

Still a sharp looking car nearly 30 years on

The vast majority were equipped with the latter powerplant, good for 165hp, with 0-60mph coming up in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 137mph. All of which made it suitably brisk for the early 1990s. But there is, of course, an elephant in the room. And we should deal with it before we go any further.

Yes, we know it's front-wheel drive. Yes, we know it looks like it shouldn't be. But the thing is, drive an M100 for half an hour and the chances are you won't mind too much. For Lotus, the decision to make the new Elan was never about packaging or efficiency, such as it was for other manufacturers. Instead, it was about stability and predictability; an attempt to build a car that was not only great fun, but also accessible, and easy to drive quickly.

In a way, that was its downfall, for buyers didn't want an expensive British roadster with Vauxhall bits that couldn't step its tail out like an old Elan could. Instead, they wanted a cheap, faux-British roadster with Mazda bits that could. Which was why the MX-5 came along and stole the Elan's thunder.

Good ones are still under £10K, for now...

Nevertheless, the Elan was still immense fun and, let's not forget, far quicker than any standard Mk1 MX-5 could ever hope to be. And today, you can still pick up a very decent Elan for under £10,000 - we found this example of the more desirable S2 with just 58,000 miles on the clock going for £9,000, for example.

Ah yes, you're saying, but what about that early Elise? Well, frankly, until around six months ago, we'd have nodded sagely and told you to go and buy one of those instead, after all. But with Elise prices well and truly on the rise, like-for-like, you'll probably get more Elan for your money now.

What's more, the Elan can boast a layer of usability the Elise can't - for example, a roof that's permanently attached to the car. Such luxury gives it the edge, if not in terms of ability, then in terms of accessibility. And if you can see past any anti-front-wheel-drive bias you might have, that combined with its entry-level price makes it one of the most tempting ways into Lotus ownership there is.

[The Azure Blue Elan in pics here is currently for sale in the PH classifieds here]

[Lotusgone]

As a former owner (hence the username), I would endorse everything in the article. I was advised, by someone who was with the company at the time, that the S2 was better put together - I had no. 319. This is probably the easiest Lotus to own and drive, for those like me who are the wrong side of 50 and a bit tall; posting oneself into an Elise or Exige is tricky and the seats in those are damned uncomfortable. The roof is a lot simpler too.

Don't get any of the non-turbos, though they are very much in the minority. There are loads of 100k-plus examples going, so the engine is strong but some might prefer it pepping up. This has been a Cinderella Lotus for some time, seems like attitudes are changing.