History Lesson: Why The Lotus Elan M100 Was NOT Killed By The Mazda MX-5
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2023
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Today I am driving the oft-forgotten Lotus Elan M100. Manufactured from 1989-1992, the Elan was supposed to be the rebirth of the modern Lotus entry-level sports car, but a prolonged and difficult development as well as the arrival of a Japanese rival meant it flopped. But how should we see it today?
#Lotus #Elan #mazdamx5
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I had a University lecturer who owned one about 20 years ago. I surprised him by being able to rattle off a bunch of facts about it. He said most people had no idea it was a Lotus, let alone a decent one. He took me out for drive and really demonstrated what it could do. I came from driving classic Minis and this thing blew my mind. Very under appreciated Lotus. Loved the video.
That's because it WAS NOT a proper Lotus. FWD was the final shot that killed it.
@anastassiosperakis2869 You have absolutely NO idea what you're talking about; I'd be amazed if you've even driven one! Designed and made in Hethel, and faster around Lotus's own test track than the Esprit of the time.
@@enright13 So was the Excel!
I don't care that it's front wheel drive, I've always loved these things! Small, light, peppy, and simply beautiful.
I sure as hell care. NO SPORTS CAR SHOULD BE FWD. Save it for the old ladies and Buicks that are driven the 2 miles to church once a week. MAking it FWD KILLED This car which CoULD have succeeded, as the damned Mazda was way too small for an adult male to be able to sit AND Stretch in it.
@@anastassiosperakis2869being FWD had nothing to do with the premature death of this car. It was all about internal politics and an attempted management buy-out which failed. And I've been told that personally from the very top.
Go drive your cookie cutter mustang or corvette
@@anastassiosperakis2869 some of the best drivers cars are fwd. Sporting Peugeots for instance.
@@anastassiosperakis2869 You really need to try things before you dismiss them. Its suspension setup & being FWD gives it a unique way to throw it around a corner. I have one & it is great fun.
Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 was my first intro to this car as a kid, have always loved it since, despite the critique!
Haha same here
Same 😁👍
"Pea Soup" "Liverpool" "E Bow" etc.
Yeah. In that the Elan handled best and was good on fuel but the esprit was faster😂
fuck yeah, amiga 500!
Would have been fun to have heard a bit more about the almost unknown Kia Elan
@maruiacancer6that's pretty sick using cancer to try and promote ur content on someone else's channel
Maarten, er is een “Sjoerd’s weetjes” van Autovisie over de Kia Elan.
I’m more interested in the Kia Elan than the Lotus one quite frankly.
You’re funny, Kia is a sh!t brand, nobody cares. And anybody who cares doesn’t matter.
@@stevenfarrington2361 yeah but didn't they sell just over a thousand of them? It'd be hard to find one for review I think
Lotus had (and still have) a problem. Born as they were in the specials building era of the 40s and 50s, they were originally bought by enthusiasts who understood that a sports car sacrifices everything for light weight and performance. These customers were still around right into the 1970s, but are now largely gone. My son's generation may claim to be car enthusiasts, but most of them know precisely nothing about how a car works; instead they talk about horsepower, ultra low profile tyres and ICE systems. They are most definitely not going to be buying something light, small and chuckable, being interested instead in obscenely heavy "f*ck off out of my way" SUVs or so-called supercars with utterly unusable performance. In truth, there are still some old style Lotus customers, even amongst the younger generation, but they are a diminishing resource and Lotus' current product range is moving to reflect that. But in doing so, are they actually losing their "Lotusness"? They could never have produced the MX5, simply because, brilliant as it is, it is too mainstream and "normal"; Mazda's good fortune was that they were able to build a car that was reminiscent of the Elan but didn't have to carry any of the Lotus aura because of who manufactured it. My betting is that if it had been produced by Lotus to exactly the same spec and price it would have sunk fairly quickly. The M100 was sort of an attempt at the middle ground but fell flat, which was nothing to do with how good it was, but that it just didn't seem like a Lotus. Anyway, we've now entered the era of the Lardy Lotus; whether these products will attract a large following amongst non-hardcore enthusiasts remains to be seen.
I wrapped mine around a tree last year, at low speeds. Had it for 3 days, still don’t understand how the back wheels could have lost traction… Truly a dark day in my motoring history and still grieving about it to this day.
@@AndrewParkerGB It was actually dry as a bone, but after the accident I did see the odd nuts on the road. I suppose the back wheels lost traction on those in the corner.
@@AndrewParkerGB Actually, I meant acorns when I said nuts 😅
😂 fwd
Not sure why people share these stories of destroying something so valued by others. Maybe there should be a support group so they can air their trauma without spreading it. :/
@@TonyArjona Weird take but OK.
It is incredibly ironic that the Mazdas ripoff of the original elan basically caused the demise of the second one. How incredibly unfortunate. If this car had come out in 85, maybe the Mazda roadster isn't even created. This would be a very cool enthusiast car to own and cheers to Trevor for keeping it sharp.
I had a blue 91 SE for about 6 years in the late 90s it was a great car and super reliable. I took it on loads of UK holidays and never had to repair/replace anything other than brakes and tyres. The best angle was from the front with the lights up ❤
This is my favourite unpopular car! Perhaps the best roadster - if only I could find a good example in Germany.
I’ve always had a guilty pleasure in the Elan since the 90s. Always wondered about the paradox of it being a commercial failure, yet on the road it looks borderline exotic with the enormous rear hips.
Great to hear that it was, in fact, an excellent car and even a decent value.
34 years old ! Looks 34 minutes old - well done Lotus
Finally! The Elan M100 deserves it!!!
I've been subbed to this channel for five years, waiting for you to review an M100. I was 16 when it came out, and I've loved it ever since.
A roadster body + a hot hatch turbo engine with an superb handling chassis = A Lotus Elan
Hi Jay, I enjoyed this report. I have a M100 in white (non turbo version). It was a barn find that had not moved in 15 years. It has been an amazing experience and journey restoring this potential classic. I find each time I take it out it is a magnet for attention and well wishers. A real lovely car to drive and is completely a different drive to my Audi V8 convertible.
I'm a military kid born in the 80's, so in the 90's was when I first started forming opinions on cars. And every military man and his dog had a Eunos Roadster, aka Mk 1 MX-5 and then Mk 2's, and it was very cool and the Mk 2 is a car I have a deep soft-spot for. But once place I lived there was someone who had a red Elan M100, and to me, it was literally the coolest car I'd ever seen, partly because it's a very distinctive car (Personally I think it looks great from every angle) but also because it was so rare.
And when the model was sold to Kia, it became even cooler, because at that time the phrase "Korean Car" was still a complete joke, but any time I saw I knew, I felt like a proper 'expert' because I knew what it really was...
I had an original Elan 130 +2 back in the day when this came out. Which obviously meant I was very familiar with my local Lotus Elan specialist mechanics - North London Lotus or something. They bought one of the first ones to come out - really rated it highly...
I didn't know anything about Toyota's interest and GMs involvement. That's what I love about _Jay Emm on Cars._ Way more than just subjective car reviews. Bravo, sir! 👍
So much new facts learned in this one video. I love, love, LOVE it!
Damn, thanks for the blast from the past. I really coveted this car when I was in my mid teens. I thought it was so cool! I remember Car magazine had a letter from someone who described it as - and I can't believe I still remember this - "a pudgy horror not fit to wear the esteemed Lotus badge" and I got inexplicably angry!
Me too. Cutting my petrolhead teeth in the 80's, I thought the new Elan extremely cool at the time, and they still turn my head today on the rare occasion that I see one - always good to remember what tripped the trigger back then! CAR magazine also featured heavily in my 'education', and I also well recall the TVR S then taking a great deal of my attention. Still does! 😁
Love this car, still have an original brochure, sent to me from Hethel
Interesting fact: it was styled by Peter Stephens, who also styled the McLaren F1
... and the F1 inherited its front indicators (and the Esprit S4 too)
And I believe share the same windscreen if I’m not mistaken
@@Ultimatt100 I don't know, I have already read this but it's much harder to tell whether it's true.
In the Peter Stevens conversation (with Messrs Cropley & Gompertz), didn't he say that Lotus intended to make it front-wheel drive as a showcase for what their engineering consultancy division was capable of (rather than it being necessary due to the engine choice)? They'd been contracted by other manufacturers improve the handling of their front-wheel drive models and it seemed a logical step. Great video that does the car justice - I've a 1990 model and love it!
Apparently Lotus had proven in back to back testing that for most drivers FWD was actually faster as it was easier and safer to drive a FWD car at 9/10ths. This is something you certainly feel when you drive the Elan as it feels incredibly secure in all conditions.
@@urbansoundscapes7734It definitely does - you don't even need to be at 9/10s either. 40mph over twisting country roads is all you need to bring on a big grin! The handling's consistent and you know when you're getting close to the grip limit. Great fun and not expensive.
I agree that the available components argument doesn't add up. Even if GM forced Lotus into using Isuzu components, Isuzu had the Piazza/ Impulse in production at the time which was RWD.
@@Jam3sA nope, in 1990 the 2nd gen Impulse was also fwd (or 4wd!) using the same engine and with "handling by Lotus". So, maybe not necessary but certainly very convenient. Likely multiple factors influenced the decision, i.e. we have this transverse engine available, we've done a bunch of work on fwd dynamics, our tests show that fwd can be superior for lower-powered cars.
Excellent review.. absolutely to the point. M100 is a masterpiece.You have to drive a good one to understand. Many thanks to Mike Kimberly, Roger Becker, John Miles and Peter Stevens.
Lotus Elan S2 n.783 -Greece
I'll never forget getting the opportunity to "ferry" a lotus exige for a dealership I worked for and I can absolutely attest no one designs a car that handles or feels as crisp as lotus. Great video as always my friend.
This was my dream car as a weekly Autocar & Motor memorising, birthday subscription receiving, 12 year old - and unbeknownst until 20 years later - ADHD monster. I was 12. FWD... RWD... driving dynamics. They meant little to me. But the _looks!_ LOVED it!
No way! You actually mentioned Autocar!! Ha ha! That's nuts!
I still want one but probably for the wrong reasons. As a kid I played Lotus 2 and 3 on the Amiga and have wanted one ever since.
Same here. After over 25 years still can bring back the soundtrack from Lotus turbo challenge II
@@Wiwerestwould it be wrong to drive an Elan with the Lotus 3 soundtrack pumping out of the stereo? 😂
@@mrbagitos I think this would be the most reasonable way to drive any Lotus
I had one as a daily driver for 9 years (sold it when I went to work abroad for a few years). Loved it! Never let me down……. And as you say it is very practical. Two comments, I never managed to successfully get the brakes up-graded and the headlights were pretty poor, apart from that all was excellent. Thanks for the memory!
I think the headlights are pretty decent?
Always a car I regret never buying love the video 👍 up 🙂
Always loved this brand. Underrated. True sports car. Pure. Not a fire breathing monster you can't really use. Chapman was a genius. Beautiful car. Handling.😛🤩😁🤑🤑❤
As always great video Jay. My Mum had one of these from new in the mid 90’s, it was the S2 which looked much better with the chunky five spoke alloys in a deep blue. It was great fun to drive always caught the eye of passers by and was an all round great Lotus!
Well worth the 7-year wait James👍
They are a fabulous car to drive! Always enjoy driving my one!, and also Elan +2 and Elan S2
Noticeably better than a Mazda MX-5 I have driven both.
Seems there are a number of people with opinions but not much owner experience. Just briefly, had one for 5 years, no breakdowns, no problems and a lot of fun. I did maintain it by the book, perhaps that helped but it was not a consumer of parts, just consumables. Sold with 85k on the clock so it was used while I had it and by the previous owners. Oh, and it did not rust away like MX5s which apparently they have a bad reputation for.
I owned one for ten years or so from mid-90s. It wasn't without its problems, but I had some magical drives in it. In the summer time, roof down, 8am, whizzing to work along the back roads of Cheshire, simply amazing. Very similar to the roads in this video. Or up in Scotland, or the west coast of Ireland, on empty roads with wind in your hair and the heater on full blast. Great times and thanks JayEmm for the memories.
I own an M100 (same year and colour) and a Series 1 Elise and completely agree with everything you say!
Worked at Lotus when the S2 was in production, loved them then and would love one now
Overheated... suspension replacement... cost me a fortune but I loved driving it...
I had a red 1990 SE. Such a great car, huge fun and one of the best handling cars of its time.
Merlot looks and sounds great, glad to see Trevor's Elan on the channel.
And also Trevor at the beginning of the video!
Strangely nobody mentioned the toolkit.
I have always loved it. I loved it then as a kid and I still love it now. It looks stunning from every angle. Period! Wish someone will restart production now that i am finally old enough to buy one.
That Isuzu engine really was a gem. We got it in the Impulse RS over here in the states, and somehow it just *sounds* Isuzu. Not quite sure how, but it does.
I owned one here in Southern California by the beach. I loved that car for such purposes as cruising the PCH highway.. .. I did blow the shift linkage though 🤣🤷♂️.. Fine piece of video and thank you. A very forgotten car sadly
Owned one for seven years and agree with your assessment. However you failed to mention its achilles heel which eventually led to our parting when we couldn't stand it anymore, the design of the hood and hood sills which led to rain landing in your lap! A very capable and enjoyable car in so many ways.
A colleague in the city was still driving his to the station daily in 2019....brilliant car.
Aww C'mon James, you can't do a feature on the M100 without mentioning John Miles. Ex Team Lotus F1 driver, team mate of Jochen Rindt, who became the most respected ride & handling engineer in the car industry working for Lotus Engineering & did so much to make the Elan M100 a great car...It really was his baby...
Thanks J, great to see the Elan! 🙏🙏
such beautiful looking cars. Simple, graceful and unaggressive lines unlike a lot of the cars nowadays
Great touring cars. Comfortable, easy to get into and out of, great trunk space, capable of cruising at 90mph up and down the Rockies, good handling and stable. Crossed the USA east to west three times.
imagine how good this could have been with a 4A-GE nat asp 1.6 in it
Kia elan! 🤯 well I never knew that… another great video! What a quirky cool little car
If I had to decide this FWD or a NA, I always would take the Mazda. Back in the days the choice was a Fiat124 spider or a Fulvia coupé - the spider won. No regrets.
Only Lotus could produce a car with roof seals that were actually porous. Fun to drive though.
Great review and history lesson. I've long liked these, 'cos good value quirky British underdog :)
My local KIA dealer has a KIA Elan in thier showroom for display
Lotus has always been a brand in my heart. The Esprit was in a Bond movie... Let's start there...
The maintenance costs can be drastically reduced by simply taking the diy approach to ownership.
Sure it will cost you 900 quid to pay someone else to replace the timing belt... But the kit itself is less than 100 when you buy from rockauto. And the owners club has extremely knowledgeable people who will help you go from knowing zero about cars to becoming a confident diyer in no time.
I know that from experience.. 10 years ago I couldn't tell the difference between a spanner and a screw 😂
Great well balanced review.
Lovely program,well done, Lotus cars rock
Always wanted one of these when they were new - I’d love one even now. Bright red is my dream car.
I was there at the time and FWD made this a non runner.
Ahh more buried Lotus history😊 I know that this is considered a forgotten car but I'd love to see a review from you on the, probabaly equally forgotten, Lotus Europa S & SE! Its a turbocharged lotus from the newer generation with a run of only 500 cars
Great fun to watch!! 🍻🌎❤️🌮
Lotus Elan M100, great car, drive it and see
I owned a red one of these from new. I never could reconcile its looks at certain angles. It also had a horrible resin\plastic odour. I disposed of it after a year. Moved on to to a Lotus Carlton. Now that's a completely different story.
I have to say I really like this sports car !
At the time this car was unique in how it looked. I thought it was stunning and still think it looks amazing almost 30 years later... I didn't know about the Toyota - Lotus link and I wonder how much of that story inspired Mazda to release their MX5. Excellent video and this was a video that you should have done many years ago. I think 70s / 80s British cars are underrepresented ... Leyland 76 anyone?
Great video on a great car, very under-rated. Proved Lotus could do FWD as good as their RWD .and what a bargain at about £10K for a good one. Your facts were spot on and saw past the usual MX5 comparison. Keep up the good work.
By the way - I loved getting so much history - thanks for this
I previously owned an elan se and an accord type r and they are often talked about as the two best handling fwd’s that you can drive. Always loved the elan.
They where just a bit too much money at the time. I admired one that used to park near a gym I went too. I had CRX VETEC at the time. That was probably the second best handling FWD at the time and had that fab engine and leather bucket seats. It got traded for an S1 111S Elise that I still have.
Nice video of an underrated and often misunderstood sports car 😎
Thanks @jayemmoncars, I've had one of these that I bought at auction ( not the good kind of auction ) with a ticket stub ( un-ripped ) to Star Wars : Revenge of the Sith. I'm looking to get it back on the road and this inspiring video is a helpful push.
It’s a gorgeous car. Always loved it.
Thank you.
Always loved the Elan and have hoped to buy one but it’s never materialised. I think they are great value for money - hopefully soon…thanks for a great video.
In the early 90s there was a yellow one that used to live a couple of streets from my house. It looked so futuristic at the time, especially with hum drum Maestros and Escorts parked around it. I often used to take a detour just to see it.
Please, try Elan S2 M100 too! Autocar testers in '94 noted more meaty steering and called him 'The front-wheel drive standard setter'! Much better version despite lack of 9 hp.
I had the chance to test drive several of these Elan's in the early 2000's. Came very close to purchasing one of them, but the asking price of the seller was just a bit too high. They are fine little sports cars no doubt and this review of it is very good. I finally choose a first gen Mr2 AW11 Supercharged, still own it, and to this day have no real regrets.
Nice review as ever. Going to a logic 300K subs.
Another great video James well worth the wait, I allways thought these were under rated myself and good car for the money.
I remember Mike Brewer Wheeler dealers doing one up and he alsonrated them it was one he did out in the states.also the Iszu engines are pretty much very reliable.
Going off subject I remember in the 90's that Vauxhall used to have Iszu diiesel engines and there Vauxhall ones and the Iszu was know to be the better of the two.
If you don't hear the Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge 2 music when he pops the headlights, you weren't a kid at the time! Chick-chick-a-chickaaa!
Wow... Good choice.
Would love to see a back to back review of the KIA Elan. Just how different did the Koreans sause make an English Breakfast?
One of the best cars I ever owned. I had the rare non-turbo and even rarer (one of seven) non power steering versions which I owned for 9 years and sold just 2 years ago. Absolutely no trouble and spent very little money on it. The lack of power steering was a bore at slow speeds but the reduced weight and crisp steering at speed was brilliant. I remember going on a supercar driving experience near Oxford but actually enjoyed myself more driving back through Oxfordshire roads with a heavier foot than normal!
As a kid I spotted on - electric blue like colour and it blew me away - there was nothing like it in the late 80’s. The rear lights and number plate mount especially
Shame Toyota didn't take the company. Turning the MR2 platform over to Lotus to engineer would have yielded a terrific sports car.
I always loved how they looked and would have happily had one, but I'd made the mistake of buying a front wheel drive car in the past so I was never going to do that again obviously.
I aways had a soft spot for these. My ownership of one was for near 3 years, probably about 10 years ago. I always looked at it as a well setup front wheel drive quirky sports car, rather than a huge non rear wheel drive Lotus mistake!
Mine was 200bhp, had AP 4 pots and semi slicks amongst others parts.
Genuinely was a very capable car, it took everything I gave it in its strides. Great fun, at the time, cheap great fun!
I think I have an old video of it on here...
fantastic little sports car
Always loved these. I think they look fantastic. Still have a copy of Autocar with it on the cover with the Union Flag behind it. Its on my list for a 50th birthday present to myself. 😁
I always loved the Elans. When I was about 15 there was one at the local college a professor drove in red. It was beautiful. The three big strikes were the FWD cost and Izuzu engine. Had it not had Izuzu on the cam cover it would have been more desirable. The other issue was the resemblance to the Mercury Capri XR2. It was too close to stand apart. In a side by, side comparo the Elan won hands down by a mile but to regular folks they were basically indistinguishable.
I always loved the look of the M100 Elan. As an MX-5 owner now, an 06 model, I’d still love to drive a turbo Elan, mainly to feel how right Lotus could make front wheel drive work with some power. Many manufacturers still can’t achieve that!
Great looking cars, the Lotus/ Kia Elan...
An Elan sharing drive train parts with the Toyota AE86 would have been superb….. the Excel with its share of Toyota drive train and parts is very impressive and robust compared to it’s peers
I bought a new bright red one of these on a J plate and only kept it for 10 months. Whilst it was good fun, the hood leaked like a sieve and worse, the brakes on mine faded alarmingly. Happily, didn’t lose too much - sold it to a Lotus dealer in Norwich
Now I know why I've seen a few Kia badged Elans in France. Thanks.😊
'The best-forgotten Lotus'?
I loved reading and seeing pictures of this vehicle in magazines in the states. James talking about its looks at different angles is true, but that is certainly true of many cars. I was excited to go to parts of Europe where I might see see this car being driven back in the day. But the sightings were far and few in between. Not the big seller in terms of units as James has reported here. Never made it to the states.
My dream car. One of the best looking ever…