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1980 Lotus Eclat V8 No Reserve Auction on 2040-cars
US $12,000.00
Year:1980
Mileage:99999
Location:
Littleton, Colorado, United States
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Introduced in late 1975 a year after the polarizing Elite, the Eclat was designed to be a sportier version with a lower price point. Within a few years it had become the preferred version and it superseded the Elite completely. It was far better looking and was soon appointed the same way as the supposedly more upmarket Elite. This Lotus Eclat VIN #80010140U is one of only 20 imported to the USA in 1980. Rolls Royce the importer for Lotus in the USA in that year didn’t even sell all of them due to its $30,600 sticker price. It is also truly an example of the era that still turns heads with the undeniable look & sound of an ‘80’s supercar, bearing a strong resemblance to a Ferrari 308 GT4. The Eclat is perhaps the least common of any Lotus today with fewer than 500 ever imported during its eight year production run. This car’s original four cylinder engine was replaced after a stuck throttle grenaded it. As the engine bay was originally designed to take a doubled version of that engine, a Rover 3.9 V8 fit perfectly and actually weighed just over 30 pounds more than the four. It cruises well at 80 and gets there fast. A true long distance GT, I drove it from New Hampshire where I bought it, to my home through 14 states the first week of September 2012 and averaged over 22 miles per gallon! The car sounds like a NASCAR stocker and pulls as strongly as it sounds. It cruised at about 2,650 rpm in 5th at 80mph and has plenty of grunt to accelerate at that speed. It handles like a Lotus should, and it rides and drives comfortably and straight; as I said, it is a great road car. I am selling it now because I have moved to a new home and lost my ample storage. I only have room for my Seven and Elans. When I bought it I was impressed with the story told by the seller and thought it would be the perfect counterpoint to my older smaller Lotus cars. The reality is I haven’t driven it much and so with no storage space it is the one that has to go. Here is the seller’s story from the summer of 2012: “This car has been a labor of love over the last ten years. I am truly hoping the car will be purchased by someone who will cherish her as much as I have, and will be able to complete the small issues that will make her perfect. I have only put about 5200 miles on the car since its conversion, and have no idea how many miles were originally on the car since the odometer was not functioning when I got it. In the last ten years I have spent over $25,000.00 on upgrades. The Rover V8's torque is a vast improvement over the original Lotus slant four. I spent over $5,000.00 on the engine rebuild alone (not including the installation). The engine uses an Isky 621282 Cam, and Edelbrock 500 CFM Carb mounted on a Buick 215 four barrel intake manifold. The TKO 600 five speed transmission was over $2,000.00, not including the addition of the required electronic Speedometer to match it. I have replaced the fragile clutch cable with a hydraulic system, using a master cylinder mounted to a high performance floor mounted clutch pedal. The ignition uses an MSD 6 AL box, MSD Coil, Pertronix PE D175510 distributor, high performance cables, and an Optima red top battery (mounted in the trunk). The new exhaust includes stainless Magnaflow mufflers, and chrome tips. The V8 conversion was originally performed by George Squire, of "Former Glory Racing" in Connecticut, and additional upgrades were done by "Mom's Garage" in Manchester NH. The suspension includes Spax adjustable Coil-Over Shocks, and all new bushings. There are also four new Falken Ziex ZE-512 tires on the car.” That’s the story that sold me and I really have enjoyed the power and cruising ability of the car. Now for the not so good news:
Even with these shortcomings the car is still very usable and all these things are repairable by a good home mechanic except possibly for the A/C issue. The extra parts I am including are: Lotus Eclat shop manual, second set of original Lotus rims, Eclat Windshield, extra low profile air filter, used power steering rack (in the brown paper in the boot for buyer to have rebuilt), and brand new bumper covers, miscellaneous small parts including dash switches, and gauges, touch up paint, and extra leather dye. The car is being offered with the parts included. These parts are worth over $2,000.00 together and I have no interest in selling them separately as I know the car needs them. This car is a great deal for anyone who is mechanical and has time to work on it. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive it back across the country today. |
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Auto blog
Lotus Type 132 electric crossover leaked in patent images
Tue, Mar 8 2022Lotus is preparing to merge into the mainstream by releasing an electric crossover called Type 132. While we won't see the model in the metal until late in March 2022, a series of images leaked out of a patent office have prematurely revealed its exterior design. Discovered by Motor1, the renderings appeared on the website for the Australian patent and trademark office, IP Australia. They're attributed to Wuhan Lotus Cars Co., which is the new division in charge of developing the company's so-called "premium lifestyle" models. What immediately stands out is that the Type 132 — a code-name that most likely won't appear on the production model — looks nothing like the current or past members of the Lotus range; it's not merely a reshaped Emira or a stretched Elise on silts. Its unusual proportions match what we've seen in earlier spy shots, and distinctive styling cues like the thin light bar that stretches across the hatch also appeared in official preview images released by Lotus. Fully electric, the Type 132 is characterized by a short front end fitted with angular headlights, a relatively long wheelbase, and a roof line that's low and rakish; it certainly tilts more towards sport than towards utility. At first glance, the overall design looks less pure than what we're used to seeing from Lotus, though we'll need to wait until the model makes its official debut to tell for sure. What's certain is that the people-hauler depicted in these images is completely different than the one that leaked out of a patent office in China in October 2017. Either what we saw nearly five years ago was something else entirely, or the British firm sent its design team back to the drawing board. We spot several interesting details in the patent images. Look closely, and you'll notice that the Type 132 is not fitted with conventional door mirrors; it features door-mounted cameras, like certain Audi models. And, check out that pod on the roof. While it's almost shaped like an air vent, this is not a car designed for the World Rally Championship. One possibility is that it's there to house the various sensors required to power a semi-autonomous driving system. Lotus is controlled by Geely, which also owns Volvo and Polestar, so it has access to a tremendous amount of technology. Lotus will introduce the Type 132 online on March 29, 2022, and production will begin shortly after in China.
This is how ground effects work in a nutshell
Wed, Mar 30 2016There are two ways to generate downforce. One is with all manner of wings and spoilers on the surface of the vehicle. The other is with ground effects. One you can clearly see, the other remains something of a hidden mystery. Fortunately, the good folks at Lotus and Goodwood are here to dumb it down for us non-engineer types. It's called Bernoulli's Principle, named after Swiss physicist Daniel Bernoulli who literally wrote the book on the subject way back in the 1700s. Countless engineers have spent their careers focused on its study and application, but the crux of the matter is that, as the speed of air (or other "fluid") increases, pressure decreases. Play with the air's increasing speed and decreasing pressure just right and you can generate downforce underneath the body of a car without significantly increasing drag as you would with surface spoilers. For evidence of how Bernoulli's Principle applies in practical terms, just look at the last Ferrari to pack a turbocharged V8 in the middle and the latest one. The F40 had a giant wing on the back, where the 488 GTB has none. But because the 488 uses underbody aerodynamics (or "ground effects"), it generates significantly more downforce than the winged F40 ever could, and at lower speeds. Ferrari, however, was not the first outfit to harness the power of ground effects. Lotus did with the legendary 79 that Mario Andretti drove to the world championship back in 1978. That was the genius of Colin Chapman, and to explain how it all works in layman's terms, our friends over at Goodwood Road & Racing brought in Colin's son Clive Chapman, head of Classic Team Lotus, to put together the video above. Related Video:
Lotus Evora, Exige, and Elise add lightness to Geneva
Thu, Mar 3 2016The folks at Lotus have been quite busy over the past few months adding lightness to their vehicles. Since December, the company has introduced lighter, quicker versions of the Evora, Exige, and Elise, and all three members of the trio are present at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Each one is special in its own way, but if you crave a nimble sports car, you probably wouldn't be disappointed with any of these new models. The Evora Sport 410 is the most luxurious member of the bunch, at least by Lotus standards. At 2,921 pounds, it's also the heaviest, but a 410-horsepower 3.5-liter supercharged V6 makes this one the most powerful, too. The coupe can rocket to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and to a 186-mph top speed. Lotus will make just 150 of these special Evoras per year, and they'll have carbon fiber parts for the roof, tailgate, sports seats, and more. Best of all, this will be the only one of these three that will get a North American version. The Exige Sport 350 Roadster is the coolest member of this group, featuring tartan seats that we absolutely love. It's also the quickest of the three, reaching 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds, and it tops out at 170 mph. The rapid sprint is possible because the 345-hp 3.5-liter supercharged V6 only needs to push 2,480 pounds. The Elise Cup 250 rounds out the group with the lightest weight at 2,053 pounds (2,030 pounds with the optional Carbon Aero Package) but the least power at 243 hp. However, it certainly isn't slow with a 60-mph run in 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 154 mph. Lotus plans to make just 200 of them year each year. If you could pick any one of the three, which would you choose? The Evora might be the most livable every day but chucking around the Elise could be a barrel of fun. There're also those fantastic seats in the Exige. Let us know in Comments which one you want the most.