1995 Lotus Elan S2

This car is number 427 of that short final run, and so was loaded with metallic paint, leather seats trimmed with piping in the same colour as the bodywork.

It was bought new in March 1995 in West Sussex, and returned for service a few times before moving to other specialist garages. The service book must be one of the most complete we’ve come across, as it owners over its 85,000 miles kept up maintenance and the book is brimming with stamps, most recently in 2021 when it last changed hands.

The current owner acquired it in March last year, but with a number of projects on the go, hasn’t used it and has now decided to let it go.

Painted in dazzling Media Green, or bright metallic turquoise you and me, visually the car jumps out from the crowd, and the colour displays the curves and lines of the bodywork perfectly. The condition is excellent, there are almost no marks to be found around the Lotus, it had paint protection film fitted in 2011 so was kept safe for some years. At the front the pop up headlights are a brilliant and eye catching feature, and operate as they should.

There is a scratch on the solid tonneau cover, and at the bottom of the wheel arches there is some road rash but as the body work is fibreglass, there is no corrosion on the panels, rusty some tiny spots of exposed undercoat.

The black hood is extremely good, the fabric has no marks or rips, and the flexible rear window is clear with very few defects.

The alloy wheels look very good, there are a couple of very light marks on the rims but they are hard to notice, and the car has recent looking tyres with very deep tread.

On the dash in front of the passenger is a plaque saying “Limited Edition 427”, showing this is car 427 of that final run, its thought less than half of the original cars survive.

The stand out feature of the interior are the cream leather seats, with medina green piping on the edges, and matching cream door card inserts. The seats have a light patina of surface cracks but no colour wear and the padding has kept its shape perfectly.

The grey carpet is is excellent condition as are the door cards, and looking ahead the dashboard has no damage or cracks and the instruments appear to function as they should.

Looking beneath the car, the chassis and floor pan appear to be very solid, with no obvious damage or corrosion on the metal frame visible from ground level.

The engine bay is honest and clean, there is no sign of accident damage to the structure for panels, and no leaks of oil or coolant noticeable from the engine.

It has AP racing brakes, the pads last being changed in 2018 but the car hasn’t driven far since then. Mechanically it feels very good, the engine fires immediately and the gears select easily.

The factory service book is the highlight of the story here. The car has been very well maintained and there are service stamps into double figures from main dealers and specialists, and receipts for parts again from main dealers like Lipscombe and from specialists.

With relatively low miles and no history of failures or incident, there is little else to mention in the car’s past.

A sports car like this should stand out from the crowd, and in this sparkling blue-green metallic this does just that, setting it apart from the hosts of yellow, red and black sports cars at any show.

The condition is superb with almost no marks around the body, excellent hood, a rare leather interior and a great service history, there is a lot to recommend about this Elan, and as values of ‘90s modern classics continue to rocket, this is a great opportunity to grab an unusual and rare example.