Lotus Elan S4

History

Colin Chapman launched the Elan back in 1962, and it turned the sports car world upside down. Instead of chasing horsepower, Lotus chased weight, or rather, the lack of it. A clever steel backbone chassis wrapped in a fibreglass body, paired with independent suspension and disc brakes all round, gave the Elan handling that cars with twice the power couldn’t touch. It’s not an exaggeration to say this car influenced the entire sports car world that followed. Ask most people about the origins of the Mazda MX-5, and the Elan is where the story starts.

By 1968, the Elan had grown up into the Series 4. Wider wheel arches for fatter tyres, a smarter dashboard, better wiring, improved brakes and safety kit. Lotus took a car that was brilliant but a little raw and made it something you could genuinely live with day to day, without losing what made it special in the first place. The S4 was the last word on the “standard” Elan before the Sprint took over.

SE 

SE stands for Special Equipment, and it wasn’t just marketing. Every generation of Elan offered an SE version, and it was always the one enthusiasts wanted. On the Series 4, that meant a close-ratio gearbox, centre-lock wheels, electric windows, and a more highly tuned version of the twin-cam engine. Basically, more power and a nicer car to drive every day. If you’re looking for the Elan in its most complete, most desirable form, this is it.

Restoration Work

• Chassis  was completely restored and powder coated in its original colour;
• Engine: Rebuilt. The twin-cam Lotus-Ford engine is back to the way it should sound and feel;
• Carburettors: rebuilt and properly set up;
• Drivetrain: fully revised, new fluids all-around.

In Short

Put the roof down, fire up that twin-cam, and you’ll understand in about thirty seconds why people still talk about this car more than fifty years later.