On the planet of drop-top sports activities automobiles, there’s a particular kind of automotive constructed for hardcore lovers of the open driving expertise; the Speedster. This roofless idea is made well-known by automobiles such because the Porsche 356 and 911 Speedster, the Morgan Speedster and the Auburn Speedster. In newer instances, automobiles just like the Aston Martin V12 Speedster and Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss have all had greater than a bit of nip-and-tuck to lose not solely the roof but additionally the windshield. One such automotive although, constructed within the early Nineties, was unbeknownst to me till lately, however could possibly be one of many coolest ever made; the Lotus Elan M200 Speedster. And it will probably even be yours, as the one prototype ever constructed is up on the market!
The elan of the Lotus elan
The historical past of the Lotus Elan goes again to the early Sixties and refers to a sometimes British-styled light-weight sports activities automotive. Constructed between 1962 and 1975, this small and nimble little automotive got here in each a Mounted Head Coupé (FHC) or Drop Head Coupé (DHC) design. Utilizing a metal chassis, the easy but elegant physique was crafted from fibreglass.
It embodied Colin Chapman’s philosophy of low weight, because it suggestions the scales between 640kgs and 703kgs relying on the precise mannequin. Energy got here from a 1.5-litre and later a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with double overhead cams, and ranged between 90bhp and 126bhp, once more relying on which precise specification you ran below the bonnet.
The design was pretty easy, with the engine up entrance and drive to the rear. Styling parts comparable to pop-up headlights, a cut-off rear part and twin exhaust pipes within the center gave it loads of character. The Elan is famend for its agile dealing with, each on the highway and on the racetrack. Nonetheless, it was Lotus’ first automotive not to be designed as a race automotive at first. Spurred on by prospects and racing groups, Lotus ultimately constructed a racing model of it, regardless of not desirous to. Notable homeowners included two-time F1 World Champion Jim Clark, actor and racing automotive driver Paul Newman, all-around Petrolhead Jay Leno, and Cosworth’s Keith Duckworth.
After the Elan went out of manufacturing, to get replaced by the edgy Esprit, the title made a shock comeback in 1989. In a radical departure from Lotus’ legacy, it was the primary and stays the one front-wheel drive automotive to be constructed by the Hethel-based producer. The design of the Elan M100 collection automobiles was once more fairly easy and adopted the identical rules as the unique Elan. Compact dimensions, pop-up headlights, a two-seater open-top physique and a cut-off rear part. Up entrance, a 1.6-litre Isuzu engine, optionally fitted with a turbocharger, supplied energy. The inline four-cylinder engine, once more with double overhead cams, produced 130bhp when usually aspirated, and 162bhp when fitted with the turbo. mixed with the low weight of slightly below 1,000kgs, the reinterpreted Elan proved to be a enjoyable and swift little sports activities roadster.
The M100 collection of the Elan was in manufacturing from 1989 to 1995 below the Lotus title however was additionally produced because the Kia Elan or Kia Vigato for the South Korean and Japanese markets between 1996 and 1999. The Elan title made another look because the designation of an idea automotive proven on the 2010 Paris Motor Present with objectives to place it in manufacturing for 2013. Nothing would come of it although, because the undertaking was cancelled earlier than it may enter manufacturing.
No roof, no windshield
Halfway via its lifespan, a single Elan M100 was ‘sacrificed’ to construct a novel tackle the light-weight British roadster, the Elan M200 Speedster. Constructed upon the underpinnings of a blue automotive returned to Lotus by its proprietor, it now has a strikingly shiny yellow coat of paint. Beneath the dramatically modified exterior, nothing a lot has been altered in relation to the pairing of the engine and gearbox. Energy is metal supplied by the 1.6-litre turbocharged Isuzu engine and fed to the entrance wheels via a handbook transmission.
However it’s that distinctive open-top design that basically issues. The Lotus engineers determined to fiddle with the Elan M100 and switch it right into a bonafide Speedster. Nonetheless, the place most Speedsters simply do in with the roof and the windshield, the Elan M200 Speedster additionally splits the cockpit in two, with the motive force and passenger separated by a centre backbone. The black wrap-around windshields are stated to be impressed by the Ferrari 312B F1 automotive raced within the first half of the Seventies. Simply behind the headrests is an enormous roll hoop that’s angled ahead and options an built-in spoiler. The rear deck has a second spoiler, which appears to be a bit extra pronounced than the one discovered on the usual Elan M100 automobiles.
In a real assertion of early-Nineties trend, the inside is sort of outspoken, with multi-coloured purple material inserts paired with black leather-based and Alcantara. Apart from that, it appears fairly easy and much like the inside of the ‘donor’ automotive. It’s additionally in right-hand-drive configuration, thoughts you, so navigating your native drive-thru is perhaps difficult past simply the split-cockpit design of the Elan M200 Speedster.
On this case, just one such automotive exists and it appears to be in pristine situation and is a working, driving automotive. There’s additionally simply 100km on the odometer, so it’s mainly like a brand-new automotive! It’s listed at ClassicDriver.com as being on the market via Andreas Wüest AG, a specialist vendor in Hallwill, Switzerland. No value is thought although, because it’s listed as “priced upon request”. That leaves one query although; how deep would your pockets must be to grab up this distinctive chapter in Lotus’ wealthy historical past? Does anybody dare to have a wild guess?
Editorial Observe: The knowledge and pictures sourced for this text are supplied and used with permission of ClassicDriver.com, ClassicCarAuction.co.uk and Automobiles.Bonhams.com until acknowledged in any other case. Extra info can be discovered on Andreas Wüest AG’s web site.
