Description
This is a 2002 S2 Lotus Elise 111S finished in the exceptionally rare Electric Green — a colour so bold it was deemed “too loud” for series production, making this one of only two believed to exist in this colour combination. Paired with a striking red/ black leather interior, this is not a car you’ll find twice.
The history of this car is genuinely remarkable. It began life as a Lotus factory engineering development car, owned by Lotus themselves for the first four years and covering 20, 000 miles as a development vehicle. This means every common 111S issue was identified and resolved before it ever reached a private owner — the car left the factory already sorted in ways that standard examples simply weren’t. This has been verified through direct contact with the Lotus Archive department.
The second private owner ran his own engineering firm and kept the car for eight years, covering just 8, 000 miles during that time. Despite the low mileage, he serviced it meticulously — both personally and through Brooke Kensington, one of the most respected Lotus specialists in the country. In March 2014, it received a full ‘C’ service and cambelt change at Brooke Kensington, whose technicians commented it was one of the finest 111S examples they had inspected, with several unsolicited purchase offers made while it was on their premises.
Mechanically, the car’s record speaks for itself. It has never failed an MOT in its entire life, with the only advisory ever recorded being a tyre approaching its legal limit back in 2007. The blower resistor and motor have been replaced, a new alternator was fitted in March 2014, and most recently in March 2026 the car has received a full service including a fresh cam belt — so it goes to its next owner with this critical maintenance freshly completed and no immediate work required.
The front clamshell was freshly painted in September 2015 and the car has been used exclusively as a weekend second car since then, meaning it has been kept well away from daily commuting, winter roads, and the stone chip damage that comes with regular use. The result is a car in genuinely immaculate condition throughout.
In terms of transparency, there is one cosmetic point to note honestly: the driver’s door has some paint blistering and a crack that has developed during the current ownership. This has been factored into the asking price to give the next buyer room to address this should they wish to have it professionally remedied. Everything else about the car presents beautifully.
The car carries the private registration S2 YEH — entirely appropriate and rather pleasing for an S2 Elise. It was featured on CarThrottle’s YouTube channel and received 65, 000 views, testament to just how special and eye-catching this particular example is. Viewing is available evenings and weekends. Serious enquiries only — no time wasters please. This car deserves to go to a proper enthusiast. Start with how it looks. Electric Green on a Lotus Elise is not just a colour — it’s a statement. This shade was developed internally at Lotus and never made it to the production options list because the engineers decided it was simply too intense, too vivid, too alive. Only two S2 Elises are believed to wear it. Combine that with the red and black leather interior and what you have is a car that turns heads without even trying. It was featured on CarThrottle’s YouTube channel and racked up 265k views from Lotus fans around the world who couldn’t get enough of it. Wherever it goes, it attracts attention and conversation — not the anonymous kind of attention a common colour gets, but genuine, enthusiastic, knowledgeable appreciation from people who understand exactly what they’re looking at.
Then there’s how it drives. Thanks to the Hurricane Induction Kit, Larini Club Sports Exhaust System, and the Larini Race decat pipe, this car sounds absolutely extraordinary. It pops, bangs, and roars in a way that makes every journey feel like an event. The exhaust note is genuinely something special — visceral, mechanical, and deeply satisfying in a way that modern performance cars with their artificially amplified sounds through speakers simply cannot replicate. The original catalytic converter is included in the sale should you ever need to return it to standard, but frankly, once you’ve heard it without it, you won’t want to. The Exige LED rear lights complete the upgraded look perfectly, giving it a more aggressive, purposeful appearance from behind.
Crucially, this car doesn’t just sound sorted — it is sorted. Because it started life as a Lotus development car, the factory engineering team worked through every known 111S issue before it was ever sold. This is not a car that’s had problems gradually discovered and fixed by worried owners over the years — it was comprehensively addressed at source, by the people who built it. The result is an interior with zero rattles, which anyone who has spent time in multiple Elises will tell you is genuinely rare. It drives beautifully, with the purity and confidence that comes from a car that has been properly cared for throughout its life.
The service history backs this up completely. Never failed an MOT. One advisory in its entire life. A full service and fresh timing belt in March 2026 means you’re buying a car with all the important maintenance done and a clean bill of health heading into the driving season. You can collect it and simply enjoy it — no list of jobs to work through, no nagging doubts about what might have been missed.
The cosmetic honesty of this listing matters too. The door blistering and crack are real, they’re noted, and they’re reflected in the price. What that means for you as a buyer is straightforward: you’re getting a genuinely exceptional, rare, well-documented, freshly serviced Lotus Elise at a price that gives you room to have that door sorted professionally and still feel you’ve bought well. Once it’s done, you’ll have one of the finest S2 111S examples in existence, presented perfectly, with a story that makes it genuinely collectible.
This is the kind of Elise that people regret selling and spend years trying to find again. Don’t be the person who hesitates and watches someone else drive it away.
