1997 Lotus Elise Series 1

Purity is a fragile and vulnerable thing and in August 1996, the revolutionary new Lotus Elise seemed to ooze purity from every extruded anodised aluminium and epoxy resin crevice, with nothing superfluous subtracting from the essence of this truly minimalist, focused little sports car. Although 'beautiful to behold' it certainly was, the time-honoured relationship between 'form and function' was clearly evident in the way it went and handled with its lightweight chassis-tub at 731kg failing to daunt the enthusiasm of the mid-mounted, 1.8-litre K-series engine, and its 118bhp was enough for a 0-60mph time in the low sixes allied to decent torque in the higher ratios. Clothed in two-piece 'clamshell' fibreglass bodywork, the featherweight two-door also featured all round double-wishbone, independent coil-over suspension, rack and pinion steering, four-wheel ventilated disc brakes, and a five-speed gearbox.

Designer Julian Thomson and engineer Richard Rackham were keen to create a car with something of a motorcycle’s feel, and they undoubtedly succeeded, as is evident as much in the aluminium-and-rubber interior and neat little Stack instrument panel, as in the car's dynamic intimacy with the road, the wind, and the weather. The Elise was a reaction to the corpulent world of leather, luxury, and levers becoming increasingly evident in Lotus road cars, and was an attempt to recreate Colin Chapman’s early principles before he abandoned them in a move upmarket.

Introduced at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show, just over 10,600 S1 Elise were built before the arrival of the S2 in 2001. It’s a testimony to the concept that, almost 27 years on from launch, that the original 118bhp S1 still delivers. As with other great drivers’ cars such as the E30 M3 and the original Elan, all things feel in balance – power, grip, handling, and mass making for a uniquely satisfying experience. The Series 2 naturally benefitted from further years of development, however, the more demure Series 1 still defines the breed.

The car presented here is a 1997 Lotus Elise Series 1, 25 years old this year, and is the 881st example produced. It's equipped with a number of features unique to the early cars including the lightweight Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) brakes that helped towards achieving the ‘headline-grabbing’ target weight of just 690kg. This ‘time-warp’ example still wears its original Pirelli P Zeros, bespoke to the Elise, and the factory cloth-covered seats, now with a hint of patination, add to the sense of originality not having been upgraded to leather. Original features abound, the ‘green’ factory bonding used on the chassis is clear to see, whilst our vendor states “under the arches, the suspension components, and inside the doors are all in truly fantastic condition for its age – all original, but like a much younger car.”  Quite remarkably, but going someway to explaining its condition, the car has hardly been used in the last three years and even back in 2013 the indicated mileage was 10,054 miles meaning it has covered less than 800 miles since then.

With just a single previous owner, who was an enthusiastic Lotus Club member, and who obviously cherished his red Elise, using it only sparingly but with the foresight to preserve and maintain such an unspoilt original example of a modern-classic, whilst retaining all its associated paperwork, this car deserves to be appreciated. It's accompanied by a full Lotus service history, its original sales invoice and order form, plus two keys and a complete book-pack (see images) – all a sign of diligent ownership, resulting in one of best S1 examples we have ever offered.

NB. The Cherished Registration Number, P7 JDW, does not form part of the sale and the Lotus is currently registered P395 GPE.