1991 Lotus Elan
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The 1989-92 model was the first and only front-wheel-drive Lotus ever made. Despite professional reviewers' praise for the car's handling, balanced transitions, and lack of torque steer at its introduction, chat rooms were filled with complaints that the M100 is front-wheel drive. Of course, most of these purists likely have never driven one. If they had, they would know that it is regarded as one of, if not THE best-handling, FWD cars in history. Only 3,855 were built for worldwide consumption before initial production ended in 1992, and fewer than 600 of those were sold in the U. S.
Now is your chance to own one of those 600 U. S. cars. Powered by a turbocharged 1. 5L (roughly 95 cubic inch) dual overhead cam 4-cylinder engine that's putting out 162 HP (almost 2 HP/cubic inch), with a proper 'driver mod' notching the shifts on its 5-speed manual, you'll see 60 MPH in about 6 seconds (6. 5 to be exact). Its lightweight fiberglass body sits atop one of Lotus' hallmark steel backbone chassis. And, with its unequal-length wishbones and coil springs and a swaybar up front, and centrally mounted upper and lower wishbone with coil-over shocks out back, driving this...