As a die-hard fan of sitting down and relaxing, I could have been forgiven if delirium had set in during the advanced stages of the 21 mile walk I “enjoyed” on Sunday. Indeed, when conversation moved onto detailing the various kinds of electrical pylon found on the national grid (this was largely a monologue, admittedly), insanity was confirmed. Nevertheless, I was severely taken aback when I gave today’s VISIT sighting, second, third, fourth and fifth glances and still it didn’t dissolve into the shadows of my imagination from whence it came. Nay, it was a real, living, breathing example of a 1991 Lotus Elan SE.
The M100 Elan, as you know, was chief among fruits of GM’s period as legal guardians of Lotus Engineering in the late ’80s and early 90’s, with the focus being on creating something which would have American customers falling over themselves to get a Lotus in their lives. Alas, despite £35 million invested, and such noteable publicity as featuring in the risible Honey I Blew Up The Kid, the Elan made nothing like the international impact that was hoped.
The Elan was a peculiar machine for Lotus to come up with. For a start, it was the only time they ever dabbled in front-wheel-drive, secondly the GM connection led to using an Isuzu powertrain. The shape, too, was unusual, being extraordinarily wide and squat, but not unpleasant looking. And very much a contemporary piece of design, with an extremely curvaceous (and probably very expensive) windscreen that could have come from a concept car.
Seeing one of these parked at the side of the road in an, er, “up and coming” area was the last thing I expected; I’d not seen one on the road in any capacity since the late ’90s. Finding it to be in near-beater condition on closer inspection was even more unexpected, yet in some ways it increased the appeal still further.
I’d imagine you have to be a certain kind of person to daily-drive and street park an M100 Elan (the tax disc was valid until October this year, so this is a runner). To the uninitiated, in these days of Miatas being so inexpensive as to be virtually throwaway, and yet enjoying the petrolhead allure of simplicity and rear-wheel-drive, I would imagine that a front-wheel-drive Lotus would have a very low radar signature indeed among those much less than 25 years old. To even consider owning one of these you surely have to have had a hankering for a long while.
Hopefully the owner of this one realises what he’s got (possibly the finest driving front-wheel-drive car of all time) and keeps it running, irrespective of scabbiness or patina. It’s a pleasure to see it out there. And if he ever gets tempted to part it out, he might make a few quid from Renault GTA owners on the rear lights, (or thousands from gullible Cizeta V16T owners). [Images: copyright 2014 Hooniverse/Chris Haining. Own this car? Please drop me a line and offer me a drive. No, seriously. Please. Please please please. Thanks]
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