Today I think cars like Jonny’s are what is wanted, absolutely immaculate and probably (certainly) better than when it left the factory. That’s where any money is today, it has to be a good colour as well. Good depends on your view but usually means bright…or the other big contender being a top quality conversion.
IF the S1 ever becomes a true classic for the collector rather than the Lotus fan it will then become originality that is king, even if the car is a bit tatty. Most s1s have done quite a bit of track duty in there early life and will shown some scars but they need to be left showing.
The S1 has to get collector appeal beyond Lotus fans before it becomes a true classic, I am not convinced it has done that yet. Maybe it will. The reason why CSLs, 993 and the like have gone nuts is they have mass appeal. Even Subarus have that big appeal, is the Exige just too niche? That’s why the silver S1 may take a long time to sell, it’s probably not overpriced but the market of buyers is tiny.
Of course, I would be happy to see s1 prices rocket.
I totally agree with you Keith that the future value of the Exige S1 will depend a lot of the originality of the car. Those buyers primarily interested in a good track performance will move on to other cars as soon the prices reaches a certain level. This could be the case right now with the current price level of 30k to 35k.
We will see if the collectors are getting interested in the Exige S1. If so the prices wil rise quickly but I’m really not sure if it will happen.
Concerning the colour of the car I get the impression that it has big effect or of how quickly a car is sold. There seems to be lots of new aluminium/silver cars around but I haven’t seen an yellow or orange one for sale recently.
Can anyone tell how much impact the colour has on the value? How much is the premium for bright coloured cars?
I felt just like you until I had a drive shaft failure at Donington with smoke and fire. With great luck, and a speedy trip across the grass to the marshal, no damage at all was done. It then got me concerned about the difficulty of getting spares and how much it could have cost to fix and made me cautious of enthusiastic usage.
My insurance gets cheaper, must be age, and I have never worried too much about theft as there are so few it would be hard to sell on in the uk and I just don’t feel they have that mass appeal. To be honest, I always think they will be niche, just because they are hard to get in and out of, smell, twitch and require brain effort to drive. I’ve told my my son he can have mine one day, he does not want it, needs an m3 or a Porsche that shows they are niche if a 15 year old petrol head does not want it.
This is what we need to drive the market, speculative sellers. I know value isn’t everything to all of you but I’d rather they be going up instead of down!
I hope the upgrades get you near to what you want for it, as the mileage may hold it back. You only need one buyer, good luck!!
Will be a sad day for me if anything close to these recent asking prices is achieved. Been after an S1 keeper for a while now, but it’s looking like my £30k budget just won’t be enough. Might even have to consider selling my plate that I got in anticipation ‘111 EXG’
Shame to see your car for sale Kurt, especially such a cherished example.
Price looks about right considering other one and the way the market is moving.
Wish you all the best with the sale, if it doesn’t happen though you still win in keeping the car
that shows they are niche if a 15 year old petrol head does not want it.
I’m so tempted to email and ask what she got for it 
- that’s but 2.5k miles per annum! - S1 Exiges its how they have been maintained and the number of owners that matters 
