Lotus · 1962
Elan (S1–S4)
Manual · RWD · United Kingdom
AutoIndex value · good UK car
£35,000
Researched from UK sold prices and auction results. How we value cars
Estimated price by condition
Project
£21,000
Restoration candidate
Driver
£35,000
Good usable example
Concours
£52,500
Show standard
Indicative condition bands · not a valuation of a particular car
Price check
Looking at a Elan (S1–S4) for sale? Is it a good price?
Buyer’s notes
About the Lotus Elan (S1–S4)
The two-seat Elan ran from the 1962 S1 through the S2, S3 and S4 to the Sprint of the early 1970s, always on a steel backbone chassis under a glassfibre body, with Lotus’s 1,558 cc twin-cam. Lotus’s records were erratic, so production estimates range from under 9,000 to over 12,000.
What moves the price
- Series: the early S1 and the later Sprint are the versions with their own followings.
- Chassis: an original backbone in good order, or the quality of its replacement.
- Body condition and the standard of earlier repairs.
Before you buy, check
- The backbone, suspension towers and the engine, gearbox and differential mountings for rust and repairs.
- The glassfibre for cracks and crazing, and paint that has been sprayed over old paint.
- The Rotoflex driveshaft couplings, sticking calipers and a differential that whines on the cruise.
Facts checked against: lotuselan.net · supercarnostalgia.com · insurance.goodwood.com · magnetomagazine.com · petrolicious.com
Vehicle data
Specifications
From 1962
Performance
Production
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Lotus Elan (S1–S4): value questions answered
- How much is a Lotus Elan (S1–S4) worth?
- A good, usable UK example of the Lotus Elan (S1–S4) is worth around £35,000 on the AutoIndex index. A project car that needs restoration is nearer £21,000, and a concours-quality example around £52,500. Condition moves the price more than anything else.
- What makes one Elan (S1–S4) worth more than another?
- Service history and paperwork — complete, stamped, explained
- Mileage against the norm for the model
- Originality — matching numbers, original paint and trim
- Specification — gearbox, colour, factory options
- UK-supplied versus imported
- Is the Elan (S1–S4) I'm looking at fairly priced?
- Enter its asking price and condition in the price check above. It compares the price with the index for that condition and tells you what to ask the seller about.
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