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Originally Posted by MNBoxster
Hi,
The M100 (new Elan). Produced jointly by Lotus, GM, and Isuzu when the General owned them both.
It was a hand-made low production two seater. While it never really caught on, it was a pretty nice car. Very reliable and easy to maintain.
Had an initial issue with the CAS (Cam Angle Sensor), but these were corrected on production models and through recall. The only other real issue was that the top tended to leak, not a lot, but annoyingly so, drivers used to drape a towel across their lap because the leak was at the winshield header - known as Wet Thigh Syndrome.
It was a front mid-engine design, transverse DOC in-line turbocharged 1.6L 4 cyl. producing 162BHP and 148 ft.lbs. of torque, with a maximum boost of 9.7PSI or 0.65BAR.
With a Curb Weight of 2,422lbs., the Elan went from 0-60 in 6.2 sec. and a Top Speed of 137 MPH (220KPH).
Lotus produced 3,855 M100 Elans in total with only 539 being imported to the US (117 of these in California Spec). Later, Bugatti bought the rights to the design, after purchasing a Lotus Factory wharehouse and finding 1,200 Isuzu 1.6L Crate engines inside. They produced another 1,100 Gen II M100s, though none of these were imported to the US.
I actually looked for one instead of the Boxster, but it sold out from under me and so I went ahead with the Porsche. To me, they were same-same with the M100 having a slight edge because it handles much better than the Boxster, lighter, more nimble...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99
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