It's a Lotus Elan - or is it?

[1X83Z]

You all know about the Lotus Elan.

But did you know that, after Lotus finished selling the vehicle, Kia bought the rights to sell it as the Kia Elan or Kia Roadster in several world markets? (Korea at least and perhaps Europe)

Note the badge.

Kia Elan!

MotorTrend tested one...

As MistaX said, "Ultra Power beats the **** out of VTEC."

And there you have it.

Did anyone else know about these things besides me and MistaX (who discovered all this)?

 

[Layla's Keeper]

It's not an Elan.

This is an Elan.

Those bastardized front wheel drive crap piles are things Lotus fans have been trying to forget since the early 90's.

 

[MrktMkr1986]

Do they still make a turbo version like they did with the early 90's Lotus Elan?

 

[MistaX]

Nope, its a 151Hp N/A Ultra Power Hi Sprint Mazda engine. It runs the car to 60 in 9.1 seconds, when the Elan SE (Turbo, 165hp) Did it in 6.7

 

[CyberDragon]

Nope, its a 151Hp N/A Ultra Power Hi Sprint Mazda engine. It runs the car to 60 in 9.1 seconds, when the Elan SE (Turbo, 165hp) Did it in 6.7

That's almost as slow as my car!

Talk about looks being decieving. No doubt I'd still roll in one but still...

 

[Famine]

I actually DID know that.

One of my colleagues is hankering after an Elan - he just likes the shape, so he's not bothered about power. And currently drives a Ford Galaxy. I suggested the Kia Elan (first marketed as the "Kia Sports Car", I kid you not) as an alternative to buying a 15 year old Lotus...

 

[ND4SPD]

That is quite interesting.....

 

[eliseracer]

I knew about this for more than a year, possibly two. I read some articles about it a while ago. I think it was deployed in Europe, if I remember correctly. Funny story, but we can rest assured that Kia won't have the runaway success that Caterham has with the 7.

Hahaha, "What's that you drive," says a Lotus enthousiast as you pull up to the gas pump.
"Why it's a Kia Sports Car," you respond.

*slap*

 

[1X83Z]

Do you see Lotus enthusiasts at the gas pump?

 

[eliseracer]

They are usually in the garry tending to their broken cars. They must come out sometimes for gas, no?

 

[Layla's Keeper]

In my little Ohioan burg I know of a guy with two Europas (one white S1 with steelies and the Renault engine and a fly yellow S2 Twin Cam Special with Webers and Minilites).

He and I run into each other occasionally. We Brit car owners who maintain our cars regularly actually get to drive to the gas station.

 

[Danny]

(first marketed as the "Kia Sports Car", I kid you not)

That would go perfectly with the Mazda MPV.

And yes, I knew about the Kia Elan.
I believe sales fell rapidly.

 

[PS]

Kia is the king of knock-offs. Has anyone seen that WRX knockoff? God they're good at bastardizing cars.

 

[eliseracer]

And the Jaguar/Mercedes lump. We don't need to see another argument about that though...

 

[Duke]

It's not an Elan.

This is an Elan.

I said precisely the same thing.

Just how bad must that thing smell that they need and air freshener in an open top car?!

 

[Danny]

But maybe it's the outside that smells.

 

[Boosted Elan]

I dont know why you guys are knocking this car i have a kia elan that i boosted with turbo and all new engine parts
(bore and stroke, port and polish and and the speed limiter removed, add a performance chip from the mazda rx-7 and swirl pipes instead of the the conventinal ones)
and i am now running 0-60 in 4.2 and 100 in 9.8 and 1/4 mile in 10.8 @ 119 and top speed is 173 mph and i still had room for more in the engine but thought it would be safer to keep it managable. I have driven porsches and other sport cars but so far this is the most fun to drive and the with the scissors doors and 17' rims 40 series tyres the girls love it!!

but i will put some pics and video up for the non believers

 

[daan]

I dont know why you guys are knocking this car i have a kia elan that i boosted with turbo and all new engine parts
(bore and stroke, port and polish and and the speed limiter removed, add a performance chip from the mazda rx-7 and swirl pipes instead of the the conventinal ones)
and i am now running 0-60 in 4.2 and 100 in 9.8 and 1/4 mile in 10.8 @ 119 and top speed is 173 mph and i still had room for more in the engine but thought it would be safer to keep it managable. I have driven porsches and other sport cars but so far this is the most fun to drive and the with the scissors doors and 17' rims 40 series tyres the girls love it!!

but i will put some pics and video up for the non believers

Please do. Scissor doors?

 

[amp88]

I dont know why you guys are knocking this car i have a kia elan that i boosted with turbo and all new engine parts
(bore and stroke, port and polish and and the speed limiter removed, add a performance chip from the mazda rx-7 and swirl pipes instead of the the conventinal ones)
and i am now running 0-60 in 4.2 and 100 in 9.8 and 1/4 mile in 10.8 @ 119 and top speed is 173 mph and i still had room for more in the engine but thought it would be safer to keep it managable. I have driven porsches and other sport cars but so far this is the most fun to drive and the with the scissors doors and 17' rims 40 series tyres the girls love it!!

but i will put some pics and video up for the non believers

Spend enough time and/or money on almost any car and it'll come out decent.

 

[Boosted Elan]

this is the kia elan

and these are the doors i am talking about are seen here on the diablo

i would put mine up but i havent taken any pictures since the alteration.

Please do. Scissor doors?

 

[Famine]

We know what a Kia Elan looks like. We know what scissor doors look like. We want to know what they look like when put together.

0-60 in 4.2

On a front-wheel drive car?

 

[retsmah]

Putting the chip out of a rotary engine onto a four cylinder is what made it so fast.

 

[Danny]

Sorry, but I'm having a hard time believeing that.

 

[daan]

As Famine says, we know what both those items look like. We want to see your Kia Elan. How much power does it have?

 

[Jay]

but i will put some pics and video up for the non believers

I would really like to see this video especially a vid of it running 10.8 which is a mental time for a FWD street car (with rather generic mods listed, except using a RX7 chip?), 119mph (pretty damn low for a 10.8).

 

[Jondot]

Wow, why did i never notice this thread before?

Yep, i knew about this too. I buy a World car guide every year, and in the 2000 edition, staring me in the face is a Kia elan.

 

[Duke]

add a performance chip from the mazda rx-7

I would dearly love to know how a "performance chip" from a rotary engined car would be able to even run a piston-engined car.

and swirl pipes instead of the the conventinal ones)

What, pray tell, is a "swirl pipe"?

i am now running 0-60 in 4.2 and 100 in 9.8 and 1/4 mile in 10.8 @ 119 and top speed is 173 mph and i still had room for more in the engine

Uhhh, huh. Yeah.

If you are trapping at 119 mph in a 10-second car, it must have great brakes, too, because you're obviously slamming them on right before you get to the finish line. And there's not a snowball's chance in Hades your car will go 173 mph.

Bullpuckey on your entire post. I refer you to the kid with the cams and headers and turbo kit for his Lancer ES.

 

[Danny]

Hey, innocent until proven guilty Duke.

 

[eliseracer]

If this is true, do me (and yourself) a favor and get some Lotus badges, at least. E-Gads.

 

[TheCracker]

Why scissor doors on a convertable? - won't they ad a lot of weight? - can you hang them on a glassfibre body?

something doesn't smell right about this...


I'd not seen one of these 'modern' Elans around for ages. Until this morning when i followed one to work!