LPW120E - Chassis no 1

[r.agnew]

As my wise old dad used to say, something is only worth what somebody else is willing to pay you for it, even if you think it's worth double. So, they can say LPW is worth ?15K as it is now, but it remains to be seen if they shift it at that price. Someone came all the way from Hong Kong to buy LNK120C,presumably at or near the ?29K asking price, ergo that's what it's worth (even if Nutleys had to wait well over a year for the buyer to come along).

[tower of strength]

I think I'm loosing my marbles!! OEH120F is number 14, one of the press/demonstrators......... I think I should go and hide, theres some pics of it on trevor sparrows site.

[andyelan]

Maybe the Plus 2 should be worth ?45K -?50K. To my mind there little that comes close to matching the style, race pedigree and design purity of the cars this side of an Aston Martin DB. Mabe the original build quality was a little suspect, but I don't think contemporary Ferraris were particularly wonderful in this respect.

Still I've already got one and, as I'm not selling, I don't really care how much the're worth

The real sad thing is, with paint at ?5k, a chassis ?1.5K+, interior ?1.5K?, it make no economic sense at all to do a Plus 2 up even if you're given it for free. Thats why so many are now being broken up and sold for spares.

Still, at least for now there's a plentiful supply of secondhand parts, and in future, when Plus 2 are really rare and hard to find, maybe we who've held on to ours will be the ones having the last laugh

Andy

[Elanintheforest]

Andy, after driving an Elan, you'd think that you were driving a truck if you hopped into a DB5 / DB6. They are truly horrible cars to drive...heavy, rolling and with a gearbox from the dark ages and steering from a dumper truck....my DB Cropmaster tractor illustrates where Aston developed their mechanical background. They do look stunning though!

I totally agree about the Plus 2, and can?t understand why they are valued the way they are. Even some 2 seat Elan owners seem to dismiss them?they obviously haven?t driven one!

Mark

[garyeanderson]

I totally agree about the Plus 2, and can?t understand why they are valued the way they are. Even some 2 seat Elan owners seem to dismiss them?they obviously haven?t driven one!

Mark

Hi Mark

I bought my old Plus 2 for a parts car site unseen. When I went to pick it up it was way to nice a car to part out. I certainly would have made my money back and kept all of the bits I wanted for my Elans but I couldn't bear the thought of ruining a very nice Lotus. My friend Bill stepped in and low balled me into selling. I am glad he bought it as it is nearly back on the road after 18 months of him working on it. Another one saved from the likes of me. Funny how Lotus cars are viewed by some folks (especially those that consider themselves Lotus addicts), years ago it was the Lotus Cortina that were the parts cars and now look at where they have gone...

Gary

[leedsj]

that would be 45k essentially to impress the people on this board (who else will care?)!

I agree they are hugely undervalued, but we've only ourselves to blame. We all agree their value to us is greater than the 7k/8k they go for - yet WE are the people that buy & sell them!

I only recently got my 74 +2S and everyone I see thinks I've won the lottery - as they see it in a similar vein to a classic Ferrari (even half the price of a similar vintage Ferrari would be great!)

So... WE think they are worth more, the general PUBLIC think they are worth more... perhaps we should start selling them for more?

james
(please ignore the slightly dark price-fixing undertones of this post...)

[ppnelan]

...maybe we who've held on to ours will be the ones having the last laugh

Yes

Matthew

[davidj]

There is no doubt that +2's are undervalued. In 67 a + 2 cost ?1923 while a Healey 3000 cost ?1207. (prices from the Motor test in 67). Now a mint 3000 will set you back 25K. (a friend just paid that), while a +2 in "showroom condition" would be lucky to reach 12K.

David

[Elanintheforest]

I don?t think that proves the Plus 2 being undervalued though David. A Zodiac was ?1400, a Silver Shadow was ?7000 and a BMW 2000 over ?2000?each would struggle to reach the same price today! The Rolls was nearly twice the price of a 3 bed house?so that would have to be, um, ?400,000 now to have kept pace?.Wow!

On the other hand a convertible E Type was ?2000, a Coupe ?2100 and a 2+2 E Type ?2300. Their values are now ?60k, ?45k and ?20k respectively for condition 1 cars?depending on what series they are. The market, i.e, we, are very fickle.

I don?t think that the Plus 2 is a sleeper and is suddenly going to race ahead in price or perceived value. More likely, as the standards of the restored cars rises, and the numbers continue to fall, they will come up to the same level as 2 seat Elans.

I must confess that I like the fact that there are so many ?project? Elans and Plus 2s available. It gives a huge spectrum of prices, from ?2k for a basket case to ?20k for a mint Plus 2, and from ?4k to ?30k for a 2 seater. The beauty is that whilst professional restoration costs for the cars is high, the vast majority of the work can be completed by the enthusiast at home without a vast array of facilities. I can restore an Elan of any type to condition 1 for a lot less than ?10k with a lot of time and a bit of hunting at parts fairs and eBay?and so can many others on the forum. I couldn?t do the same with a rusted out Healey or E Type, as I just don?t have the bodywork skills needed to put together a complex monocoque.

So I?m not holding my breath for any dramatic changes.

Mark

[blackandgold]

Wow,

What a barn find It would be interesting to know what the history is after Lotus disposed of it

At least it's still red and the number plate looks the same from the autocar review a check of the engine number would help to prove provenance

This would be a labour of love for someone

[mikealdren]

Shame the engine's siezed, I wonder whether it's original. Perhaps we could finally find out why it was consistently so much faster than production +2s in road tests, It certainly wasn't a standard engine.

Mike

[M.J.S]

I completely agree with the above comments regards the undervaluing of +2's. When I first saw one I fell in love with its dramatic styling and when in recent years I set my heart on owning one, I was pleasantly shocked on how little they cost when compared to many 'rivals'. Why they should be half the price of the 2 seaters is beyond me because they are so much nicer a car.

I work for; and do forgive me, a Nissan dealer, and when I drive a ?31,000 350Z down the road few people give them a glance. When I drive my Lotus Yellow +2 through the town it's fun to watch grown men walk into trees. A Baby Elan would never grab that attention, I can't fit in a Europa and an E-Type or Healey 3000 would be far beyond my tiny pockets!