Identify what this car is, for 1 point?
Lotus M90 Elan concept. Used a toyota engine (I found this one by searching 'celica prototype' based on the wheels). :)
Quote from: rickjames8 on July 20, 2011, 12:24:33 PM
Lotus M90 Elan concept. Used a toyota engine (I found this one by searching 'celica prototype' based on the wheels). :)
Yes! I was worried about the wheels, but all the pictures I could find of this car and the convertible had the same wheels, which I couldn't really disguise. C'est la vie!
Here the convertible.
It must have looked far too much like a TVR for Lotus, so they went off and made the ultra-bland and ultimately unsuccessful FWD Elan..
And a front view:
Like the TVR Tasmin, the Elan M90 was designed by Oliver Winterbottom, who was working for Lotus at that time.
Apparently he resigned when his Elan proposals were rejected, to be replaced by Peter Stevens, who of course revamped Giugiaro's original Esprit (quite successfully actually!)
Yeah, I really like AutoPuzzles for that reason. It doesnt just test your recognition skills, but you have to know who worked with who. Toyota and Lotus have shared parts bins for many years, so I should have thought about that sooner, but I'm enjoying the challenge.