Lotus does not build many cars like the Lotus Excel: a 2-door 2+2 coupe with 2.2 , built from 1982 to 1992 in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management. Its designer of record is Oliver Winterbottom.
Where it came from
The Lotus Excel (Type 89) is a sports car designed and built by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars from 1982 to 1992. It is based on the design of the earlier Lotus Éclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Type 75 Elite.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 2.2 . Kerb weight is 1168 kg. The gearbox is a 5-speed Toyota W transmission#W58 / Toyota W58 Manual transmission / manual / 4-speed ZF Friedrichshafen / ZF Automatic transmission / automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2483 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Lotus's history is not in doubt: the Lotus Éclat came before it; it was built at Hethel, Norfolk, United Kingdom. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Nissan Micra, the Opel Corsa, the Porsche 944. Nearby in the Lotus catalogue sit the Lotus 100T and the Lotus 101.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Lotus Excel has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.