The endangered tag is certainly a UK and European perspective, Gary.
I don?t think that it?s just about the racing rules, although that has certainly killed a lot of barn-find and even good original cars over the past 15 years or so. Even the chassis plate with a logbook can change hands for upwards of ?3k to ?legitimise? a 26r replica.
But there is certainly another factor that make the S2 quite rare over here, and the S1 a very rare sight, and that is the lack of interest from enthusiasts, including Elan folks, in the 70s and 80s in the UK. When I started to look at Elans with a view to buy one in the mid 70s, I was only interested in a S3, S4 or Sprint. I wanted electric windows, and a hood that I didn?t have to construct, and carpets, and by then, the only S1 / S2 cars I saw were in an appalling state, being 10 ? 13 years old. I remember seeing quite a few in scrapyards or abandoned in farms, having been in a minor collision or the chassis having rotted through.
Elans weren?t classic cars then, they were just sports cars, and I, like most young lads, wanted the latest and sharpest one my ?400 would buy. The less old-fashioned it seemed, the more I wanted it. There were many Elan owners in Club Lotus then, but I don?t remember seeing a single Type 26 coming along to the meetings. They just didn?t figure in the running.
Then in the 1980s, ?1 = $1, and a lot of Elans got shipped out to the USA, Japan and Australia, and it seems, a lot of those were S1 and S2 cars in need of a more appreciative market.
So in the UK at least, the rarity of the Type 26 is a situation we?ve brought upon ourselves. As the article points out, it?s now mainly the conversion of the road cars to racers that continues to deplete the meagre stock. That activity will undoubtedly push the prices of correctly restored road cars up, which may be a mixed blessing. On one hand, the value of the end result will probably justify the restoration costs?with a couple of hundred hours of graft put in un-costed by the owner. But then it places the car in a price range that many enthusiasts can?t justify, so could just become another an old boy?s toy / museum piece.
I think that the market for the Type 26 is much healthier in the US. Maybe we need to ship some of your unloved late S2 right hookers back over here!
Mark