The vendor of at present’s Good Value or No Cube Lotus says, “As I acquire elements and work on this Elan, it’s going to go up in value,” however on the similar time has simply lowered the worth by $3,500. Let’s see if the automotive is much less incongruous than the advert.
Precipitous depreciation is a characteristic constructed into nearly all up to date BMWs. As such, the rule of thumb for getting a cut price is to buy calmly used vehicles nonetheless underneath guarantee. Working example: the 2023 BMW M8 Gran Coupe Competitors we checked out final Friday was solely a 12 months outdated, had completed simply 7,500 miles, and, at $114,995, requested about two-thirds the worth of what one would value new. And it had a slew of aftermarket goodies to sweeten the deal. Sadly for the M8’s vendor, few of you admitted to having a candy tooth as that price ticket fell in a 65 p.c No Cube loss.
When Colin Chapman died of a coronary heart assault on the far-too-young age of 54, he left behind a legacy of automotive innovation and motor racing successes. One among Chapman’s most enduring concepts was the observe of bettering efficiency by “including lightness.”
At this time’s 1967 Lotus Elan SE is proof of that. It weighs slightly below 1,500 kilos and presents efficiency that bests a lot of its extra highly effective contemporaries.
Effectively, this one would accomplish that if it ran. I imply, it may if put in the best palms.
In line with the advert, this Elan wants just about every part as a way to be reintroduced to well mannered society. It’s evident from the photographs that the automotive would require paint, upholstery, and, at a naked minimal, a whole mechanical going-over. On the plus facet, nearly every part is there, and the vendor claims the engine turns, so maybe, if compression is first rate, it received’t want a teardown instantly.
A enjoyable occasion reality concerning the 1600 cc Lotus 4 is that it has three camshafts. Chapaman primarily based the engine on Ford’s sturdy Kent 4 block, including Lotus’s personal twin-cam cross-flow head and a brand new entrance case for the timing chains. These two cams work at the side of the unique Ford cam within the block, which was nonetheless wanted to drive the distributor and oil pump.
When new, this Elan’s engine made round 95 horsepower and will rocket the automotive to sixty in underneath 10 seconds. The place the Elan shines, although, is in dealing with, and the mannequin is usually touted as one in every of historical past’s finest on the subject of being gentle on its ft. These are so revered, in actual fact, that Mazda used the Elan as a benchmark when growing the unique Miata.
Different mechanical parts within the Elan embrace a Ford-sourced four-speed guide gearbox and rear pumpkin cleverly transformed from stay axle to impartial rear suspension that includes Chapman struts at every finish. That each one appears to be extant on this automotive, as does the spine body that the Elan’s fiberglass tub physique sits over in saddlebag trend.
It’s considerably of a priority, then, that the vendor notes within the advert that they’ve already procured a alternative body from England that they are going to embrace within the deal for an additional $5K. The advert does declare that the unique body might be used within the automotive’s restoration, but when it’s intact and serviceable, why purchase a brand new one? The vendor additionally threatens within the advert that they are going to proceed to noodle with the automotive, and the worth will improve the extra they do. Yeah, certain, they are going to.
That value is $16,950, a latest drop after getting no bites at $19K. We’ll now have to determine if that’s a extra applicable value for the automotive in its present situation. What do you say, is that this mission Elan price $16,950 because it sits? Or, at even that lowered asking, is the bloom nonetheless off the rose?
You determine!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.
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