There’s been plenty of S1 Lotus Elise content on PH of late, from our PH25 winner to the Analogue Automotive reimagination and some glorious auction cars as well. All more than deserved, of course, because nothing encapsulates the genius of Lotus (and all the things we love on PH) quite like the first Elise. But it’s not just the original that was pretty good…
‘After the S1 has received so much justified attention in the last few months’ read the email to PH, ‘perhaps it's time to have another look at the S2’; we couldn’t agree more, very good pitch, Paul. So here’s his S2 that’s for sale; quite a special one, too, as a Sports Racer, which was rather more than just the muscle car stripes.
Limited editions are as much a part of the Elise story as round tail lights and extruded aluminium. The Sports Racer was already off to a good start with the zingy Toyota 1.8 VVTi-L engine, all 190hp and 8,200rpm of it. To that base Lotus added better Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, plus pretty much all of the 111R optional extras at the time: the newly launched Lotus Traction Control was standard, as were the Sport and Touring Packs, plus the hardtop and the lovely lightweight forged wheels.
These saved 1.2kg per corner and were shod in Yokohama Advan tyres rather than the standard Bridgestones. Bring all that together with a redesign of the pedal box for easier heel and toe as well as new seats and it’s clear the Sports Racer was more than the usual badge and paint job special.
It was rare, too, with just 100 UK cars offered in red or blue and many fewer than that believed to be remaining. This 2006 car is still yet to reach 50,000 miles and has a stack of history (18 services for 18 years!) to back that up. It also benefits from a recent suspension refresh with specialist Steve Guglielmi, said to improve ‘the sublime handling of this car even further’. The condition isn’t perfect, but it is very good. There’s no reason not to carry on driving and enjoying this lovely little Lotus, basically.
It’s being sold to help get the next generation with driving lessons and a first car; great though an Elise is, it’s probably not ideal for a 17-year-old! Still, Paul’s loss is going to be another’s gain. It’s hard to imagine the best S2 Elises ever being anything less than highly prized sports cars, with this one currently a smidge over £20k. And if anyone has an S3 Elise that’s being sold, just to complete the trio, you know where we are…
1 / 5
