*** Informatie in het Nederlands: Compleet gerestaureerd, Complete fotoreportage restauratie beschikbaar, Volledig gedocumenteerd. Deze prachtige, originele en volledig gerestaureerde Lotus Elan S3 Fixed Head Coupe uit 1967 is vanaf heden te vinden in onze showroom te Houten. Het betreft een volledig Body-off gerestaureerde Elan S3 FHC SE waarbij SE staat voor Special Equipment. Lotus kwam in 1966 met de 'Special Equipment' versie van de Elan S3. Deze versie onderscheidde zich door een hoger standaard vermogen en speciale, lichtere velgen met centrale wielmoer. Toen de vorige eigenaar deze Elan in 2001 vanuit Amerika naar Nederland haalde werd direct begonnen met de restauratie. De restauratie is door een echte liefhebber gedaan, dat ziet men terug in het oog voor details. Kosten nog moeite zijn gespaard gebleven om deze Elan in een perfecte staat te brengen, zo ook onderhuids want op technisch gebied zijn alleen de beste onderdelen gemonteerd. Als u interesse heeft in deze mooie Lotus Elan uit 1967 raden wij u aan contact op te nemen met Rainier Vos of Jan van der Kooi. Onderstaand een informatief stuk historie van de Lotus Elan: The Lotus Elan was the replacement for the costly, but lovely, Elite. The Elan was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1962. Imagine the stir the Elan created. Here was a lightweight (under 1500 lbs), four-wheel disk brakes, four-wheel independent suspension, twin cam engine, aerodynamic sports car that was built by a renowned Formula 1 constructor. Remember this was a time when disk brakes were still two years off for a Porsche, and Ferraris were fitted with a live rear axle! Colin Chapman called upon Ron Hickman (inventor of the WorkMate portable workbench) to hasten the development of the new car. Hickman scraped the concept of a full glass fiber chassis of the Elite and penned the now infamous center backbone frame. The front suspension was twin A-arms with coil springs and dampers, and the rear featured the Chapman Strut. This produced a soft but well controlled ride and superior Lotus handling. The first cars (Series 1) were delivered in May 1963. The cars were fitted with a 1500cc Lotus Twin Cam engine. The Twin Cam had a special DOHC head and bottom end came from Ford pushrod engines popular in the Escorts and Cortinas. Within a few months Lotus raised the displacement to 1558cc (1600). In 1964 the Series 2 Elan was introduced with a full width wood veneer dash, lockable glovebox and clustered tail lamps. In 1964 Lotus developed a lightweight racing version of the Elan, dubbed Type 26R. Only 43 were built through 1966. Then in late 1965 the S3 (Series 3) Fixed Head Coupe (FHC) was introduced followed in early 1966 by the S3 DHC (Drop Head Coupe). The US cars lost the Weber carburetors replaced by Strombergs. More creature comforts were added, full window frames for improved weather sealing, electric windows and head restraints. By mid 1966 the S3 S/E (Special Equipment) was launched with a bit more horsepower and knock-on wheels. In 1967 Chapman's family was growing and the answer as a stretched version of the Elan, the Elan 2, with 2 2 seating. 1968 brought the introduction of the S4 with low-profile tires, servo-assisted brakes, flared wheel arches, new rocker switchgear and Stromberg carburetors replacing the Webers. And in 1971 the most powerful Elan was launched as the Sprint version.