This car is an original classic Lotus Elan - the car which is widely recognised as being the pinacle of Colin Chapman's road cars and whose handling has never been beaten, even today. Reviews of the Elise claim that even the modern, super-light sports car (hailed as a return to previously glorious form for Lotus) is no better than the original Elan. That is not to say the Elise handles badly - it out handles virtually every other car on the road! It is simply a testament to just how good Chapman's original Elan design was.
As an Elan driver, I can tell you these cars corner on rails. Literally! Every other car I've ever driven feels sloppy when compared to the response you get from the wheel of an Elan. Passengers always comment on it too - it just feels so solid on the road, and yet it's a tiny plastic car! Travelling on a decent UK 'B' road you rarely need to brake. There are not many turns the Elan cannot comfortably take at 60mph, as long as you can see your way is clear of course. The other fun thing about this car is the wonderful exhaust note provided by the slightly larger-than-standard tail pipe. The engine sounds great as the tacho goes from 3,500 RPM through to 6,500 RPM. The road-going Elans are limited, as the short bore engines will happily and very quickly rev off to 10,000 RPM, with catastrophic consequences for the engine in road trim. Taking the limiter off is NOT recommended without making some serious modifications.
Cabin space is tight (you can forget about the two seats in the rear for anyone other than dwarves and five-year-olds) but the front seats offer a snug seating position, nestled in amongst the leather and walnut panelling. The dash is very pretty, though I'm not quite sure why the passenger has the fuel gauge! Could be worse. In some old cars the passenger has the speedometer. (I suppose any driver worth his or her salts will tell you they only need the tachometer, so the speedometer might as well be on the other side of the car, scaring the living daylights out of your charge!) You also have to carefully select your footwear if, like me, you have a large shoe size, as the pedals in an Elan are very close together.
This particular model is the +2 rather than the two-seater coup� which the Mazda MX-5 (AKA the Miata) is shamelessly styled on. The body shape is quite unique and distinctive, quite different from its two-seater sibling, and the wheelbase is longer, which many say makes the +2 more stable. Other than that, mechanically the cars are identical. Mine is the +2S 130/5, meaning it is the Sport model with the "Big Valve" 130bhp engine found in the later two-seater "Sprint" models. It also has a 5-speed gearbox, which isn't as crisp as the 4-speed, but you are thankful for that extra gear on long motorway runs. It is a British 'M' plate, registered 1st January 1974. It was fully restored (including a new galvanised chassis) about 15 years ago and I have owned it for 3 years now. It is painted Mercedes Pine Green (at the request of the wife of the man charged with the restoration - it was to be her car) though I have some original pre-restoration photos of the vehicle showing it used to be two-tone - dark green (I don't know which Lotus colour) with a white roof. The interior is Oatmeal leather.
The only modifications to this car are a meaty exhaust (not necessary, but a lot of fun!) and a Cobra alarm and immobiliser with central locking. However, I have disconnected the central locking as it seems to be more trouble than it's worth!
All in all, this is a relatively inexpensive classic car to buy and run, is a LOT of fun and I'm loving every second of owning it. I can't imagine ever selling.
