What’s amazing to me is how a car with a badge like Lotus can fall down the slippery slope of deferred maintenance and accident damage to become a rather dirt-cheap project. It joins the ranks of Porsche 928s and Mercedes SL-series convertibles, vehicles that cost a fair amount new but now are hard sells in rough condition. This 1991 Lotus Elan here on eBay is every inch of a project car, but that hasn’t stopped bidders from chucking up some low numbers to see what the reserve might be (or you can hit the BIN for $3,750). The Elan featured an engine sourced from one of my favorite turbocharged hot hatches, the Isuzu Impulse, but handling was entirely engineered by the geniuses at Lotus. Despite being front-wheel drive, the Elan was still considered one of the best handlers of its day; the question now is, have they gotten cheap enough that examples like this deserve rescuing. I’m on the fence with this one – what about you?
1986 Isuzu Impulse Turbo: Dream Project
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted an Isuzu Impulse Turbo. As a fan of MK2 Volkswagens, I saw it as the Scirocco VW should have built, with rear-wheel drive and a turbocharged engine. Factor in the other touches of 80’s period goodness, like the flip-up headlights, clamshell hood and ample Turbo graphics, and you have one of my favorite potential project cars. This 1986 model here on craigslist is available for $2,500 and looks like a great starting point – the automatic is unfortunate, but these cars are hard enough to find in any form that I’d gladly buy it as-is. The interior is in astonishingly good condition for the age, as are the polished OEM wheels. A car I wish I could buy, right now. If any of our readers have experience with these turbocharged hatchbacks, let us know in the comments below.