1991 Lotus Elan M100 Specifications

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The following information is for the 1991 Lotus Elan M100

The Lotus Elan, known as the M100 amongst Lotus enthusiast to differentiate it from the early Elans, was built to "Allow 100 per cent of its owners to use 90 per cent of its performance 90 per cent of the time." Introduced in 1989, the Elan was the first all-new Lotus since 1975.
The Elan was intended to please drivers moving up from a "hot hatch". It was instantly derided by the motoring press for lacking the tail-out handling of traditional sports cars. Sadly, it was the right car at the wrong time.
Every Elan built lost Lotus, owned by GM at the time, money. When the car was introduced to the US in ’91, it cost the same as a Porsche 911. Only 3,000 were sold world wide before a stop was put to production in ’92.
Even then the Elan didn’t die there. Lotus revived it as the Elan S2 in ’94 with a limited run of 800 to use up remaining engines that had been bought from Isuzu. These sold instantly. There’s also a Kia version of the car that was sold in the far East until Purchase of KIA by Hundi sometime in the summer of 1999.
Click here to see more pictures of the Elan Engine
Sales Brochure complements of GGLC - lots of good info, but conflicting specs.

Acceleration and Handling
Maximum Speed	137 mph / 220 kph
0-60 mph	6.7 sec
Standing 1/4 mile	15.4 seconds
Double-lane change	xx mph
Slalom	xx mph
Road-Holding	.89g
Brakes
60-0 mph cold	142 ft.
60-0 mph warm	142 ft.
60-0 mph hot	142 ft.
Interior Noise
Idle	xx dba
60 mph	xx dba
0-60 mph	xx dba
EPA Milage (City/Highway)
City	26.2 mpg
Highway	42.2mpg @ 56mph/31.8 mpg @ 75mph
Range in Miles (City/Highway)
Manual	372/446.4 miles
Automatic	297.6/384.4 miles
Other Info
Drag Coefficient	0.34(top up) / 0.38(top down) The Elan generates 20 lbs of lift in front and 44 lb of lift at the rear at 120 mph.
Wheel Base	88.6 in.
Interior Volume	89.4 Cubic Feet
Car Gross Weight	2249 lbs.
Factory Colors	Black, Bright Red, Flash Yellow, Silver Metallic, White
Fuel Tank Capacity	12.3 gal.

Engine
1.6 liter 4XE1-T 1588cc (98 cu.in.) DOHC 16 Valve(hydraulic lifters) Water-cooled turbocharger with air-to-air intercooler
Bore x Stroke	3.15 in x 3.11 in / 80.0 mm x 79.0 mm
Power	162hp@6,600rpm
Torque	148lb.@4,200rpm
Compression Ratio	8.5:1
Driveline
Gear Ratios	First 3.333:1 Second 1.916:1 Third 1.333:1 Fourth 1.027:1 Fifth 0.829:1 Reverse 3.583
Final Drive Ratio	3.833:1
Chassis
Front Brakes	10"/256mm diameter Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes	9.3"/236mm diameter Solid Disc; Mechnical Parking Brake
Steering Gear	Rack-and-Pinion
Rear Suspension	A wide based lower wishbone and upper lateral arm, concentric coil spring over shock absorber and solid anti-roll bar.
Front Suspension	A coil spring over shock that is mounted to the lower wishbone. The driveshaft passes through an opening in the bottom of the shock assembly. An anti-roll bar is also mounted to the lower wishbone.
Wheels/Tires	7.00Jx16, O.Z. Cast Aluminum Alloy/Goodyear GS-D 205/45ZR16
Turning Circle	32.2
Dimensions
Exterior
Length	152.4 in.
Width	68.3 in.
Height	48.4 in.
Interior
Gauges	The instruments are all anolog. A black background is used with red graphics and pointers. The speedo reads to 170 mph, the engine rev counter to 8000 rpm. These gauges on the main panel are supplemented by fuel level and water temperature. To the right of the main panel are separate gauges for system voltage, engine oil pressure and turbo boost. Also on the main central panel is a digital clock.
Front Head Room	xx in.
Front Hip Room	xx in.
Front Shoulder Room	xx in.
Front Leg Room	xx in.
Luggage Capacity	6.5 cu. ft.
Maximum Seating	2

The Lotus Logos

	Since the creation of Lotus in 1948, the Lotus logo adopts a form very familiar to the designer: -a curved English triangle, green in bottom, the name "LOTUS" and in its center, the 4 initials of the founder "ACBC" (for Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman). Letters and contours are gray-aluminium in color. -Placed in a circle of straw-yellow on the bottom, ringed with a fine gray edged aluminium. On certain racing racing cars, the logo is simply molten copper, some without color. The character font used then (sans serif) is changed later on for a finer police force (near to Times). The year of this change is unknown (If you know, contact me).
	In 1968, the colors yellow and green are replaced with black. Black badges were used on Elan S4 models before Jim Clark's untimely death. It seems as if the change to black was done as a cost savings rather than as many people think, a tribute to Jim. In 1971, the limited series "JPS" for the Europa Spécial takes takes on the black color of the team, but the letters and rings became an alternate color. In 1978, the limited series of the Spirit commemoratives takes on the black logo and gold for the same reasons. The black logo appeared for the last time on all the cars produced in 1983, following the death of Chapman.
	In 1986, the logo for Lotus changed significanty: the years which followed the death of Chapman were difficult, General Motors took the control of Group Lotus Plc. and wanted to usher the company into a new era, and quickly decided to equip the cars with a new stylized logo, completely different from the preceding logo. The cars were equipped with it to 1986.
	This change caused an outcry among purists and amateurs, not because they are particularly attached to the old logo, but because the initial one represented the founder of the company, and was seen as a removal of Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.
	A lot of anger surounded this issue for about a year, then in 1989, Lotus returned to its historical logo, slightly redesigned the color tones and form: the straw yellow changed to a "orange norfolk mustard" yellow, and the green is darker.