I love a good oddball car like a Lotus Elite, but there’s a problem with getting into strange old cars. It’s the same thing that happens to people who buy odd dog breeds like Whippets or Pugs — they start well intentioned with a single dog, but after a few months you end up owning […]
There are pluses and minuses to buying a car that cannot be rolled out into the street for a photo. On the plus side, you know it has been tucked away, off the road, likely spared damage from sun and weather. On the minus side, well, it currently does not run. That brings us neatly […]
Lotus combined door-wedge styling and hatchback versatility around classic Lotus bones to create the 1974-1982 Elite. Unlike a Europa (or Esprit), the Elite was quite usable (it had a rear seat and was sized for humans instead of Hobbits), and the glass-reinforced fiberglass body was way ahead of the Europa’s. But typical for a Lotus, […]
Do you ever see a car that you inexplicably like? There’s no good reason for the attraction because the car isn’t pretty. The design isn’t impressive or beautiful, but it has some strange attraction to the eye. Think about cars like the Triumph TR7 or the Tesla CyberTruck or the Volvo P1800ES. Or this next […]
This next car is an interesting example in what not to do with model naming. The Ford Torino was big personal luxury coupe built starting in 1968, but in 1972 Ford released a Gran Torino version with some high level trim. A few years later they released the Gran Torino Elite…but in 1975 the car […]
The Laser 917 won’t be the fastest car at the next Supercars and Coffee, or at the track, or at the next vintage Beetle club meeting…but it will be the coolest looking rebody of a Beetle you’ll find for less than $10k. Find this 1970 Elite enterprises laser 917 offered for $8000 in Granite Falls, […]
(by PhiLOL) Designed by Americans for Americans in the nation’s epicenter for automotive design, Minnesota, the Elite Enterprises Laser served as a continuation of the venerable Porsche 917. It maintained the aesthetics of the Porsche racer while incorporating considerably improved engineering, such as the elimination of excess cylinders to reduce weight. This particular example’s provenance […]
The Lotus Elite had the distinct honor of being the world’s most expensive 4-cylinder powered vehicle when it was launched in 1974…but this next version is no ordinary Elite. Not that there is ANYTHING ordinary about the front-engine 2+2 shooting brake that looks like a Pinto Wagon that has been restyled by extraterrestrials. This next one has a GM LT1 V8 shoved up front and it might look familiar to you because we featured it Dec of 2020. Find this 1991 Lotus Elite offered for $6,200 in Lexington, SC via myface friendsterbook. Tip from Mark.
The Lotus Elite had the distinct honor of being the world’s most expensive 4-cylinder powered vehicle when it was launched in 1974. The fiberglass body mounted on a steel backbone chassis was an evolution of the Europa…but it took a turn in the other direction by being front-engine. The end result is a car that isn’t quite as mid-engine tight as the Europa, but with engine bay room that makes it way easier to convert into a V8 powered beast. Find this 1978 Lotus Elite offered for $6,500 in Lexington, SC via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The other day I witnessed a late model Crown Victoria driving down the road that was so low it grounded out on a small bump in the road — something that would have barely been noticed in a stock 65 Buick. And it got me thinking that the modern slammed stance stuff is strange…and then I remembered that there was a time when a modified car would have been jacked up and was probably equally annoying to drive…which takes us to this next beast which is a sweet ode to the stance of the 70s. Find this 1974 Ford Gran Torino Elite offered for $7000 in Thomaston, GA via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.