Lightweight: ’67 Lotus Elan Series 3
The tiny Lotus Elan is the essential 1960s British sports car and it remains a benchmark for nimble handling to this day. With its pop-up headlights, curved windshield, and roll-up windows, it was a symbol of swinging London. It was so hip, the cat-suited character Emma Peel in The Avengers television series, chose to drive an Elan to emphasize her vitality and independence. That could be said of anyone who wants a Lotus Elan. It will also signal that person is under 5′ 10″ tall. The Elan was built with a backbone frame and a fiberglass body, and had four-wheel independent suspension. Its Ford 1600-cc four-cylinder engine developed 105 hp and featured Lotus’s own twin-cam head. Weighing only 1,420 pounds, early cars could do 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds, with the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds at 87 mph. Like today’s offering, Elans were roadsters until 1965. And the second series Elan arrived in late 1964, offering a full-width dash with glove box, oval tail lights, the battery in the trunk, and optional knock-off wheels which this car does not have. Today’s featured Elan is a Series 3 from ’67. It is a 3 owner car and the current owner says it is very well sorted. The seller tells us in fact, the car has no immediate needs but it is British and that could change at any moment like the weather. It looks great in red and it has a new Robbins top with a decent looking interior. Many of us who would like to own an Elan will probably be driving with the top off. SCM Price Guide is at $22,000 to $40,000 and this one is an auction. We don’t know what the seller is expecting and only a close physical inspection will determine what you should consider a decent offer. Click here for the eBay listing.