GTP Cool Wall: 1962-1973 Lotus Elan

  • Thread starter Thread starter GranTurismo916
  • 45 comments
  • 3,265 views

1962-1973 Lotus Elan

  • Total voters
    113
  • Poll closed .
I'd lose the hardtop in the lead image. Actually, I'd say the Elan +2, which is rarer, more rakish and less fawned-over, is even cooler than the soft-top. But both are SZ. Compact, delicately styled, brisk, fun.
 
I'd add to the buzz that, even if I'm sure the Elan was a big inspiration for the Miata, I think Mazda was shootting more towards the spirit of the MGB/Thriumph TR and other stuff like that, since from the begining the Miata was thought as a cheap sports car, whereas the Elan wasn't precisely cheap, specially compared to the others.
 
:lol: at everyone going mental over this car.

If you saw this on the street and didn't know what it was it would be just an old sports car, and not a very pretty one at that. Still a solid cool though.
 
Low cool, they never really did much for me and while I rather like little sports car, I find this one more neat than cool.

As far as Elan's go, I've always found the M100 Elan much cooler just because it was such a strange idea and really has that cool, yet weird, 90's vibe to it.
 
Cano
I normally get most or your (often controversial) points dude, but this time you have me scratching my head with this one as well.
Click to expand...

"Being contrary for the sake of being contrary" has hardly been a multi-note affair. Don't know why you're surprised at it this time!

Elan? So damned Cool, but I'm not sure if it's entirely SZ-worthy. I'll have to think on it...
 
12-Motorlist-Multi-Mazda-MX5-Shoot-016.jpg


DADDY!

In all seriosity, how can one not love the Elan? It was the MX-5 twenty years before the MX-5. A relatively inexpensive, relatively underpowered, smartly-engineered, infinitely fun-to-drive sportscar. Sub-zero'd without hesitating
 
Tornado
Eh... I dunno if I'd apply either of those labels to the original Elan. A 1970 Elan in America would have stickered over 5 large, which would get you a very nice Corvette with a 454. And the Elan wouldn't have been much slower than said Corvette even though the American model was down on power compared to the British market model.
Click to expand...

Which is why I said it was relatively inexpensive and relatively underpowered. For being a sportscar which easily outperformed Corvettes and Ferraris in the right hands, it was both things. Of course, it competed in a different category than the MX-5, but... 105hp were almost nothing compared to the 440hp of the L71 offered in the 1969 MY 'vette (which, incidentally, is just 20 hp shy of the C7 Corvette).
 
But $5100 (or $6000 if you got the +2) in 1970 dollars isn't really inexpensive at all. There were cars that cost more, certainly, but the Elan still wasn't a car that was an easy reach by any stretch. Even something really crazy like a Road Runner Superbird and a Buick GSX Stage 1 would squeak under the price of an Elan.
And a car that can do ~7.5 second 0-60/~15.5 second quarter mile times in 1970 (or <7 and ~15 in later years), regardless of the actual power figure used to achieve them, isn't really underpowered at all. There were faster cars, certainly, but not too terribly many.




Those are labels that apply to, say, a contemporary Triumph Spitfire or MGB far more than the Elan; and (recognizing the hypocrisy) I think it's somewhat "off" to so closely link the original Miata with the Elan when there were plenty of cars on the market at the same time as the Elan that were closer in spirit to the Miata even if the Miata seems to be a spiritual successor. Again, I think at least some of the "Miata is a modern Elan" sentiment comes from the actual modern Elan being so poorly received in comparison.
 
My favorite Lotus? Sub-zero 👍
 
Tornado
But $5100 (or $6000 if you got the +2) in 1970 dollars isn't really inexpensive at all. There were cars that cost more, certainly, but the Elan still wasn't a car that was an easy reach by any stretch. Even something really crazy like a Road Runner Superbird and a Buick GSX Stage 1 would squeak under the price of an Elan.
And a car that can do ~7.5 second 0-60/~15.5 second quarter mile times in 1970 (or <7 and ~15 in later years), regardless of the actual power figure used to achieve them, isn't really underpowered at all. There were faster cars, certainly, but not too terribly many.

Those are labels that apply to, say, a contemporary Triumph Spitfire or MGB far more than the Elan; and (recognizing the hypocrisy) I think it's somewhat "off" to so closely link the original Miata with the Elan when there were plenty of cars on the market at the same time as the Elan that were closer in spirit to the Miata even if the Miata seems to be a spiritual successor. Again, I think at least some of the "Miata is a modern Elan" sentiment comes from the actual modern Elan being so poorly received in comparison.
Click to expand...

You deserve gobs of beer for this post.
 

Latest Posts

Back