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Lotus Elan S2 - I bear a famous name

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Created on November 8, 2017

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Bruno von Rotz

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Balz Schreier

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Bruno von Rotz

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Balz Schreier

32

Bruno von Rotz

12

Archiv

1

Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - High beam inside

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - wide-legged and with folding headlights

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - over 200 km/h fast back then

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - good wind protection thanks to the flat windshield

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - agile handling

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - good driving characteristics

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - really sticks to the road

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - drove the most competitors ...

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - ... on the open road

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - ... and already on the horizon ...

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - ... and disappeared around the bend

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - relatively long front overhang, but short rear end

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - with plastic bodywork

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - one of the last 800 convertibles produced

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Exterior deflection light

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - beefy rear view

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - high rear, license plate under plexiglass

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - low-flyer

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - with integrated rear spoiler

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - with folding headlights

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - with front-wheel drive

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - the design was by Peter Stevens

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Plastic dashboard

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Instruments and switches from the large series

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Cockpit with instruments like in the Opel Vectra

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - sporty seating position guaranteed

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - with leather interior

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - upright steering wheel

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - speedometer up to 260 km/h, you can be optimistic

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - reference to the limited second series

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - transverse four-cylinder engine

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - the four-cylinder engine came from Isuzu

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - two overhead camshafts, 16 valves

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - forced ventilation

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Chassis identification

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Instructions for the owner in the engine compartment

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - the famous Lotus batch

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - the Lotus sign on the nose

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Folding headlights open

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Folding headlights in action

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - the series 2 was built 800 times, this is number 677

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - hidden door opener

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - Name lettering on the rear

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Lotus Elan S2 (1995) - clearly labeled at the rear

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Lotus Elan SE (1989) - technical concept (chassis, rear suspension, bodywork)

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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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