Find or Sell Used Cars, Trucks, and SUVs in USA

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

Year:1968 Mileage:15000
Location:

Advertising:

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

    
    

Auto blog

Lotus Advanced Performance division wants to make your dreams come true

Wed, Feb 9 2022

Lotus took a big step in its quest to position itself as a British alternative to Porsche by launching a division called Advanced Performance. Run by a former Aston Martin executive, Lotus Advanced Performance will design and build one-off and few-off models, among other tasks. Most high-end and specialty carmakers operate a program that gives customers some degree of freedom in terms of customization. Lotus was, until now, largely an exception to this rule. It hopes to make up for lost time by giving its Advanced Performance division a surprisingly long list of responsibilities. First the department will be responsible for building "ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles" that will not be part of the firm's regular-production line-up. One of these (shown in a sketch above) looks like it draws inspiration from classic Formula One cars. Details are few and far between, but the massive rear wing speaks volumes about the kind of halo cars we'll see in the not-too-distant future. What's unclear is whether Lotus will take customer requests. We've reached out, and we'll update this story if we learn more. Designing limited-edition models and developing race cars will also fall within the scope of Advanced Performance's responsibilities. And, it's the door that buyers who want to customize their car will need to knock on; they'll be able to select different paint colors, trim materials, and upholsteries. Optional extras and a range of Lotus-branded accessories will also emerge from Advanced Performance's headquarters. Immersing customers and enthusiasts into the Lotus world is important as well, so Advanced Performance will organize tours of the brand's production lines, organize driving academies around the world (including on the Hethel test track in England) and prepare "money can't buy" opportunities for clients. There's no word yet on what these experiences will look like; more information should emerge later in 2022. Lotus put Simon Lane in charge of its Advanced Performance division. He's a good choice: his resume includes leading Aston Martin's Q division, whose list of responsibilities looks a lot like Advanced Performance's. Q notably brought us the V8-powered Cygnet in 2018 and the one-of-a-kind Victor unveiled in 2020. Some of its other projects have been more tame: it gave the DBX a long list of carbon fiber parts. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lotus will go public via SPAC with $5.4 billion valuation

Wed, Feb 1 2023

Lotus Technology, the electric-car maker owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., agreed to merge with a blank-check company in a transaction that values the combined entity at about $5.4 billion. L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp. will combine with the EV making subsidiary of the British carmaking group that Geely acquired back in 2017, the two said in a statement Tuesday. The special purpose acquisition companyÂ’s sponsor has ties to Bernard Arnault, the worldÂ’s richest man. Lotus Tech has been looking to go public since at least early last year. Management may have been encouraged by another luxury auto brandÂ’s recent listing: Porsche AG pulled off EuropeÂ’s largest initial public offering in a decade when it debuted in Frankfurt in September. A week later, Porsche overtook Volkswagen AG as EuropeÂ’s most valuable automaker. Rather than go the IPO route, Lotus Tech will merge with a SPAC whose sponsor combined with the private equity operations of ArnaultÂ’s luxury-goods powerhouse LVMH in 2016. LVMH is a passive minority investor in L Catterton, according to a spokeswoman. Arnault overtook Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk as the worldÂ’s richest man last month — the first time a European claimed the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. While Group Lotus is tiny compared to Tesla, Geely has been steering it away from combustion engines and has several all-electric models planned for the coming years. Lotus Tech sees itself as a competitor to the likes of Ferrari and Aston Martin, and will get a jump on the first electric models from those brands. Lotus unveiled its all-electric Eletre sport utility vehicle last year and plans to launch a rival to PorscheÂ’s popular Taycan EV in 2023. Geely and other owners are expected to retain an 89.7% shareholding in Lotus Tech after the SPAC merger. GeelyÂ’s billionaire owner Li Shufu also controls Swedish carmaker Volvo Car AB and owns stakes in GermanyÂ’s Mercedes-Benz Group AG and the UKÂ’s Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc. Deutsche Bank AG advised Lotus Tech on the deal, while Credit Suisse Group AG acted as capital markets adviser to the SPAC. Related video: Featured Gallery Lotus Eletre View 25 Photos Earnings/Financials Green Lotus Electric Luxury Performance

Lotus cars to be 'Made in China' at new Geely plant, according to documents

Thu, Jan 17 2019

BEIJING/SHANGHAI — The Chinese owner of Lotus plans to start producing the British sports car brand in China for the first time with the opening of a new 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) factory in Wuhan city, company job advertisements and government documents showed. The previously unreported plans are Zhejiang Geely Holding Group's first move to shake up the British brand since its purchase of a majority stake in 2017. The move is in line with Geely's ambitions to build more up-market cars and throw off its reputation for copycat designs and shoddy quality. For Lotus, it could mean greater production volumes and new models such as SUVs to boost sales. "For Geely, going high-end can help it take more market share," said Alan Kang, Shanghai based analyst at LMC Automotive. "Geely needs to do that to better compete with global brands." Lotus cars are currently built in Norfolk, England. Geely and Lotus said in a joint statement that while Norfolk was Lotus's manufacturing home, a key part of the firm's strategy to revive the brand was expanding the brand's manufacturing footprint globally. "Details on additional locations and models will be confirmed in due course," the company said in an e-mail to Reuters. The planning authority of Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, last month approved Geely's plans for the plant. The factory will be able to manufacture 150,000 cars annually, according to a document posted on the authority's website. The Wuhan Development Zone, where the factory will be based, said in a statement posted on its website last month that production at the plant would include "Geely's Lotus project". The Wuhan Development Zone did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. The documents did not say when the plant would start operations. The facility is approved to build all-electric battery cars, electric hybrids as well as combustion engine cars like Lotuses. Job advertisements on Geely's website show the automaker is looking to fill at least 20 Wuhan-based roles for the Lotus project. LUXURY AMBITIONS While is not clear what portion of the new Chinese production line would be devoted to the British brand, greater production volumes would be consistent with Geely's stated ambition to grow the market for Lotus by broadening its line-up. Geely sold only 1,630 Lotuses globally in 2018. Lotus currently produces models such as the Evora and Elise.