Korean automaker Kia wasn’t precisely recognized for constructing high quality fascinating automobiles within the Nineteen Nineties, when it was principally cranking out economically sound automobiles just like the Mazda-based Sephia and Sportage. These have been a step up from the Kia-built Ford Festiva and Aspire, however barely. The model was looking out for brand new methods to ship a status halo mannequin to carry visitors into sellers, and when Lotus ended manufacturing of the M100 Elan in 1995, it discovered what it was searching for. Kia bought the tooling and manufacturing rights from a cash-strapped Lotus and created the Kia Elan/Vigato.
Lotus, half a decade earlier, was seeking to recreate the compact and light-weight magic of the unique Elan. In 1989, it launched the front-wheel drive compact, that includes a fiberglass physique over a inflexible metal spine chassis. Most of them have been powered by turbocharged Isuzu 1.6-liter 4XE1-MT engines, although a naturally-aspirated model was accessible initially. It would have been an absolute banger for the Brit model, if it didn’t get instantly upstaged by a automotive a lot nearer to the unique Elan ethos, the far cheaper Mazda MX-5. After 5 years, Lotus had offered simply 4,655 examples of the Elan, and shuttered the undertaking.
For its half, Kia grabbed the cast-off Lotus from the dumpster bin and started working making the automotive its personal. The Alpine GTA-cribbed taillights have been forged off for recent bubbly models designed by Kia. This is just about the one method to establish a Kia Elan from the surface, however in case you pop the hood, you’ll see an enormous distinction. The Isuzu motor is gone, changed by a Kia-built T8D Hi-Sprint 151-horsepower naturally-aspirated engine, which is kind of a built-under-license model of Mazda’s venerable BP engine. So it’s even nearer to a front-wheel drive MX-5 than Kia had constructed!
From 1996 to 1999 Kia produced simply over 1000 examples of the ex-Lotus. It was offered solely to the Korean and Japanese markets, because the Kia Elan and Kia Vigato, respectively.
This specific automotive is offered for public sale over on Hemmings. The vendor, who lives in Canada, imported a Vigato from Japan, inexplicably a left-hand drive instance. Unfortunately, someplace alongside the road a coward who was ashamed of driving a Kia-badged sports activities automotive changed the entire authentic chrome ovals with stick-on Lotus badges. Also gone are the Hi-Sprint badges from the valve cowl. If I have been the customer of this automotive, I’d get these Kia badges again on the automotive tout de suite.
I’ve check pushed an M100 Elan, and sadly my American-sized midsection and 6’2″ peak preclude me from comfortably wheeling it. My knees have been only a smidge too near the sprint to be comfy mashing pedals. Maybe with a thinner and decrease seat, a taller individual might match. Sadly, I used to be way more comfy in my previous MG Midget than in one in all these. I received’t be bidding in opposition to you. If you’re a little bit shorter and a little bit trimmer than me, it is best to go seize this one proper now. It’s in Canada, however it’s sufficiently old to import to the U.S. I’d enterprise it’ll be much more enjoyable with the Kia engine than it was with the one Lotus shoved in there.
Source: jalopnik.com