Vintage Tuner Cup Entry; 1963 and Earlier
KC Motorsport Lotus Elan S1 E.P. Special
KC Motorsports is exceedlingly proud to present the Lotus Elan S1 Emma Peel Special. It is, in our opinion is the best British sportscar EVER, and undeniably the purest of the breed. Named for Diana Rigg's "Avengers" character who propelled the car to international fame, this one is a shocker.
Introduced in 1962 as a two-seater drophead, the Lotus Elan S1 took the world of sports motoring by storm. It mated a technologically brilliant 1.6L Lotus-Ford twin-cam 4-cylinder engine to Lotus' innovative and storied steel backbone chassis, and sat wrapped in a stunning fiberglass body which, save for the addition of fixed-head and 2+2 variants, would remain largely unchanged for the entire run of its production, through 1975. It incorporated a 4-wheel independent suspension, disc brakes at all wheels, and as the successor of the beautiful but fragile Elite, went on to see fantastic success both as a road car and a racer. It's even apocryphally said that Mazda reverse-engineered two Elans when designing the Miata.
We wouldn't be surprised if that were true. In the process of building ours, we found the Elan to be one of the most capable platforms we'd ever encountered.
We began with the motor, already fantastic considering the fact that it only had to pull 1500 lbs even before we began to shed weight. We sourced two fresh units; we did an agressive naturally aspirated build on one, and fitted a turbocharger to another. The N/A build provided more even delivery of power across the entire band, but for our race-bred model, we've decided to offer the turbocharged powerplant, which exhales through Cosworth high-flow alloy headers and a custom-fabricated full crosspiped dual exhaust. It crams the bulk of the power and torque right where it's needed on the track - between 4500 RPM and the redline. Torque is delivered at its peak at 4000 revs, and as it slowly begins to trickle off, the power peaks at 5500, urgently hauling the featherlight to a top speed right at 155 mph. The gearbox was thrown out in favor of an even lighter period-correct Cosworth Racing-sourced 5-speed. The suspension didn't need much attention save for a gentle overall stiffening, a moderate drop in ride height, and added front and rear sway bars. We tested two chassis, one which we made swiss cheese out of and fortified with an integral stiffening system and rollcage. The second we tested was the factory Lotus chassis, which proved to be more predictable and easier to drive consistently. Lightweight alloys have replaced steel wherever possible, bringing the car's weight down to an astonishing 581 kg. Considering the motor is now producing 210 bhp, that combines to an astonishing power-to-weight ratio, and a power-to-displacement ratio of 135 horsepower-per-liter. Compare that to a Pagani Zonda C12, which makes a "mere" 77 hp/L!
Driving the car is a JOY. The ride is almost perfectly balanced. Original race-converted Elans showed a slight tendency to understeer, but we've worked ours up to produce the most ideal balance for any sportscar - very mild oversteer. A very gently-set Limited-slip Differential reigns in wheelspin while allowing a VERY slight tail-out tendency that only exhibits itself under hard throttle out of tight corners. The soft suspension settings aren't just to keep the car feeling period-correct, either - it's SO responsive to driver input that it had to be blunted to keep that responsiveness from manifesting itself as nervousness. This also aids in keeping the car more stable at speeds MUCH higher than the chassis was ever intended to handle without the necessity of added downforce. The car IS still very light and as such, some care is required cresting hills at high speed, especially approaching corners.
We packed the car off to Infineon for a trackday for final testing, where we didn't draw many admiring glances in the paddock. Those envious stares were reserved for a super-rare Nissan R390GT1 homologation special. Only the driver of a 427 Cobra quite grasped what our little moster was capable of, which he displayed by a knowing nod on the starting grid. When after two laps the plucky Brit was a full ten seconds ahead of the R390, EVERYONE knew. Now, YOU have the chance to find out.
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The Stats
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210 hp @ 5500 RPM
194 lb.ft. @ 4000 RPM
Weight: 581 KG
In-game WPR: 2.765
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Parts List
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RC Exhaust
Racing Brakes & BBC
Port Polish, Engine Balancing and Racing Chip
FC Transmission, RC Flywheel, Triple Plate Clutch, FC LSD, Carbon Driveshaft
Stage 2 Turbocharger
FC Suspension
S3 Tires
Weight Reduction Stage 3
Oil Change
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The Tune
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BBC: 5/4
Driving Aids:
ASM (o): Zero
ASM (u): Zilch
TCS: Nada
Spring Rates: 4.5/5.0
Ride Height: 100/100
Dampers (Bound): 1/2
Dampers (Rebound): 3/4
Camber: 2.8/1.5
Toe: 0/0
Stabilizers: 1/2
LSD: 15/18/10
Gearing: Use the tranny trick first (set final drive to max, then set autoset to 25, then back to 1)
Leaving the Autoset at 1, set final drive at 3.500. Leave the independent ratios where they are for a top speed right at 155 mph, which is all the car can take without becoming dangerously unstable.
NOTE: The Elan is the prize-car for the Lotus Classics one-make race. For this race, unless you already have the Elan, you'll need the (equally awesome and worth-owning) Europa, which is the prize car for the British Lightweight Race in the European Hall.
Sorry mate ... 74-80 is a tough range of years to find a good car in.
373hp. Maybe not a real muscle car though only being a six...........
