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1968 Lotus Elan S3 Se Special Equipment Ex Don Tingle Vintage Classic Race on 2040-cars

Year:1968 Mileage:15000
Location:

No Reserve Auction 
Originally owned by Lotus Elan Expert and Specialist Don Tingle of Tingle Lotus Center, in Cambridge, Mass is this 1968 Lotus Elan S3 SE (Special Equipment Model) Roadster (Drop Head Coupe). It is Chassis # 45/6460, with engine # LP 6989 which is Matching to the Chassis. The car came standard with electric windows (work perfectly). Over the years Don Tingle improved and modified the car so it would not only be stronger, but highly competitive, as well. Items improved are: 
A new, gusseted chassis (10 years ago)
Solid rear axles
Custom Isky cams
Webers
Exhaust headers
 Oil cooler and aeroquip oil lines
Competition shocks
Momo steering wheel
Roll bar
The engine puts out 155 HP. The car was campaigned in local sports car events throughout the years Don Tingle owned it. Don Tingle fully maintained the car, even after he parted with it, as the full box of records (included with the sale of the car) indicate. Approximately $40,000.00 in receipts from Don Tingles shop were collected by the fellow Don sold the car to. Local to Cambridge, Mass sports car enthusiast, George Zahakevich purchased the car from Don Tingle and continued to campaign the Elan in sports car events. 10 years ago George had Don Tingle rebuild the engine, transmission, the solid mounted rear end and service everything else (as the records show). George put 2,000 miles on the car during his ownership and stated that the car had 13,000 original miles on it when he purchased it. Making for a total of 15,000 miles. The speedometer is working and the odometer is not. The Florida title shows 2,244 miles and the cars odometer shows 2,245 miles. 
George moved to Florida and his health began to fail. The car was parked about 5 years ago and sat. George had intended to replace and repair the items that needed attention. These items are:
The seats covers need to be replaced (new original type upholstery, black are included)
The carpet is not in the car (new original type carpet, black are included)
The car should be repainted (paint crazing and chips, as well a small repairs that have been done around the trunk hinge area need sanded and resprayed)
There is a 5 square inch area on the lower left side of the windshield that is de-laminated
The windshield gasket and the door gaskets should be replaced
There is a new dash board (already installed), A new glove box and glove box door, new head light rings, new interior windshield trim pieces, a new center console and a arm rest pad are included with the car. A new starter was install within the month. The original radio is also included. 
Missing are the SE badges, one interior door handle trim ring, one tag light, four wheel trim rings and a few roof frame cover buttons. 
The top is in good overall condition and quite usable. The body is very straight and solid (even the floors). The wheels are not bend, but do have scratches from the trim rings that were once applied to them. The wheels should be repainted. The tires are period correct Michelin XAS's and have plenty of tread, (as shown in the photo). Since I have owned the car I have been able to get the engine running, the brakes work properly and the transmission shifts fine, with no crunching or grinding. No unusual noises from the rear end. I am in the midst of trying to separate the clutch disc from the flywheel. It is a standard issue with these cars, when sitting for a period of time. 
With very little effort this wonderful Elan can be made to be quite presentable and it will have remarkable performance capabilities. With provenance, this 1968 Lotus Elan S3 SE is available at NO RESERVE for a staring bid of $18,000.00

Sold as is and void of any warranty. A $1,000.00 deposit, through paypal must be received within 24 hours of the close of this auction. The balance  must be received within 7 days of the close of this auction by way of either cashiers check or bank wire. Shipping soley by the buyer

    
    

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Lotus introduces Exclusive customization program

Sat, Jan 16 2016

Lotus doesn't sell much beyond the Evora 400 in the US, but the announcement of a new personalization program won't be limited to just that model. The Lotus Exclusive program will be applicable to every model that Lotus makes, including the Elise and Exige in all their many iterations, the new 3-Eleven, and the Evora – which remains, for the time being, the only model currently certified for use on American roads. The company will even apply its new range of customization options to pre-owned models. Hethel is currently rolling out the Lotus Exclusive program in Europe, but plans to expand its availability later this year. Buyers will be able to pick from an expanded range of exterior colors – or have a custom hue mixed up specially – in matte, gloss, metallic, or pearlescent finishes. Custom graphics can be applied to the roof and mirror caps, and various exterior components (from spoilers to add-on decals) can be ordered in one of four colors, as can the three available styles of racing stripes. The interior will be available to order with five colors of leather and four colors of stitching thread to give the cockpit a unique touch. Of course Lotus isn't the first manufacturer to offer such a personalization service, which is fast becoming standard fare among exotic and luxury automakers – particularly in Europe. In the UK alone you'll find McLaren Special Operations, Q by Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce Bespoke, and Bentley's Mulliner division. Other examples include Ferrari Tailor Made, Lamborghini Ad Personam, and Porsche Exclusive. Dodge even offers the "1 of 1" program for the Viper GTC. At the very pinnacle of the exotic supercar market, however, manufacturers like Bugatti, Pagani, and Koenigsegg build every one of their supercars to order, according to the customer's specifications, so personalization comes part and parcel with the bragging rights. Related Video: X MAKE YOUR MARK WITH LOTUS EXCLUSIVE - Tailor made Lotus cars to individual customer requirements - Created by the Lotus Design team & available for both new and pre-owned cars - Exciting interior and exterior options, from subtle details to extensive personalisation Letting Lotus owners set the tone, the new personalisation service Lotus Exclusive offers sports car fans a unique ownership proposition.

Lotus 3-Eleven may be the quickest track weapon you can buy

Mon, Mar 14 2016

Germany's Sport Auto magazine routinely takes world-beating supercars around the short circuit at the Hockenheimring: Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis... the works. But the top of the leaderboard has now been claimed by something altogether smaller and less powerful in the form of the new Lotus 3-Eleven. The most extreme expression of the Elise/Exige platform to date, the 3-Eleven is a track-focused machine of the highest caliber. At its heart sits a relatively humble 3.5-liter supercharged V6, tuned to produce 460 horsepower. But with composite body panels and a low curb weight, it rockets to 60 in under 3.0 seconds flat, and more poignantly laps the company's own test track ten seconds ahead of the Evora 400. Now it's clocked a lap around Hockenheim – sometimes host of the German Grand Prix – in just 1:06.2, just edging out the previous record held by a Porsche 918 Spyder. It also bests the Gumpert Apollo, and the similarly track-focused Radical SR3 SL... not to mention everything else Sport Auto has ever taken to the track. What's even more impressive is that the magazine's road test editor Christian Gebhardt completed the lap on stock rubber and on a cold track that didn't get any warmer than 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Just imagine what it'd do on even semi-slicks and a warm track surface. Related Video: 'HYPERCAR-KILLING' LOTUS 3-ELEVEN SETS HOCKENHEIMRING LAP RECORD - Lotus 3-Eleven raises the bar by establishing a new "sport auto" production car lap record around Hockenheimring - Lotus 3-Eleven now heads the lap time list which features exotic hyper cars and track-focused supercars from some of the world's most prestigious manufacturers - Lap record set by "sport auto" magazine's top road tester Christian Gebhardt The Lotus 3-Eleven, the quickest series production car to come from Lotus' Hethel Headquarters, has set the fastest lap time ever recorded by the leading and highly-respected German car magazine, "sport auto". Driven by Christian Gebhardt, a highly accomplished driver and Road Test Editor for "sport auto", the Lotus 3-Eleven lapped the Hockenheimring short Circuit in an incredible 1 minute 06.2 seconds. This time was even more impressive considering that the 3-Eleven was on standard road tyres and the fastest lap was completed in less than perfect weather, where temperatures did not get higher than 8 degrees Celsius. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc said, "Christian set a fabulous lap in less than ideal conditions.

Lotus reveals new LMP1 at Le Mans

Fri, 13 Jun 2014

Lotus is at Le Mans this week where it has unveiled its new LMP1. Only it's not racing at Le Mans. And it's not really a Lotus, either.
The prototype belongs to an independent German team that ran a Lotus chassis in the LMP2 category last year, but was granted license by the FIA and ACO to step up to the top-tier LMP1 category to dice it with the front-running hybrids from Audi, Porsche and Toyota this year. Unfortunately, the team - which licenses the Lotus name from the automaker, much as the F1 team does - faced some setbacks. Not the least of those delays resulted from a mid-stream switch in engine suppliers from the Audi-sourced, naturally aspirated V8 it was originally set to use to a new turbocharged V6 from Advanced Engine Research.
As a result it wasn't ready for the Silverstone race that kicked off this season's World Endurance Championship in April. Nor was it ready for the second round at Spa in May or not for the headline event this weekend at Le Mans, but it aims to be on the track at the next round in Austin.