1990 Lotus Elan SE Turbo

Lot details
Registration No: G395XFJ
Chassis No: SCC100ZT1LHD16289
Mot Expiry: July 2017

- Desirable turbo M100 for which Lotus claimed 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and 137mph

- Recently treated to a full service and new brakes all round, Grey leather upholstery

- Documented history file and 'no advisories' MOT valid till July 2017

Vendor Condition Ratings:

Bodywork: 'Very Good'
Engine: 'Excellent'
Electrical Equipment: 'Very Good'
Paintwork: 'Very Good'
Gearbox: 'Very Good'
Interior Trim: 'Good'

Further Info:

After a production gap of some 14 years, Lotus took the decision to reintroduce the much-loved Elan name onto its new two-seater convertible sports car. The M100 Elan aimed to dispel the old clichés of unreliability by installing a trusted Japanese engine and manual transmission supplied by Isuzu, and built with the development and testing resources of General Motors. Around £35 million was invested in the car's development, more than any other car in Lotus history. Its design - penned by Peter Stevens - featuring a fibreglass composite body over a rigid steel backbone chassis, was true to Lotus founder Colin Chapman's original philosophy of achieving performance through low weight. In 1986 the purchase of Lotus by General Motors provided the financial backing to develop a new, small, affordable car in the same spirit as the original Elan, a development prototype had been built a few years earlier, using a fibreglass body and a Toyota-supplied 1.6-litre engine and transmission. Lotus was hoping to sell the car through Toyota dealerships worldwide, badged as a Lotus Toyota, but the project never came to fruition and the prototype was shelved (although Lotus's collaboration with Toyota had some influence on the design of the Toyota MR2). The idea of a small roadster powered by an outsourced engine remained, however, and in late 1986 Peter Stevens's design for the Type M100 was approved and work began by Lotus engineers to turn the clay styling buck into a car that could be built. This process was completed in just under three years, a remarkably short time from design to production car.

'G395 XPJ', finished in Pacific Blue, is a Series 1 car first registered just 10 months into production. The bodywork and paintwork is in very good all-round condition, with none of the usual crazing and cracking associated with a fibreglass vehicle, the car having benefited from a respray in recent years. The interior, which is finished in complimentary grey leather with blue piping, is in good order.
Mechanically, the Elan is in good condition, maintaining good oil pressure and accelerating rapidly and smoothly, the gearbox changing with a satisfying precision. The Elan has obviously been the subject of someone's passionate interest, with a documented history file. A recent full service and new brakes all-round mean this M100 which will come freshly MOT'd with 'no-advisories' can be immediately enjoyed.