Cost of a M100 today

[Hector2021]

I reckon that when my 1995 S2 was purchased new it would have been around £24 to £24.5k with the various options it had added to it.
Looking at that price based on inflation and all the other financial black magic it suggests it would be around £46.5k at todays prices.
I know i love my car and i also know its slightly hypothetical since if it was available today it would be a very different car, but who thinks it would have been a better sales success at todays price?

[Tuga2112]

not a chance.
you can buy an EV with that kind of money
a brand new mustang back 6 years ago (when they were still cool) was 40k

at 46k for an elan. i seriously doubth anyone would take one

[MPx]

Disagree Joao. If you want an Emira then realistic new price is now around £80k (not the £60 originally touted) so an Elan for not much more than half price. The barn find ultra low milage 30 year old originals are apparently finding buyers at around £30k. Against that you can get a new MX5 for around £30k so its a bit of a premium but there's not a huge choice of alternative new rag top sports cars at bargain prices...

[TorqueHorse]

Hmm, interesting proposition, Hector. Part of the problem is "who is the competition" which the Elan is needing to beat out, in order to have better sales if available today?
I went back and looked at MSRPs of some potential competitors that were available then in 1990, and are also available now in 2023 (or their closest descendant in the family line, e.g., BMW 325i to Z4) and pulled both adjustment for inflation values and current MSRPs. Note: I'm not a car expert, and I just took what the internet spat back to me, and had to average when there was a range given, so these all have a fudge factor (but at least a consistent fudge factor). Also, I used USA market and dollars.

TodayMSRP.jpg

What surprised me is that for cars that existed back then and still have new models available today, the adjusted for inflation value from that 1990 starting point is still pretty close to their actual MSRP today. So assuming the Elan prices followed the trends of the other manufacturers, then it would be in the $60-70k MSRP range today. This seems to be right where the BMW Z4 is at. Is it doing amazing? I can see it being a double edge sword at that price point. Not bargain enough to fight against MX-5s, but would it be performant or lux/cachet enough to fight against a Porsche or Merc convertible? Is that why the Emira is trying to go a bit more "upmarket" to more directly compete with them?

I guess off topic, but is there a convertible Emira talked about at all? Could there be a baby sibling convertible coming (a la Elan to Esprit) after some healthy Emira sales? That would be the ultimate test to this thought exercise (and I'd love to see it!)

[dunnlor]

I’m looking at the Elan MSRP to be a bit higher. My 1991 Elan (USA) listed for $39,990 ($39,040 plus $350 prep and $600 destination charges).

[TorqueHorse]

Doh! All that and I just took the purchase sticker the OP had given me instead of looking up online. Oh well ;p