A lot of road cars have either been totally rebuilt or even reshelled (often using a non Lotus body) in their time, hence the question of genuine originality can be a difficult one. In general, a car that has been rebuilt on a genuine original ‘Lotus’ body, and hence kept its original VIN/engine number, etc. can be considered as genuine. The VIN and chassis plates shows quite clearly whether this is the case, and information supplied to all new members on joining the Club will enable them to check this. There are also other marks on the bodyshell and engine that will verify the chassis number/build details, etc., and again these are explained to new members. If you come across any vehicle that has had its identity numbers changed or removed on either the bodyshell or engine –  proceed with caution!

Cars that have been reshelled using a non-Lotus donor body are more difficult. Some very competent jobs have been undertaken – and some not so competent! There are some cars around where the VIN and chassis plates are clearly not that of a Lotus model, but they do look like a Lotus model, and there are others that do have correct identities, but the conversion has missed some detail of the bodywork mods or other conversion requirements necessary to create a ‘correct’ car. If in doubt you should contact a committee member as some of these cars are already known, and as values continue to rise, the likelihood of this happening could well increase.

This does not necessary mean that an apparently non genuine car is not worth buying, since the question of price also enters the equation, the important thing is that you actually know what you are buying, and the price takes this into account.

Ex-Works rally cars of course may well have been rebuilt/reshelled several times at the factory without losing any originality.