Lot Ended
Description
Only 69k miles with 19 service stamps; recent new cam belt and water
pump; a pampered example of the world's best handling front-wheel
drive sportscar
Launched in 1987
when Lotus had the deep pockets of General Motors behind it, the Elan SE Turbo
M100 was the first and only front-wheel-drive production car Lotus ever
built.
Purists were initially sceptical, but
Lotus engineers proved that FWD could deliver world-class handling. Using a
rigid composite body on a steel backbone chassis, the M100 eradicated
traditional front-drive issues like torque steer through clever suspension
geometry, with power steering as standard equipment.
Power came from an Isuzu-sourced 1.6 turbocharged inline-four engine,
co-developed with Lotus tuning. Delivering 165bhp it could launch the Elan from
0 to 60mph in 6.5 seconds with a top speed of 137mph. In true Lotus tradition,
it was highly rated by the automotive press who declared it to be the finest
handling front-wheel-drive sports bar none, Autocar calling it “the
quickest point-to-point car available”.
Only
3,855 were sold before production came to an end in 1992, although a handful of
Series 2 versions were briefly made in 1994/95 to use up surplus
engines.
Supplied new by Lotus Technical Centre
Frost Cars of Shoreham in June 1991, this M100 has covered only 69,000 miles to
date and comes with an excellent service history including 19 stamps in the
book, the last in April 2025 at 68,220 miles which included a new cam belt and
water pump (see photos). That equates to an average service interval of only
3,600 miles, pretty impressive by any standards.
The large and well-organised history file also contains dozens of
invoices to support the service record and for additional work and new parts
fitted. These include a new mohair hood in 2016 which still looks to be in
excellent shape today. Most recently, it had new rear brake calipers and new EBC
Greenstuff brake pads front and rear. It rides on a matching set of Yokohama
Advan tyres which look relatively new.
Supplied
with two sets of keys, it has an MOT until March 2027 along with no fewer than
30 old MOTs to chart the gradual accumulation of mileage.
Our vendor acquired the car in the Spring of this year from a fellow
Lotus enthusiast who had owned it for five years, but a recent back injury
and his advancing years mean that he can no longer hop in and out of
the car without assistance, hence the reason for sale. He tells us that the
car drives as well as it looks and it has certainly been starting promptly and
running nicely as we have moved it around on site, with healthy oil pressure and
no warning lights.
As you can see in the photos,
this M100 appears to be in excellent shape for its year/mileage with notably
shiny paintwork (many of these composite-bodied Elans suffer badly in that
department). The eagle-eyed will spot that the rear number plate needs sticking
back on properly, but other than that you will find little to
criticise.
Clearly a much-loved machine, this
pampered Elan now seeks another enthusiast owner who can experience the joys of
the world’s finest handling front-wheel drive sportscar.
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]