I’m potentially interested in this car on Pistonheads. Registered as a Motorsport Elise on a genuine chassis with genuine body etc etc. Suspension and brakes are standard Exige.
That’s not a MS body, it’s a standard Exige body, and I see no roll cage either.
It could not have been born with central driving so I would suspect it started as an Elise and painfully brought up to std Exige spec.
You’d have to wonder why was it re-chassised then?
I do have more pics that show the full cage - ie bars down either side of the front screen that travel through the dash etc.
Also got the following extra info from the seller:
The car is registered as a Lotus motorsport Elise. Date of first registration is 1st August 2003 but the plate is a V as this denotes the year of build of the chassis (SCCGA111YHE30398). I have a certificate from the Lotus factory confirming that this is a real Motorsport Elise chassis. The car was built by South West Lotus ( 01566 784152) in 2003.
I imagine it might be worth a call to South West Lotus…
nearly went to look at itwheni was looking but the guy wasnt around to let me view
thank god
What are the obvious visual differences between an Exige body and Motorsport?
Also, looking at a �17k price
I’ve heard of this one before. AFAIK its a collection of all new components left after all the road Exiges were built & sold.
Didn’t the proper ms elise have 240bhp in race trim?
The price seems to reflect an Elise passing for the real thing
Tim.
My question(s) to the owner:
Did this car start off as something else (Elise) and get converted or was it genuinely a start from scratch build?
Are you sure the body is a Motorsport body � looks like standard Exige looking at the pics
His answers:
No problem.
The car started life as a genuine Motorsport Elise chassis (certificate from Lotus factory chassis VIN SCCGA111YHE30398) and was built as a two seater using genuine Lotus Motorsport parts so it looks more like an Exige.
Yes the body is a genuine Motorsport Elise body.
If any of his info is wrong then he must have been mis-informed by SW Lotus. From what I can gather, I tend to agree with it being built from left over parts.
It’s for sale at �18,950 but a haggle or two later…
Mr B
This car has been discussed here in the past (IIRC 12-18 months ago when SW Lotus were selling it for, I think �22K).
A few of us had seen the car at the Donington show in March 2003 - it’s a “bitsa”, & that’s not a Motorsport body.(NB Not all Motorsport Elises had the central driving position).
Depends what you want it for, bearing in mind you already have an Exige. If it’s for track use in the main, you’d be better off with a cheap S1 Elise & converting to Honda plus Nitrons & better brakes.
Personally, I wouldn’t pay more than �15K for it, but that’s easy for me to say
Why not buy Blown-K for 14K and stick a honda in it and change those rediculous wheels
thats definately not a MS elise the front and rear clams are the same as the exige, MS Elises had different vents on the front clams and oversills, and it doesn’t have a split rear clam, has MS engine cover thats the only motorsport bit
MS Elises also came with Racing Dynamic Dampers
Azrael might be able to give you more info as he owns one
details below
Make Lotus Description
Model Exige This unique vehicle was built from a bare Motorsport Chassis. Laser Blue. Black/Blue Corbeau Sports Seats, Carbon Fibre and Alloy Trim, 6 Point Harness, VHPD Engine with Quaife Gearbox and LSD, Full Motorsport Rollcage, Yokohama A048R tyres.
Year 2003
Price �22,000
Miles 700
Engine 188 bhp
::::::contact us>
Mmm, interesting - and expensive at �22k, so 1,000 miles later and �17k would, on the surface, look pretty good.
I don’t actually have an Exige at the moment, just an Elise Sport 160 so I’m on the look out. This just looked interesting and my only real concern would be later re-sale if the car is not really recognised as any definitive model.
It’s worth remembering that a chassis is a chassis. The tub on Elises, Exiges and Sport Elises are the same. It’s what was bolted onto them that make them what they are.
Pesky is spot on (as usual!) in that not all Sport Elises were central seat, the ones built purely for GT racing (and there wasn’t many) had to have the usual seating plan (according to the GT rules). It’s all interchangeable anyway with different dash extrusions, column mounting points and a load of holes in the chassis which should be the telltale if it was central seat, as the holes for the gearchange tower should be visible. i think they are just in front of the passenger seat on the interior picture.
The car concerned doesn’t look like it’s got the uprated brakes (would be difficult to be road legal due to the handbrake neccessity), I would also doubt that it therefore has the motorsport rear hubs. It does look to have the full cage fitted (SeanB’s favourite job) and the solid bulkhead.
I dare say that it’s alright, it just contains too many unknowns. I guess it is what it says on the V5?
My personal view is that its a lot of money for a car that isn’t really anything. There are several proper exiges available for simmilar money which will surely have a better residual value (as long as they are OK) than a car that is a bitsa.
I would side with Pesky, 15k top whack
Cheers for all the responses.