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Lotus Elan S2 - I bear a famous name

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Created on November 8, 2017

Reading time 9min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Balz Schreier

32

Bruno von Rotz

12

Archiv

1

Balz Schreier

32

Bruno von Rotz

12

Archiv

1

Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Fernlicht innen

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - breitbeinig und mit Klappscheinwerfern

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - damals über 200 km/h schnell

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - guter Windschutz durch die flachliegende Frontscheibe

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - agiles Handling

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - gute Fahreigenschaften

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - klebt richtiggehend auf der Strasse

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - fuhr den meisten Konkurrenten ...

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - ... auf offener Strasse davon

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - ... und schon am Horizont enteilt ...

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - ... und um die Kurve verschwunden

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - relativ langer vorderer Überhang, aber kurzes Heck

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - mit Kunststoffkarosserie

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - eines der letzten 800 produzierten Cabriolets

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Ablendlicht aussen

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - bullige Heckansicht

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - hohes Heck, Kennzeichen unter Plexiglas

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Tiefflieger

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - mit integriertem Heckspoiler

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - mit Klappscheinwerfern

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - mit Frontantrieb

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - das Design stammte von Peter Stevens

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Armaturenbrett aus Kunststoff

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Instrumente und Schalter aus der Grossserie

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Cockpit mit Instrumenten wie im Opel Vectra

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - sportliche Sitzposition garantiert

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - mit Lederausstattung

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - steil stehendes Lenkrad

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Tacho bis 260 km/h, man darf ja optimistisch sein

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Hinweis auf die limitierte zweite Serie

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - quer eingebauter Vierzylinder

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - der Vierzylinder kam von Isuzu

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - zwei obenliegende Nockenwellen, 16 Ventile

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - zwangsbeatmet

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Chassis-Kennzeichnung

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Instruktionen für den Besitzer im Motorraum

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - der berühmte Lotus-Batch

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - das Lotus-Zeichen auf dem Bug

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Klappscheinwerfer geöffnet

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Klappscheinwerfer in Aktion

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - die Serie 2 wurde 800 Mal gebaut, dies ist Nummer 677

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - versteckte Türöffner

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Namenschriftzug auf dem Heck

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - deutlich beschriftet am Heck

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Lotus Elan SE (1989) - technische Konzeption (Chassis, Hinterradaufhängung, Karosserieaufbau)

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Summary

When Lotus presented a new Elan in the fall of 1989, many fans turned up their noses. Front-wheel drive, a transverse engine from Japan and an ultra-modern design led to criticism, especially as Mazda was simultaneously reviving the original Elan of the sixties with the MX-5. In order to compete with the much cheaper Japanese model, the Lotus had to be significantly better. It was, but it still wasn't enough. And so it remained a rare milestone that is still a lot of fun to drive today. This driving report tells the story of the Elan SE/S2 of the nineties in detail and shows it in many pictures. There is also a sound sample.

This article contains the following chapters

In the shadow of its namesake
With the support of General Motors
Advantage of front-wheel drive
Modern design
Technology at the cutting edge
Big goals
Headwind from the Far East
The best front-wheel drive car of its time
Unequal battle against Mazda
A second series
Agile and modern
Further information

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

From 1962 to 1973, the small sports car manufacturer Lotus built the Elan as a convertible and coupé with rear-wheel drive. This car was praised at the time for its handling and agility, offering the performance of much more powerful sports cars, but also costing almost as much. Around 25 years after its demise, Lotus once again presented an Elan that had little to do with its predecessor. And of all things, it faced competition from Japanese manufacturer Mazda, which imitated the original concept of the Elan with the MX-5, while the new Elan deviated completely from its ancestor in technical terms.

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