2017 Lotus Elise 220 Sport

This vehicle comes to us courtesy of a vendor who is very well-known to us here and who has, over many years of enviable classic motoring experience, driven, bought, owned and sold more classic and prestige cars than most of us could reasonably hope to shake a stick at. 

Now and again, he finds himself in the midst of part-exchange deals of the sort where he swaps car ‘A’ in exchange for cars ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’, then sells car ‘C’ to the chap who sold car ‘A’ to the previous vendor, then buys car ‘E’ and finds that car ‘B’ has become surplus to requirements while he has his people at Bicester tinker with car ‘D’.

This scenario applies particularly if car ‘B’ is markedly different from the E Types, Aston Martin DB4GTs, XK150s, etc, in which he normally dabbles, delights and exercises his connoisseurship.

Still with us?

That’s pretty much the story behind this Lotus Elise 220 Sport and its presence at our Oxfordshire HQ. 

First things first - it is a low-mileage example, in exceptional condition, with an exemplary service history.

It’s also an example that comes with the desirable ‘Touring Pack’, which comprises lightweight alloy wheels, air-conditioning, cruise control, a decent stereo, carpets, and additional sound insulation. 

No, it’s not achieving Bentley-levels of smoothness and opulence, but it’s nonetheless rather more cossetting than some of its more Spartan brethren from the Hethel stable.

As if to underline the superior levels of comfort offered by this vehicle, the penultimate owner recently completed a 3,500 kms European tour in the car. 

If you were thinking of trying that in a stripped-out, track-focussed, bare-bones Elise, you’d better consult the latest edition of ‘Which Chiropractor?’ before you set off.

We have driven this car and can attest to its extraordinary dynamic qualities and ability to despatch corners and cambers without flinching.

Being of a certain vintage (and build), your author had to be lightly oiled and then lowered into the bucket seat using a crane and a bosun’s chair.

Once firmly ensconced, however, the car proved very comfortable.

Getting your author out of the car again involved some washing-up liquid, four bystanders and some rather bracing language.

While you don’t need to be Simone Biles to get in and out of this car (or any other Elise) with your dignity intact, we would nonetheless advise laying-off the pies and claret for a while to be on the safe side.

Anyway.

It is properly quick, beautifully balanced and one of those vanishingly rare cars that actually feels sharper, grippier, keener and increasingly responsive to your inputs the more you press on a bit.

A Honda NSX does something similar. So does a Ferrari 458. 

That’s really not bad company to keep.

The car is black, with black leather and Alcantara upholstery (with red stitching and embroidery), and black lightweight alloy wheels. 

It has covered 19,700 miles from new.

The compact, svelte and curvaceous bodywork is a paragon of precise panels, consistent panel gaps and tight shut-lines.  

As far as we can ascertain, it is entirely free of any dinks, dents, creases, ripples, folds or other aberrations.

The black paintwork has held onto its original lustre and shine with commendable tenacity and stubbornness.

The black, alloy wheels seem wholly unacquainted with kerbs or other roadside hazards and are shod in matching Yokohama rubber that would seem to have a good deal of life in it yet.

The lights, lenses, badging and other external fixtures and fittings are all beyond reproach, as far as we can tell, and the lift-out Targa roof is also 

impressively untroubled by either use or the passage of time. 

There are one or two small stone chips on the front valance and the bonnet, but you’ll need to be looking pretty closely to spot them.

What else?

Er, well, there are a couple of small scuffs inside the perimeter of the space for the Targa roof.

And there are some scuffs to the trim between the top of the windscreen and the leading edge of the Targa roof.

And that’s pretty much all we have to offer in terms of the exterior’s deviation from showroom freshness.

We don’t think you’ll be that surprised to learn that the interior is a similarly reassuring and pleasing story of authenticity, irreproachable condition and general excellence.

Despite the ‘Touring Pack’, this car has clearly been trimmed of pretty much all excess fat and there’s really not much to look at or play with in here.

But what is there is all good.

The bucket seats are firm and supportive, as you’d expect, but they’re also surprisingly comfortable, affording the person in the right-hand seat a near perfect driving position and, we imagine, the person in the left-hand seat a more than acceptable amount of comfort on long journeys.

The black Alcantara and leather upholstery is in fine fettle and looks very handsome and stylish in a decidedly macho way.

The red stitching and embroidered logos look as good as new.

The door cards are fine, as are the carpets and the roof lining.

The dashboard, handbrake and gear lever are all in splendid nick.

Ditto the tiny (it feels just right in the hands) steering wheel.

There are a few scuffs atop the (very) wide sills, which were no doubt caused by people still in the process of acquiring the knack of seamless ingress and egress to and from the interior.

There are also one of two marks on the leather dashboard trim by the driver’s door, but these look as if they might capitulate without a fight if threatened with a chamois and some soapy water.

We didn’t tweak every lever, press every knob or flick every switch on the dashboard, but those we did tweak, press and flick did as they were told without delay or complaint. 

The boot, by which we mean the storage space behind the engine, is equally good.

The engine bay is clean, dry and tidy. 

Everything appears to be in its right and proper place.

The car’s undersides are almost completely shrouded in protective trays but everything we can see looks to have oodles of structural integrity. 

Basically, the undersides look like what you’d expect to find on a car that’s yet to reach 20,000 miles and has been kept warm and dry inside when not out for a jolly on a lovely sunny day.

The car comes with bills and invoices attesting to a full and timely service history, most of it provided by Lotus.

It was last serviced in 2022 (4,000 miles ago) by JWorx Classic of Bourton-on-the Water, Gloucestershire. 

We think they were responsible for the ‘Condition Report’ that accompanies the car and which was commissioned by the then prospective purchaser (he bought the car following the report’s findings) sometime in 2022.

As you will see, that document gives the car a glowing report on every conceivable level - inside, outside, underneath, mechanically, dynamically and cosmetically - and it was written recently.

The car comes with an MoT that’s valid until 11.4.24, two sets of keys, a clear HPI report, an owners’ handbook, and various bills and invoices covering work done during the course of its life to date.

There are people who like cars.

And there are people who like driving.

These are not necessarily the same people.

Someone for whom the zenith of motoring ecstasy is ownership of a Jaguar E Type Series 1 ‘flat-floor’ almost certainly isn’t basing that opinion on the amount of pleasure to be had from driving one.

Conversely, someone who goes to bed every night wearing Subaru Impreza 22B pyjamas and dreaming of clipping apexes probably isn’t secretly wishing that his ‘Scooby Doo’ had a more discreet demeanour and some lovely burr walnut picnic tables. 

We think the Lotus Elise 220 Sport is a car that actually appeals equally to committed, petrol-head drivers and people who appreciate the form, beauty and engineering integrity of a work of automotive art.

We also think that you’ll be a very, very long time waiting to find a better low-mileage example than this. 

Our estimate for this car is £25,000 - £35,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.