2000 Lotus Elise S1 Type 49

As a Type 49 ‘Gold Leaf’ special edition, this is one of just 100 cars in the run of Elises that pay homage to the Lotus type 49 Formula 1, a car that won its debut Grand Prix in the hands of Jim Clark. With its distinctive red, white and gold colour scheme, six-spoke gold alloy wheels, perforated red leather seats, red and black steering wheel, and Alcantara door trims it was supplied with both a hard- and a soft-top.

The vendor is only the car’s fourth owner. He’s had it for around eighteen months and the chap who owned it before him had it in his car collection, which goes some way to explaining its extraordinarily low mileage, a mileage that only increased a little after he bought it with just over 24,000 miles on the clock at the end of 2017.

The Elise’s second owner had it for thirteen years, using it only in the summer and declaring it SORN in the winter. He clearly cherished it, splashing out on a few well-judged modifications such as a stainless steel exhaust, Bilstein sports suspension, and a Hurricane induction system in addition to a detachable suede Momo steering wheel.

The red, white and gold livery won’t be to everyone’s taste but there’s no denying its condition, which is first-rate and entirely consistent with the car’s low mileage. Discreet Armourfend paint protection film has played its role, but they’ve done their job well and yellowed with age and could do with replacing.

Elsewhere, red protective stickers protect high-wear areas like the door locks and tonneau press studs. Obsessive? Maybe, but wouldn’t you rather buy a car like this than one from a lout who vaped in it while he ate his KFC supper?

The delicate gold alloy wheels are in excellent condition, being free of scruffs marks, and signs of having been kerbed.

The black fabric hood is in good shape, and still fits tautly. There is, of course, no damage to it but the inside is a little water stained and the front edge is a little frayed. Still, you’re not actually going to ever use it, are you?

Problems are pretty much limited to a tiny chip on the trailing edge of the bonnet. Oh, and the new owner will almost certainly want to replace the rear number plate for one with a more subtle font.

If you’re familiar with the model then you will know that the Elise’s interior has two distinguishing traits. The first is that it is almost impossible to get into (and out of) when the roof is fitted, but there is a technique! The second is that it contains the square root of bugger all.

But, what there is is done beautifully. The black and red seats might look hard and uncompromising but they’re actually light and supportive and much more comfortable than they look. They’ve got an adjustable lumbar support too, which you pump up by hand because that’s the lightest possible way of doing it. Still the originals, they’re in great shape with only minimal, almost invisible wear to the outer edge of the driver’s seat.

The Alcantara door trims are simple and straightforward and about as nominal as you can get without ditching them entirely. The window winders are the originals too, and it’s nice to see that previous owners have avoided the temptation to ‘upgrade’ them.

The detachable steering wheel is a red and black suede-covered jobbie, and the original red and black leather-covered item comes with the car, so the new owner can choose which one they prefer.

The driver and passenger both get red mats to protect the floor, and the passenger also gets an alloy footrest to brace him/herself against. All are in good condition, as is the floor pan itself.

The pedals are gorgeously minimal alloy items, big enough to be useful but as small as they could get away with to save weight. (It seems to be commonplace these days to praise things for being ‘over-engineered’. The Lotus Elise shows that great engineering actually means making a component only as strong as needs to be while being as light as is consistent with reasonable longevity.)

The Stack instrument panel is as simple and elegant as the rest of the car and shows just 25,144 on the odometer. And just take a look at the gate for the gearchange; have you ever seen anything so lovely? The nicest of its type this side of a classic Ferrari, it’s worth buying the car just to be able to gaze at it when you’re stuck in traffic…

The front boot is clean and tidy and easily big enough to carry your lunchtime sandwiches in. The luggage space at the back will swallow your partner’s lunch too, so you’re all fixed for a picnic. (There’s possibly room in there for a small picnic rug, too. But only a small one.)

Work to do is pretty much limited to the scuff panel to the right of the driver’s seat, which is a bit scuffed. If it were ours we’d leave well alone because any replacement is going to wear in the same place; have we mentioned how hard it is to get in and out of an Elise? It does get easier once you've mastered the technique........

The mid-mounted engine is clean and tidy and benefits from a couple of judicious upgrades such as a Hurricane induction system and a stainless steel exhaust system. The stock suspension has been upgraded to a Bilstein sports kit.

The vendor has also just spent £2,000 with a specialist for a service, various minor mechanical repairs and an upgrade of the radiator and engine cooling system, which should forestall the sort of cooling problems that can plague the model.

It starts, runs, corners, and stops as an Elise should. Our photographer, a man well used to driving all manner of exotic cars, was so impressed he sent around a WhatsApp message telling us so. That might not impress you but, like The Stig of Top Gear’s fame, he’s a man of few words and so it’s worth paying attention when he does say something.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever – in its eleven-year history the little Lotus has only garnered two advisory points, both in the same year for a pair of worn track rod ends.

This year’s MOT – and it has a full 12-month ticket – didn’t cause the examiner to raise so much as an eyebrow, much less his pen. We drove it the 40 mile round trip to our trusted garage and can confirm it is an absolute delight to drive with everything feeling tight, responsive and almost like a new car.

The car comes with a huge number of expired MOT certificates plus a thick sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it and a stamped service history book in its original wallet. It also has three 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 the very highest standard.

The Lotus Elise appears to have bottomed out, with even the rattiest examples now fetching high four figures and decent-but-unremarkable cars fetching around £15,000.

Which makes our guide price of £16,000 to £22,000 for this immaculate, limited edition example seem like great value to us. And remember, the market traditionally values low mileage, original cars like this very highly, and examples from limited production runs will always find a ready market too.

So, if you’ve ever promised yourself an early Elise (and if you haven’t, you really should because they’re utterly brilliant to drive) then now might be the time to get bidding and see if you can bag yourself one of the best we’ve ever seen. We can’t see prices staying this low forever, and this might well offer low-cost motoring over the medium-term if prices do start to rise.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.