David Lillywhite tries the latest Zetec-engined Elan demonstrator from Spyder Engineering.

It's been three years since the prototype Spyder Engineering Elan Plus 2 was built, and plenty of customers have since bought either fully-built examples or kits to construct their own. But if you  haven't heard about it before, here's the concept... Spyder, a Cambridgeshire engineering company with a 30-year history of producing replacement Lotus chassis, recognised the low market value of tired Elan Plus 2s compared with the cost of reconditioning the original twin-cam engines and other items in the drivetrain. They found that the current Ford Zetec engine and a Ford five-speed gearbox would slot into their replacement chassis with only minor modifications, and rounded off the package with modern suspension and brakes.

Hey presto, an Elan built for less than the cost of a typical restoration, with perfect reliability, superb dynamics and a 180bhp engine. It's been a raging success, understandably, and Spyder are now converting two-seater Elans too, while recommending that customers budget around £10,000 for a DIY conversion. That's the story in a nutshell.

Not surprisingly, though, Spyder have refined the concept lately, and were keen to show off their latest demonstrator to the people who really matter - club Lotus members - before anyone else. Having written the first ever road test of the prototype back in the summer of 2001, the first test of the original demonstrator a year later and spent many happy days helping to bolt together a full conversion through the winter of 2003, i was keen to see how the model has progressed. 

This new demonstrator is arguably the best looking yet, perfect in metallic mid-blue. Like most of these cars, it started from a restoration project Plus 2. These typically sell for between £1000 and £2500, depending on condition, and Spyder have found that such project cars are invariably suffering from rotten chassis and tired engines, but that their bodies are usually sound, save for a few cracks in the gelcoat. If you're buying one, the most important thing to look for is accident damage and repair by feeling around the inside of the wheel arch lips. You should also check for stress damage around the hinges and panel edges too. It takes a lot of work to graft in a new body section properly and many cars were badly bodged during the late-1970s when their values had plummeted.

Anyway, Spyder will often source a donor car for their customers and they know exactly what to look for. Once sourced, they sell off the original engine, gearbox, differential, suspension and wheels, usually for up to £1500. It doesn't take a genius to work out that this can pay off a large proportion of the donor car purchase price, although the original running gear will fit into the Spyder chassis in case you want to keep the the parts for a return to original specification if necessary.

Front suspension is by modern coilover damper units, with twin wishbones, very similar to the original Lotus system but stronger and adjustable for damping and ride height. The rear suspension receives new upper wishbones to take the strain off the rear struts, Ford Sierra hubs, discs and callipers finish off each corner.(Bear in mind, though, that you can still stick with original suspension and brakes if you wish.)  Gradually a nearly-new car emerges.  this is the process that the car you see here has been through;  I was lucky enough to have it for a week to assess it.  I remember the first time I drove one of these conversions, thinking how much it sounded like an original Elan, and the new demonstrator is no different.  The Mondeo-sourced 2-litre engine runs on throttle body fuel injection rather than the original Ford set-up (which is near-impossible to transplant into another car), and it gargles and bellows just like the side draught carburettors of an original..  The exhaust is just as raspy as the original's too, but noise levels overall in the new demonstrator are lower than in an unmodified Plus 2 or even earlier versions of the Spyder conversion, because this new demonstrator is packed with extra soundproofing and a revised exhaust.  What's really stunning, though, is the performance.  The engine is revvy and responsive, and pulls cleanly right through to 700rpm, by which point it's producing a whopping 175bhp (consider that even the Big Valve version of the Plus 2 would have topped out at 130bhp).  It allows you to whip through the gears, making the exhaust sing and howl and occasionally even pop satisfyingly on the overrun, feeling every inch the 1960s performance car.

It feels easily as fast as, say, an Elise, and figures prove that to be case - a 0-60 time of under six seconds is possible and top speed is a creditable 135mph, only limited by the 30-year-old aerodynamics.  And while we're talking figures, how about a fuel consumption of up to 40 mpg, compared with an original's 25-30mpg?.  Or you can accelerate more gently, using the torque (147lb ft peak at 5300rpm) to pull you along without the madcap soundtrack.  Once at a comfortable cruising speed you ease off, the exhaust settles into a gentle hum, the intake noise disappears and along you go at, say, 80-mph with the only aural annoyance being a touch of whistling from around the quarter windows.  It's not modern car quiet but it's not the usual painful thrash as 2004 cruising speeds battle with 1960s under gearing.

Then, when the family saloon inevitably misjudges the speed of this 'old' car and pulls out on you, on go the brakes and the Spyder Elan hauls up like it's dropped an anchor out of the boot.  No fuss, no drama, just strong, even braking performance time and time again, without a hint of fade.

The handling's just as impressive, with acceptably light steering at low speeds that weighs up nicely through the bends.  The old Triumph steering rack is replaced by Spyder as part of the conversion with a modern Rover item, and there's not a hint of play anywhere in the system.  What you do feel (in addition to an occasionally annoying lack of steering lock) is the steering wheel wriggling and fidgeting in your hands over bumpy surfaces, as everything that's happening at ground level is communicated back to your hands.  It's disconcerting at first, although not as extreme as the same effect in a Porsche 911 for example, but once you learn to allow the wheel to move in your hands a little, you realise that it's a positive example to receive such positive feedback.

During my week with Spyder Elan I used it to commute, I took on the school run, drove to a meeting at the other end of the country and blasted around the local lanes for the sheer hell of it. I drove it in harsh sunlight (every now and again) and (mostly) pouring rain.  At the end of day one, I loved it.  At the end of the week, I still loved it and was taking the car out at every opportunity without any fear of it wasting fuel, breaking down or overheating.  That's the sort of classic motoring that's hard to come by. 

David Lillywhite is managing editor of Octane magazine, www.octane-magazine.com     

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