Car Fule

Silverstone Auctions auction site offers an unprecedented sale: a The Lotus Elan S3 in 1966. The Lotus Elan is a series of sports cars designed by the British brand in the 1960s. These sports cars were produced until 1973. Nowadays, these models are rather sought after by collectors and can sometimes be found at auction for starting prices not exceeding a few tens of thousands of euros.

However, the starting price of the Lotus Elan S3 offered by Silverstone Auctions is much higher than usual. The site estimates that it is between 90,000 and 140,000 euros! Either between double and triple the usual price for such a model. And for good reason, this Elan S3 is very special: it comes from one of the most famous British television series 1960s, The Avengers (Bowler hat and leather boots).

A Lotus Elan from the series Bowler hat and leather boots offered at auction

The Avengers is a famous British spy series from the 1960s, featuring John Steed, a secret agent. He is always accompanied by a female partner, Emma Peele, whose most famous interpreter will always be Diana Rigg. And one of the characteristics of this last character is precisely that she drives a Lotus Elan! Several models followed, Diana Rigg having started with a Elan S2 Cirrus White.

For the fifth season of the series, this last S2 was replaced by an S3. It was sort of a product placement. At that time, the series was becoming very popular overseas, especially in the United States. So, for obvious marketing reasons, Lotus wanted its sports cars to be linked to one of the series the most cult of the time. The model offered here for auction is this same S3.

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This Elan S3 toured the world before being offered at auction

The Lotus Elan S3 left the series after the end of its fifth season. She was actually gifted to Diana Rigg as a gift. Nevertheless, the actress was not not a very good driver. She had also learned to drive only for the needs of the filming. So she gave the car to one of her friends. He then sold it to his sister, who lived in the United States, who resold it to a British museum, the Cars of the Stars Museum.

After the museum closed in 2011, the Lotus Elan S3 continued its journeys and once again landed in the United States, in Florida, after being acquired by a collector. It then returned to British soil in 2013, before being offered at auction this year via Silverstone Auctions ! Quite a journey for this television series car, which has not prevented its successive owners from restoring it well. Moreover, most of its parts are original. A Westminster radio transceiver has even been added to the interior, in reference to The Avengers !