Lotus Elan (M100) History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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The M100 Elan (1989–1995) revived the Elan name on a very different car: developed under General Motors ownership, it was the only front-wheel-drive road car Lotus ever built, using an Isuzu-sourced 1.6-litre engine (turbocharged in the SE) on a steel backbone chassis with a fibreglass body.
Critics praised its front-drive handling as exceptional, but it arrived into a recession and was expensive to build; Lotus made roughly 3,800 before halting production. Kia briefly built a derivative in South Korea afterward. It was, in effect, the bridge between the old backbone-chassis Lotuses and the aluminium-chassis Elise that followed.
Body styles
- Convertible (roadster)
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