1991 Lotus ELAN SE

With a full service history and just two former keepers, this turbocharged Lotus Elan SE M100 is looking fine and said to be running beautifully following a recent oil service and some minor fettling.

First registered on the 1st of June 1992, the Elan spent the years 1997 to 2005 on Guernsey, an island known for its low speed limit and fair climate, both of which will have contributed to the fine condition it is in today.

Offered with a very sensible guide price and part of our famous No Reserve Friday, it’s going to sell from the very first bid making this the ideal opportunity to get your hands on one of the icons of modern British classic motoring.

The Lotus presents well with good panel alignment and even shutlines. The panels themselves all look to be good too, and the quality of the white paintwork is pretty decent. Even the headlights rise and fall as they should - and that’s not something that can be said of every example you will see being offered for sale…

The Lotus/OZ alloy wheels are in a fine and very usable condition too, and they’re shod with matching Nankang tyres. The last MOT test showed the need for new ones on the front and the vendor went to the trouble of sourcing and fitted matching tyres.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching tyres like this are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The black folding roof seems to be in good shape, and still fits tautly. A couple of seams have let go (please see photos for details) but a half-decent trimmer would have no difficulty in stitching that up again.

Aside from the inevitable stone chips and minor marks, problems seem to be limited to the driver’s door, which doesn’t open all the way. You can still get in and out, but it will need sorting out in the longer-term. We understand that it’s an issue with the lower hinge and the door fouling on the rear edge of the front wing.

You might like to take a look at some of the fixing bolts on the door while you’re there because they’re rusty. But, that would be very much a nice-to-do job rather than an essential one.

(Oh, and if you’re looking for inspiration take a look at @conorjtwomey on Twitter; he’s just bought an Elan and has posted a series of videos walking through the problems he’s encountering and fixing.)

The yellow and black interior might not be to everyone’s taste but there’s no denying the quality – and anyway, if you’re going to drive a period sportscar then shouldn’t you go all-in?

The seats, which the vendor believes have been retrimmed as the pattern is different to the way the factory did it at the time, are in great shape. Still firm and supportive, they’re showing only very light creasing and no significant wear.

It’s much the same story with the door cards, which have been trimmed to match the seats and look terrific. The dashboard is simple and neat and clean too, and a modern stereo has been fitted.

Work to do is minimal. The paint on the metal plate that protects the upper outer edge of the passenger’s seat has worn away, allowing the underlying metal to develop some surface rust. This would be a cheap and easy fix and a quick win that would make a huge difference to the way the interior looks.

More problematic is the rear-view mirror, which needs reaffixing. In stark contrast to the usual Lotus ethos, it’s been well-packed with gravity and keeps falling off despite the best efforts of the vendor to stick it back on.

The engine bay is decently clean and tidy. Dominated by the turbocharger and the valve cover (which proudly wears the inscription ISUZU-LOTUS) the legend ‘DOHC 16V’ makes an appearance at the rear of the engine bay too, which is a wonderfully nostalgic touch now that every modern engine is hidden behind a cheap plastic cover; like Victorian brickwork and Bakelite light switches, things like this are a reminder that manufacturers used to take a pride in doing things properly.

Speaking of doing things properly, the Elan has been fitted with a Piper exhaust. One of the few valid criticisms of the Elan was its underwhelming engine and exhaust note, so this modification probably frees a few extra bhp in addition to sounding better than the stock system.

The vendor tells us that it drives well.

The Elan’s MOT certificate expires in April 2021. It also comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a folder full of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years.

It also still has its original owner’s handbook and book pack, the original sales invoice showing the purchase price of £19,950, and two sets of keys.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please contact the owner and ask if they can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like them to concentrate on.

The M100 Lotus Elan still has a way to go before it is accepted as a genuine collectors’ Lotus. While it might drive brilliantly - and be all but bulletproof in its reliability - nothing demonstrates classic car snobbery better than asking people to accept that anything with a front-wheel-drive chassis can ever be a proper sportscar…

This is a ridiculous stance to take but one the canny Lotus devotee can leverage because it has kept prices way below where we think they’ll eventually settle; if an early Mazda MX-5 – which wouldn’t be able to tell which way the Elan went on any kind of twisty road - is now fetching five figures and more, then the Elan must surely be worth at least the same.

But, the market is where the market is and we can’t see even a good example like this fetching more than £8,000 to £10,000, which is a real travesty considering the performance, handling and dependability you are getting for your money.

And remember: it’s being offered with no reserve, so will sell from the very first bid.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller in Manchester; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.