Hey- neat change of thread title... how do you do that?
I find it hard to believe that the "red car photo" is actually a Lotus shot- presumably they had an apprentice working on stripe-sticking that week! The shot I always use for reference is the double-page colour picture in Chris Harvey's "Lotus: the Elite, Elan, Europa" (sic). this is a Lagoon Blue over White studio shot.
Here are two more variations on a theme. Both wrong. Let's not even get into ride-heights.
http://www.uksportscars.com/view/lotus-elan-s4-dhc-rebuilt-on-spyder-chassis-engine-rebuilt-800-miles-ago-1970/http://www.uksportscars.com/view/lotus-elan-sprint-dhc-with-zetec-engine-5-speed-gearbox-model-year-1972/This outfit have been advertising a low mileage S3 in the rags for a while but the photo shows an S4. They seem to have corrected it on their website. They also advertise on Pistonheads under the name of Clug, no mention of being a trader; allegedly.
Edit: forgot to mention the dreadful stripes which feature on the cover and through Ian Ward's "Lotus Elan Coupe, convertible; Plus2" (sic) book. this shows a Yellow over White car with solid gold stripe running downwards from the front bumper to the rear bumper.