Lotus Elan Sprint?

[greenMachine]

Biggest difference is a Elans appreciate and MX5 depreciate wish I kept my Elan

Biggest difference is that when we work/spend money on our MX5s, it is because we want to, not because we need to get them going again, or put back on the bits that have fallen off, fix the rust in the chassis, stop the smoke getting out of the wiring, etc. They are great cars, when going, but you pay a price for it.

[Black_Penguin]

LOTUS = Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious.

[93_Clubman]

Is that a myth?

No, Elan was unanimously best handling according to Norman H Garrett III, former Mazda Engineer, on page 43 of his book: Miata Project Mazda Miata Performance Handbook:
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=wA ... tt&f=false

[ralt]

Hi.
Something else you may wish to contemplate- the mx5 1.6 litre engine. Where do you think the inspiration by Mazda and Toyota to develop 16 valve engines came from? Surprise surprise it came from the Ford bda which was in production well before it was copied by the Japanese and others and a lot easier to develop. Mx5 and lotus elan comparisons from a driving perspective are chalk and cheese the elan is a better drivers car.

[StanTheMan]

They certainly did not copy the rear suspension - thank God! Neither did they copy the Lotus' legendary reliability

It may have been one of the inspirations, but they had more sense than to follow Chunky down blind alleys. I believe they were looking at standards, how a car should handle, stop, etc - and how others achieved that. Then Mazda set about doing it their way ... and the rest is history.

Speaking of which, I had not appreciated how the M100 paralleled the NA, at least its release date. Less than 5000 sold ... oops!

yea that Elan M100 was like $80 K in its day. When the Mx5 was like $30K. The only comparison I took to it in its day was that it was a small convertible. Only car you could really compare it to was the Aussie made Ford Capri, which was about $25K IIRC. And that is a long stretch. Even ford dealers were saying that the Mx5 was built far better & that's why you paid the extra $5K.
In the day, People were saying that the Capri was basically a Convertible Laser. However a lot of people who considered the Mx5 also considered the Capri. I know I did.

The NA's also held their value extremely well. When I bought my 2nd one in 1997 it was already 8 years old. at $25K it was the cheapest Mx 5 along Paramatta road of Sydney.

[Regie]

My uncle has a S2 Elan, some may have seen it as i have bought it along to some meets/club events.

I love driving it, its the closest thing you will get to a go cart on the road, the tall tyres and soft suspension make it one of the best riding cars i have ever been in

here is a comparison pic of my old NB when i just bought it. Check the size difference

[Steampunk]

*paging Mazlot* *paging Mazlot*

Last time I was over his place, yonks ago, he had one and a half.

Another rumour is that the designers/engineers attempted to emulate the exhaust note.

[JBT]

...of the MGB.

[smy0003]

I thought they tried to copy the gearbox whine of the mgb.
I think I heard that I'm a Clarkson video though so who knows.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[JBT]

Both those statements could also be true.

[Mr Morlock]

I have an owner friend who rates his MX5 NA as better to drive than the Lotus.and for reliability and engineering no comparison at all. As for engines I don't know where MX5 came from but take a look at Alfa of the early 60's with their 1300' and 1600' later 1750 and 2000. Long before MX5 and these were on their production cars. Alfa was a great marque in the 60's and early 70's. and Mazda certainly rated them as one of the better vehicles.

[rjastra2]

yea that Elan M100 was like $80 K in its day. When the Mx5 was like $30K. The only comparison I took to it in its day was that it was a small convertible.

In its native market (UK) it started at UKP17.5K and the MX5 started at UKP14.3K. Both were more expensive than the then current Golf GTI. Most Lotus had the turbo engine and a 0-60mph of 6.5 sec.

[StanTheMan]

yea that Elan M100 was like $80 K in its day. When the Mx5 was like $30K. The only comparison I took to it in its day was that it was a small convertible.

In its native market (UK) it started at UKP17.5K and the MX5 started at UKP14.3K. Both were more expensive than the then current Golf GTI. Most Lotus had the turbo engine and a 0-60mph of 6.5 sec.

How about that for a difference. I don't recall what the UKP was worth in those days but here in AU the Lotus Elan was actually $89K plus on road costs.
http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research ... ITM-245835
I guess what I was trying to get across was, when you are considering a $30K car you are probably unlikely to consider a $90K car. At the time, that was a massive chunk. The Elan was way out of my budget at the time. I recall walking past at a yellow one in Cremorne. Took 1 look, found out the price & kept walking. but it sounds like in the UK they were almost put up against each other.

[speed]

Weren't the later elans FWD?

[tumble]

Weren't the later elans FWD?

Yes - see an earlier post in this thread for a picture. They were made by Kia.

I don't know exactly what to make of the comparison, but of course Mazda had a front-wheel-drive sports car at the time as well, the Eunos 30X / MX-3 / Autozam.