Paint Colour Codes

Below are the standard Elan colours available when new.

Buyer Beware: The colours below are the standard Elan colours when the car left the factory. If a car's been resprayed with a different colour, it may have been involved in a crash or had serious damage in its history. Tread carefully when buying any car that has been resprayed.

Often, the paint colour code for your Elan can be found on the VIN plate located in the engine bay, although it seems that not all cars have the colour code present.

S2 under-bonnet labels

‘A’ prefix paint codes are used for cars finished in ICI 2K two pack acrylic polyurethane paint introduced around 1977.
‘B’ codes indicate DuPont basecoat/clear acrylic enamel paint introduced during 1991, with water based paints being phased in during 1997.

The paint code number is often stamped in the lower left corner of the vehicle identification plate fixed to the wheelarch in the front engine compartment, if your car does not have this code present, Lotus Customer Service (01953 6080000) will be able to tell you the colour code if you quote your VIN in full.

These words of wisdom were proffered by SyV on LEC on 31 March 2005 about a NMY car:

It's Norfolk Mustard and the paint code is...

The paint code is stamped in the lower left corner of the VIN plate on earlier cars, and is printed on the VIN plate of later cars, located either beside the bonnet striker plate or in the left-hand front wheelarch. An "option code" may also be included. The paint code identifies the type and colour of paint used in manufacture, and should be referred to before commencing any paint repairs.

Pre-June 1991, all cars were painted using ICI 2-pack acrylic polyurethane materials, including a P240 (mono) or P421 (metallic) hardened colour coat. On top of all this, a clear coat of laquer is sprayed on, followed by flattening and polishing.

From June 1991 (VIN: M 8080,8082,8083,8086,8091,8100,8103 to 8107 and 8110 onwards), all cars use a Du-Pont basecoat and clear acrylic enamel paint system.

'A' prefixed paint code = ICI paint

'B' prefixed paint code = Du-Pont paint...ICI

A64 IAOB

ICI part P420WD55

Lotus Part A100B6192V

Du-Pont

B05 IAOB

Du-Pont part ABN9144

Lotus Part A100B6237V

ICI Colours

Lotus Code	Option Code	Name	ICI's Code	Lotus part #
A21	IAAB	Monaco White	P4207517	A089B6149V
A23	IABB	Calypso Red	P420GJ23	A089B6150V
A45	IADB	Silver Frost	P4217805	A082B6087V
A59	IAJB	Steel Blue	P4218118M	A082B6116V
A64	IAOB	Norfolk Mustard	P420WD55	A082B6192V
A65	IAEB	British Racing Green	P420GE51	A089B6197V
A68	IANB	Pacific Blue	P4217750	A089B6196V

Du-Pont Colours

Lotus Code	Option Code	Name	Dupont's Code	Lotus Part #
B01	IAAB	Monaco White	ABN9149	A100B6240V
B02	IACB	Black	AB47600	A100B6240V
B03	IABB	Calypso Red	ABK9197	A100B6239V
B04	IAEB	British Racing Green	ABK9349	A100B6238V
B05	IAOB	Norfolk Mustard	ABN9561	A100B6237V
B06	IAQB	Aqua Blue	ABK9253	A100B6255V
B07	IARB	Silk Red	ABL9683	B100B6254V
B08	IANB	Pacific Blue	ABN9144	A100V6234V
B09	IADB	Silver Frost	ABL9056	A100B6235V
B10	IAJB	Steel Blue	ABN9148	A100B6236V
B13		Metallic Black	ABN8113	A082B6313F
B16		Empire Green Metallic	ABW9320	A082B6299F
B18		Medina Green Metallic	N9888	A082B6301F
B19		Palacio Purple	3E321	A082B6302F
B20		Azure Blue	L9890	A082B6303F
B21		Lotus Racing Green Metallic	L9051	A082B6304F
B42		Midnight Blue	L8632	A082B6335F
B45		Cranberry Red	N9571
B48		Mauritius Blue Metallic	H9322
B51		Pearl White Metallic	ABN9150
B52		Magenta Metallic	H9883
???		Royal Blue

Other Colours

Description
Ultimatt's Mazda RX8 metallic red
Stevo's Lamborghini Arancia Atlas Pearl Orange
Kier's Pistachio Lime Green (Lotus code L13)
eBay wreck's British Leyland Harvest Gold?