WHAT IS IT? The Elan was a front drive Lotus at a time when the company was best known for the mid-engined Esprit. It looked good – in an Eighties kind of way – and handled sweetly.

WHEN WAS IT MADE? Launched in 1989 the Elan was on sale until 1994, when poor sales and financial problems forced Lotus to pull the plug prematurely. The tooling and design was then sold to Kia which shipped the lot to Korea and put a badged version of the Elan back on sale.

WHAT MADE IT GREAT? The handling. Most contemporary road testers agreed that the Elan was the sweetest front wheel driver of all time.

WHAT DID OWNERS HATE? Kit car build quality was poor considering the price and the Isuzu engine wasn't the best sounding – or performing - unit. The SE turbo unit had more power but was no faster to 60mph.

IS IT WORTH GETTING ONE? Definitely. Parts are readily available and the looks can still turn heads.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? We found a high miles example for a shade over 3k. Expect to pay twice as much for a minter.