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Lotus Elan +2 (Type 50)
Lotus Elan +2 (Type 50)
In order to allow a sporty father to carry his kids in a Lotus, Colin Chapman lengthened the Elan chassis to create a little more place behind the front seats. It still wasn’t a long distance four seater Grand Tourer, but on the other hand the fabulous handling of the normal Elan had not suffered either.
Contrary to the normal Elan, this version was not available in kit form.
The engine was still the standard 1558 Lotus-Ford, giving 118 BHP at 6250 rpm. The S version had more luxury, including foglights. The final “130” version had a more powerful engine, 126 BHP at 6500 rpm this time.
Production lasted from 1969 to 1974 and about 3,300 examples were made, which are now not as much sought after as the 2-seaters and therefore can be obtained at more reasonable prices.
Shown are two examples, one at the Zolder track in 2003, and one at the Silverstone Historics in 2005.
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