Classified Find - Lotus Elan S3 Coupe

The late Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars in 1952, famously said of making the perfect sports-car "simply then add lightness".

This slightly contradictory turn of phrase is what made Lotus cars so appealing and it's a strategy they still employ today. (although their electrified future looks anything but simple or light).

One of the greatest examples of this simple and light sports-car philosophy is the Lotus Elan, first introduced in 1962.

The Elan was a simple steel chassis car with a lightweight fibre-glass body, powered by a small, 1.5 litre, twin-cam engine powering the rear wheels through a four-speed manual gearbox.

This simple and lightweight set-up made for an incredibly nimble and responsive sports-car which enthusiast drivers fell in love with in period and still coveted today.

Gordon Murray, the man behind the legendary McLaren F1 and upcoming T.50 hyper-car has owned several Elan's through his life; and famed motoring journalist Harry Metcalfe has had an Elan in his garage for decades.

The Elan went through several evolution in its 11-year lifespan (we won't include the front-wheel-drive car of the 90s here). We had S1, S2, S3, S4 and Sprint. Each evolution bringing small tweaks and updates to improve on the already excellent original.

Which brings us to today's Classified Find, a Lotus Elan S3 Coupe.

The advert says this Elan was subjected to an intensive rebuild in 1987 where it was updated to S4 Sprint spec. To some purists, this will make it a "non-matching numbers" car, possibly denting the car's value. However this is reflected in the price, which at €27,500 is quite low for an Elan.

That price is all the more astonishing if the claim of an €80k history file that accompanies the car is to be believed.

This Elan wears 83,000 miles on it's odometer, meaning it's been no garage-queen. Taking this and the non-originality into account means the car could be driven enthusiastically, guilt-free.

It's a coupe too, meaning it has increased structural rigidity over the more sought after drop-top which will add to this Elan's already impressive handling.

If you have the means, you really should consider this piece of motoring history.