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77-462: Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars . The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel drive vehicle. The first range of cars (1962–1975) comprised: After the S2 was released the original Elan 1500 and Elan 1600 models were typically referred to as

154-538: A fibreglass body. This style of construction was to be repeated in subsequent Lotus models for nearly three decades. At approximately 1,500 lb (680 kg), the Elan embodied Colin Chapman's minimum weight design philosophy. The Elan was technologically advanced with a DOHC 1,558 cc engine , four-wheel disc brakes , rack and pinion steering, and 4-wheel independent suspension . Gordon Murray , designer of

231-520: A 91% stake in Group Lotus for £22.7 million, which allowed GM to legally force the company buyout. On 27 August 1993, GM sold the company for £30 million, to A.C.B.N. Holdings S.A. of Luxembourg , a company controlled by Italian businessman Romano Artioli , who also owned Bugatti Automobili SpA . In 1996, a majority share in Lotus was sold to Malaysian car company Proton . Lotus Cars was awarded

308-470: A Lotus Elan include: Despite the fact that the Lotus Elan has been (and continues to be) used extensively for racing it was Lotus' first car that was not designed with racing in mind. (The earlier Lotus Elite was designed as a road car and also to compete in high-efficiency classes at Le Mans .) Nevertheless, because owners assumed that all Lotus cars were designed for racing, it soon found its way onto

385-594: A complete turnaround in the company's fortunes, for which he was dubbed "the saviour of Lotus." Despite having employed designer Peter Stevens to revamp the range and design two new concept cars, by 1985 the British investors recognised that they lacked the capital to fund production and sought to find a buyer. In January 1986, Wickins oversaw the majority sale of the Group Lotus companies and 100% of North American–based LPCI to General Motors . After four months, Toyota sold GM its stake. By October 1986, GM had acquired

462-519: A fibreglass monocoque body/chassis and all aluminium Coventry Climax engine. The original Elan 1500 was introduced in 1962 as a roadster . After a very short production run of just 22 cars the engine was enlarged and the car was re-designated the Elan 1600. An optional hardtop was also offered. The Elan 1600 of 1963 was replaced by the Elan S2 in 1964. In 1965 the Type 36, a fixed head coupé version of

539-644: A garage. The four letters in the middle of the logo represent Chapman's full name, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. When the logo was created, Chapman's original partners Michael and Nigel Allen were allegedly told that the letters stood for Colin Chapman and the Allen Brothers. The first factory was situated in old stables behind the Railway Hotel in Hornsey , North London. Team Lotus , which

616-648: A heart attack on 16 December 1982 at the age of 54. At the time, both Chapman and Lotus were linked to the DeLorean Motor Company scandal regarding the use of UK Government subsidies for the production of the DMC DeLorean , for which Lotus had designed the chassis. Chasing large sums of money that had disappeared from the DeLorean company, Lotus was besieged by Inland Revenue inspectors, who imposed an £84 million legal "protective assessment" on

693-409: A joint venture with Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance and its Alpine division to develop a range of electric performance cars sharing some of their future platforms. In April 2021, Lotus announced plans to produce only electric cars by 2028 and increase production numbers from around 1,500 per annum to tens of thousands. Geely and Etika Automotive provided two billion pounds (US$ 2.8 billion) to fund

770-645: A mere 383. This situation resulted from the worldwide economic recession combined with the virtual collapse of sales in the American market and limited development of the model range. In early 1982, Chapman forged an agreement with Toyota to exchange intellectual property and applied expertise. As a result, Lotus Engineering helped develop the Mk2 Toyota Supra , also known as the Toyota Celica XX . The partnership also allowed Lotus to launch

847-484: A personalised Lotus Turbo Esprit, the new American company, Lotus Performance Cars Inc. (LPCI), was able to provide fresh capital to Group Lotus in the United Kingdom. Former Ferrari North America general manager John Spiech was recruited to run LPCI, which imported the remarkable Giugiaro -designed Turbo Esprit for the first time. American sales began to quickly jump into six figures annually. Chapman died of

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924-509: A purpose-built factory at Cheshunt in 1959, and since 1966 it has occupied a modern factory and road test facility at Hethel , near Wymondham in Norfolk . The site is a former World War II airfield, RAF Hethel , and the test track uses sections of the old runway. In its early days, Lotus sold cars aimed at private racers and trialists. Its early road cars could be bought as kits in order to save on purchase tax . The kit car era ended in

1001-498: A stiff, lightweight body. The 1961 Jaguar E-Type (XKE) used a tubular space frame–type front subframe to mount the engine, gearbox, and long bonnet/hood to a monocoque "tub" passenger compartment. Beginning with the 1960s, subframes saw regular production with General Motors ' X- and F-platform bodies, and the Astro/Safari mid-size vans. Subframes are prone to misalignment, which can cause vibration and alignment issues in

1078-407: A weird, physics-defying sense of zero weight transfer in corners, provides a sensation akin to flying just over the ground. I'm convinced there's a powerful pleasure center in the brain that remains untapped until you drive an Elan. It's almost a drug. Motor Sport : The tremendously responsive steering and handling requires similar qualities from the driver and the speeds achieved round corners and on

1155-564: A wide area of relatively thin sheet metal of a monocoque body shell and to isolate vibrations and harshness from the rest of the body. For example, in an automobile with its powertrain contained in a subframe, forces generated by the engine and transmission can be sufficiently damped to prevent disturbing the passengers. Modern vehicles use separate front and rear subframes to reduce overall weight and cost while maintaining structural integrity. Additionally, subframes benefit production by allowing subassemblies to be created and later introduced to

1232-642: Is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars , a high-performance sports car company, is based in Hethel , Norfolk . Lotus Tech , an all-electric lifestyle vehicle company, headquartered in Wuhan , China, and operates regional facilities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany. Additionally, Lotus Engineering , an engineering consultancy firm,

1309-791: Is currently majority-owned by Chinese multinational Geely . Lotus was previously involved in Formula One racing, via Team Lotus , winning the Formula One World Championship seven times. Notable Lotus cars include the Lotus Seven , the Elan , the Esprit and the Elise . The company was formed in 1952 as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by Colin Chapman but had earlier origins in 1948 when Chapman built his first trials car in

1386-548: Is headquartered at the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre (LATC) located at the University of Warwick's Wellesbourne Campus. Lotus was founded and owned for many years by Colin Chapman . After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by General Motors , then Romano Artioli and then DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton , which owned Lotus from 1996 to 2017. Lotus

1463-411: Is the holding company of Lotus Group Plc. Kimberley retired as CEO on 17 July 2009, replaced on 1 October 2009 by former Ferrari executive Dany Bahar . Bahar intended to drive the brand into the expanding global luxury-goods sector and away from the company's traditional lightweight simplicity and pure driving-experience focus. Bahar was suspended on 25 May 2012 while an investigation into his conduct

1540-622: The 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS . Michael Kimberley, who had been a guiding figure at Lotus in the 1970s, returned as acting chief executive officer in May 2006. He chaired the executive committee of Lotus Group International Limited (LGIL), established in February 2006 with Syed Zainal Abidin (managing director of Proton Holdings Berhad) and Badrul Feisal (non-executive director of Proton Holdings Berhad). LGIL

1617-464: The Black & Decker Workmate . Because of its successful design and rigorous attention to cost control on the body, chassis, engine and transmission, the Elan become Lotus' first commercial success and contributed to the funding of its achievements in racing over the next ten years. It revived a company stretched thin by the more exotic, expensive to build, and rather unreliable Lotus Elite , which used

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1694-727: The EMAS concept from its parent company Proton, and likely to be primarily built by Proton in Malaysia. This car has also been cancelled. Lotus CEO at the time Jean Marc Gales confirmed in 2017 that development of an SUV is currently under way, after the company was acquired by the Chinese automotive manufacturer, Geely. In July 2019 Lotus revealed the Evija, a 1,470 kW (2,000 PS; 1,970 hp) and 1,700 N⋅m (1,254 lb⋅ft) electric supercar . In January 2021, Lotus teased that

1771-427: The Elise , Exige , and Evora would be discontinued and be replaced by the Type 131 which had yet to be released at the time of announcement. In July 2021, Lotus revealed that this new model is called Emira . In November 2021, Lotus teased the future introduction of the future Type 132 SUV, later named as Eletre . Subframe The primary purposes of using a subframe are to distribute high chassis loads over

1848-652: The KV team in the IndyCar Series and the ART team in the GP2 and GP3 Series in 2011 and 2012. After fielding underpowered and uncompetitive engines in the 2012 Indianapolis 500 , in which drivers Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro were black-flagged after ten laps for failing to maintain a competitive pace, Lotus was released from its contract and did not participate in future seasons. Current Lotus models include: At

1925-758: The Lotus 900 series , and later a V8 , and turbocharged versions of the engines appeared in the Esprit. Variants of the 900-series engine were supplied for the Jensen Healey sports car and the Sunbeam Lotus "hot hatchback". In the 1980s, Lotus collaborated with Vauxhall Motors to produce the Lotus Carlton , the fastest roadgoing Vauxhall car. By 1980, Group Lotus was in serious financial trouble. Production had dropped from 1,200 units per year to

2002-570: The McLaren F1 supercar , reportedly said that his only disappointment with the McLaren F1 was that he could not give it the perfect steering of the Lotus Elan. In 2004, Sports Car International named the Elan number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s . The original version of the car was designed by Ron Hickman who also designed the first Lotus Europa as part of Lotus' GT40 project bid and made his fortune having designed

2079-534: The Queen's Award for Enterprise for contribution to international trade, one of 85 companies receiving the recognition in that category in 2002. Lotus cars wore the badge of the award for several years. On 24 May 2017, Chinese multinational Geely announced that it was taking a 51% controlling stake in Lotus. The remaining 49% was acquired by Etika Automotive , a holding company of Proton's major shareholder Syed Mokhtar Albukhary . In January 2021, Geely announced

2156-493: The 1960s with the Lotus Elan. This two-seater was later developed to two-plus-two form (Elan +2S). Lotus was notable for its use of fibreglass bodies, backbone chassis and overhead camshaft engines, initially supplied by Coventry Climax but later replaced by Lotus-Ford units ( Ford block, Lotus head and twin-cam valve gear). Lotus also worked with Ford on the Lotus Cortina , a successful sports saloon . Another Lotus of

2233-592: The 2010 Paris Motorshow, Lotus announced five new models to be introduced over the next five years: Their intention was to replace the Elise with an entirely different model, as well as to introduce two entirely new sports coupes, which would have been known as the Elite and the Elan, a new sports saloon, the Eterne, to rival the Aston Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte , and a modern interpretation of

2310-621: The Elan (although the engine was subsequently used widely in other vehicles). The 1,558 cc " Lotus TwinCam " engine was based on the Ford Kent Pre-Crossflow four-cylinder 1,498 cc engine, with a Harry Mundy -designed two-valve alloy chain-driven twin-cam head. The rights to this design was later purchased by Ford, which renamed it the "Lotus-Ford Twin Cam". It would go on to be used in a number of Ford and Lotus production and racing models. Lotus reported different power outputs for

2387-529: The Esprit supercar. It became apparent in July 2012 that the firm's financial difficulties had made this plan impossible to implement, and initially all but the Esprit project were cancelled. Subsequently, the Esprit project was also cancelled. Lotus also showed an unnamed city car concept using its 1.2L range-extender engine. In 2011, Lotus revealed this as the Lotus Ethos , a plug-in hybrid car based on

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2464-659: The FIA Historic Formula One Championship . It also preserves the Team Lotus archive and Works Collection of cars, under the management of Colin Chapman's son Clive. Team Lotus's participation in Formula One ended after the 1994 season , when the team's cars were no longer competitive. Cars constructed by the team won a total of 79 Grand Prix races. Former racing driver David Hunt (brother of F1 world champion James Hunt ) purchased

2541-492: The Rotoflexes in operation resulted in some "wind up" of the couplings. This could be readily detected by the driver, especially at takeoff and during gear changes, and was slightly disconcerting when driving an Elan for the first time. In practice drivers typically adjusted their clutch technique within a few minutes and no longer noticed it. In recent years the uncertain quality of replacement Rotoflex couplings, combined with

2618-570: The S1 (Series 1) although the car was never explicitly marketed as such. Today, all models (S1-Sprint) are often cited collectively as the 1960s Elans. The second range of cars (1989–1995) comprised: This second model was also produced in South Korea by Kia Motors between 1996 and 1999, rebadged as the Kia Elan . The Lotus Elan was the first Lotus road car to use a steel backbone chassis with

2695-562: The S3 period quoted as "from 1,232 lb" (558 kg). Meanwhile, reported weights in magazine road tests varied from 1,260 lb (572 kg) (Elan 1600, Cars Illustrated, August 1964) to 1,630 lb (739 kg) (S4 FHC SE, Road & Track, January 1969). The figures above show that the weight of the vehicle changed during its production lifetime, in general tending to increase. Additional features such as electric windows, more luxurious carpeting, and larger wheels and tyres all contributing to

2772-519: The SE (e.g. Lotus Elan S3 SE). In the UK the Elan was offered as a fully assembled vehicle and, for tax avoidance purposes, as a lower cost kit for final assembly by the customer. The total production number for the Lotus Elan is not definitively known; however John Bolster, in his book "The Lotus Elan and Europa: A Collector's Guide", provides a number of 12,224 (S1-3: 7,895; S4: 2,976; Sprint: 1,353). This number

2849-542: The Sprint engine was primarily due to slightly larger inlet valves, so it was named the Big Valve engine (it has been widely reported that the combination of 'hotter cams', rejetting the carbs and big valves improved performance of the 115 bhp SE by only 11 bhp. As a marketing exercise to increase sales of the new Sprint model, Chapman saw to it that published bhp figures for existing models be downgraded to increase

2926-449: The Team Lotus name, but Group Lotus had sole right to use the Lotus name. As a consequence, for 2012 Lotus Renault GP was rebranded as Lotus F1 Team and its entries were badged as Lotus cars, while Team Lotus was renamed Caterham F1 Team (after the sportscar manufacturer owned by team principal Tony Fernandes ) and its cars were badged as Caterhams. Group Lotus was also involved in several other categories of motorsport. It sponsored

3003-638: The Twin Cam engine during the production of the Elan. Prior to the release of the Sprint the following outputs were reported in the Workshop Manual: Lotus marketing material from the S3 period quoted the SE variant at 115 bhp (86 kW), noting high lift cams, carburetor re-jetting and a four branch exhaust. The final version of the Workshop Manual revised these numbers, as shown in the following tables. The increased power of

3080-418: The apparent improvement in performance): The Elan utilized modern technologies for its suspension, steering and brakes. The overall design was simple and easily maintained. In common with many Lotus cars they were perhaps the Elan's most highly regarded features. Lotus relied heavily on suppliers of mass-produced parts to create the Elan. These included: As with all Lotus cars, attention to minimizing weight

3157-415: The availability of half-shafts built with CV joints, has resulted in many Elans being converted from Rotoflex to CV joint drive. A notable feature of the drive train design was its use of standard, mass-produced components in combination with a minimal number of specialized aluminium castings to create a power unit and transmission suitable for a high performance sports car: These three items were unique to

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3234-619: The best-handling sports car that's ever been made... If anybody wants to know what good steering is, just jump in the 60s Elan." This generation of the two-seater Elan was famously driven by Diana Rigg in the character of Emma Peel in the 1960s British television series The Avengers . The reference to a car accident in the Beatles song " A Day in the Life " was apocryphally based on Tara Browne 's fatal accident in his Lotus Elan. Famous celebrities, past & present, who owned and/or drove

3311-490: The business is divided into Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering. In addition to manufacturing sportscars, the company also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development—particularly of suspensions —for other car manufacturers. Lotus's powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the four-cylinder Ecotec engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall , Opel , Saab , Chevrolet and Saturn cars. The American Elise and Exige models used

3388-524: The car, was introduced while in 1966 the drop head coupé Type 26 was replaced by the Type 45. Both Types, 36 & 45, were offered initially in S3 form, followed in 1968 in S4 form, and finally in 1970 as the Elan Sprint. Production of the Sprint ceased in 1973. The standard S2, S3 & S4 models were also available in a slightly more powerful and luxurious "Special Equipment" variant, generally referred to as

3465-430: The changes. Lotus Technology, the electric-vehicle division of Lotus. which has a different ownership structure (30% by Etika and the rest by Geely and Nio Capital), was listed on Nasdaq in February 2024, following the completion of a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company affiliated with L Catterton . After the listing, 10.3% of shares are held by the public. Currently organised as Group Lotus Limited,

3542-650: The company. At the trial of Lotus accountant Fred Bushell, the judge insisted that had Chapman lived, he would have received a sentence "of at least 10 years." With Group Lotus near bankruptcy in 1983, David Wickins , the founder of British Car Auctions , agreed to become the new company chairman through an introduction by his friend Mark Thatcher . Taking a combined 29% BCA/personal stake in Group Lotus, Wickins negotiated with Inland Revenue and recruited new investors: merchant bank Schroeder-Wagg (14%), Michael Ashcroft 's Bermudian operating company Benor (14%) and Sir Anthony Bamford of JCB (12%). Wickins oversaw

3619-658: The creation of Lotus Renault GP, the successor to the Renault F1 team. This team contested the 2011 season having purchased a title sponsorship deal with the team, with the option to buy shares in the future. The team's car for that season, the R31 , was badged as a Renault, while Team Lotus's car, the T128 , was badged as a Lotus. In May 2011, the British High Court of Justice ruled that Team Lotus could continue to use

3696-409: The differential output shafts to the rear hubs. These "rubber doughnut" couplings were widely used at the time for road vehicles (e.g. Hillman Imp , Triumph GT6 ) and racing (e.g. Ford GT40 , Lotus 21 ), prior to the availability of constant velocity (CV) joints . In the case of the Elan, which had exceptionally supple rear suspension that allowed significant vertical wheel travel, the deformation of

3773-563: The drivers' title went to Jackie Stewart of Tyrrell . Chapman saw Lotus beat Ferrari as the first marque to achieve 50 Grand Prix victories, even though Ferrari had won its first nine years sooner. Until the late 1980s, Team Lotus continued to be a major player in Formula One. Ayrton Senna drove for the team from 1985 to 1987, winning twice in each year and achieving 17 pole positions. Team Lotus established Classic Team Lotus in 1992, which continues to maintain Lotus F1 cars and run them in

3850-488: The following tables provide an overview of the car's capabilities. The following excerpt from Robinshaw & Ross summarizes Elan performance for each Series: A few additional figures for the Sprint: The Elan was widely admired and praised by customers and reviewers, noted for its exceptional handling, roadholding, steering, acceleration, braking and comfort: Car and Driver : The Elan very simply represents

3927-439: The front fork arms and the differential between the rear fork arms. The front & rear suspensions attach to the ends of their respective arms (turrets at the end of the arms hold the suspension springs & dampers). This design resulted in light weight, high rigidity (by contemporary standards), and easy driver/passenger access through wide door openings with low sills. Driver and passenger protection from front and rear impact

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4004-428: The gain. The performance of the Elan was derived from the combination of its powerful engine (by contemporary standards) and light weight. The roadholding and agility of the car also meant that high speeds could be maintained on corners, which allowed for high average speeds. By contemporary standards, the Sprint was an exceptionally rapid car and quite lived up to its name. It embarrassed almost every other supercar at

4081-532: The late 1960s and early 1970s was the two-seater Lotus Europa , initially intended only for the European market, which paired a backbone chassis and lightweight body with a mid-mounted Renault engine, later upgraded to the Lotus-Ford twin-cam unit as used in the Elan. The Lotus Seven , originating in the 1950s as a simple, lightweight open two-seater. continued in production into the early 1970s. Lotus sold

4158-605: The late 1960s and early 1970s, with the Lotus Elan Plus Two as the first Lotus road car not offered in kit form, and the Lotus Eclat and Lotus Elite of the mid-1970s were offered only in factory-built versions. After the Lotus Elite of the 1950s, which featured a complete fibreglass monocoque fitted with built-in steel pickup points for mounting major components, Lotus found critical and sales success in

4235-423: The licence for future seasons as a result of what it called "flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence by the team." Lotus Racing then announced that it had acquired Team Lotus Ventures Ltd, the company led by David Hunt, and with it full ownership of the rights to the Team Lotus brand and heritage. The team confirmed that it would be known as Team Lotus from 2011 onward. In December 2010, Group Lotus announced

4312-570: The main body shell on an automated line. There are generally three basic forms of the subframe: Subframes are typically made of pressed steel panels that are thicker than body shell panels and are welded or spot-welded together. Hydroformed tubes may also be used in some designs. The revolutionary monocoque, transverse-engined, front-wheel-drive 1959 Austin Mini set the template for modern front-wheel-drive cars by using front and rear subframes to provide accurate road wheel control while maintaining

4389-510: The marque's first Grand Prix in 1960 at Monaco . Moss drove a Lotus 18 entered by privateer Rob Walker . Major success came in 1963 with the Lotus 25 , which, with Jim Clark driving, won Team Lotus its first F1 World Constructors' Championship . Clark was killed in April 1968 when the rear tyre of his Formula Two Lotus 48 failed while making a turn at a race in Hockenheim . His death

4466-506: The name Team Lotus and licensed it to the Formula One team Pacific Racing , which was rebranded Pacific Team Lotus. The Pacific Team folded at the end of the 1995 season. The Lotus name returned to Formula One for the 2010 season , when a new Malaysian team called Lotus Racing was awarded an entry. The new team used the Lotus name under licence from Group Lotus and was unrelated to the original Team Lotus. In September 2010 Group Lotus, with agreement from its parent company Proton, terminated

4543-597: The new Lotus Excel to replace the ageing Lotus Eclat . Using drivetrain and other components build by Toyota enabled Lotus to sell the Excel for £1,109 less than the outgoing Eclat. Looking to reenter the North American market, Chapman was approached by young law professor and investment banking consultant Joe Bianco, who proposed a new and separate American sales company for Lotus. By creating an unprecedented tax-incentivised mechanism by which each investor received

4620-424: The production life of the vehicle: 3.55, 3.77 and 3.9. Most Elans were fitted with 3.77 differentials. 3.90 differentials, which provided the best acceleration, were often favored by purchasers of early cars, while 3.55 differentials became more common in later cars (especially the more powerful Sprints) to provide more relaxed cruising on newly built highways. The final drive used four Rotoflex couplings to connect

4697-615: The rights to produce the Seven to Caterham , which has continued to produce the car since then. By the mid-1970s, Lotus sought to move upmarket with the launch of the Elite and Eclat models, four-seaters aimed at prosperous buyers, with features such as optional air conditioning and automatic transmissions. The mid-engine line continued with the Lotus Esprit , which became one of the company's longest-lived and most iconic models. Lotus developed its own series of four-cylinder DOHC engines,

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4774-454: The second year we thought, well, if these people insist on racing them then we'd better get down to some proper development. They were too softly sprung, too softly damped, tore their doughnuts apart and had all sorts of drama, but it was the name, and people thought they must be racing cars." Lotus Cars Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars , and trading as Lotus NYO in China )

4851-400: The sporting motorist. While the structure of the Elan followed an entirely traditional approach for sports cars of the time - front engine, rear wheel drive - its design included novel ideas that found their way into the designs of other manufacturers' vehicles. Examples include: The car designer and engineer Gordon Murray said "Series 3 Lotus Elan... it's still, in my opinion, probably

4928-487: The sports car developed in tune with the state of the art. It comes closer than anything else on the market to providing a Formula car for ordinary street use. And it fits like a Sprite, goes like a Corvette, and handles like a Formula Junior. Driving it is very simply another sort of automotive experience altogether. Most people tend to come back from their first ride a little bit glassy-eyed... Road and Track : The light and tactile steering, combined with supple suspension and

5005-403: The straight are deceptively fast. This, therefore, calls for a lot of concentration on the driver's part. Once mastered, however, the Elan is the nearest thing to a single-seater racing car one is likely to be able to drive comfortably on the road. To master the car and explore its tremendous handling potential along that delightfully twisty piece of road one knows so well is close on perfection for

5082-469: The time in terms of outright acceleration up to about 90 mph. This electrifying performance was accentuated by the brilliant handling and road holding, allied to the small size and weight of the Elan, which meant that a well driven Elan on a dry road could outclass any other non-Lotus road car. Although performance results achieved by testers are affected by many variables (e.g. differential ratio, weather/road conditions, gross vehicle weight, DHC vs. FHC, etc.)

5159-432: The track, however unsuitable. Lotus resisted modifying the car to make it more suitable for racing but eventually created a racing version of the Elan. Robinshaw/Ross quote Colin Chapman : "When we announced the Elan we said 'This is a touring car, it is not intended for racing and have done no competition development on it.' The fact that customers bought them and tried to race them was originally no concern of ours, but in

5236-429: The undersurface of the car to create downforce . It invented active suspension and was the first to move radiators to the sides of the car to improve aerodynamic performance. Formula One Drivers' Championship winners for Lotus were Jim Clark in 1963 and 1965, Graham Hill in 1968, Jochen Rindt in 1970, Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972 and Mario Andretti in 1978. In 1973, Lotus won the constructors' championship only;

5313-457: The voluntary, and thus inevitably incomplete, Lotus Elan registry lists approximately 1,100 known remaining vehicles (including approximately 330 +2 models) in over 30 countries. The basic structure of the Lotus Elan comprised a fabricated mild steel backbone chassis, similar to a double ended tuning fork, and a fibreglass body. The chassis was the primary stressed component, providing the necessary bending and torsional rigidity. The fibreglass body

5390-415: Was a major factor during the Elan's design and manufacture. Its diminutive size (while offering room for drivers over 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and practical luggage carrying capacity) provided the foundation for its low weight. The Workshop Manual lists the following weights: Lotus marketing material from the S1 period quoted the weight as "11 1 ⁄ 2 cwt" (1,288 lb (584 kg)) and from

5467-453: Was a severe blow to the team and to Formula One, as he had been the dominant driver of Lotus's early years. That year's championship was won by Clark's teammate Graham Hill . Team Lotus is credited with making the mid-engine layout popular for IndyCars , developing the first monocoque Formula One chassis and integrating the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Team Lotus was among the pioneers in Formula One in adding wings and shaping

5544-598: Was acceptable for its time, but side impact protection was minimal. The engine, gearbox and differential were all sourced from Ford UK components. See below for details on the engine. The gearbox was a high volume unit used widely across the Ford range ( Anglia , Cortina , etc.). Lotus offered regular and close ratio versions. The differential unit was also sourced from Ford but converted for independent rear suspension use (contemporary Ford cars used live rear axles ). Three differential ratios were offered at various times during

5621-470: Was occasionally used by Lotus itself. See below for +2 production. Meanwhile, Paul Robinshaw and Christopher Ross, in their book "The Original 1962–1973 Lotus Elan", assert that Lotus' somewhat erratic record keeping at the time meant that vehicle serial numbers were not entirely sequential or consistent. Their assessment suggests the actual count to be in the range 8,676-9,153 (S1: 900; S2: 1,250; S3: 2,650; S4: 2976-3,000; Sprint: 900-1353). As of April 2018,

5698-539: Was replaced by Feng Qingfeng from Lotus Group's parent company, Geely. October 2018 saw further senior personnel changes as Phil Popham was named CEO of Lotus Cars, with Qingfeng remaining in charge of Group Lotus. In January 2021, Matt Windle was appointed managing director of Lotus Cars after Phil Popham resigned. In its early days, the company encouraged its customers to race its cars, and it first entered Formula One through its sister company Team Lotus in 1958. A Lotus Formula One car driven by Stirling Moss won

5775-428: Was solidly bolted to the chassis at 16 points, fitting over it like a saddle. While not highly stressed the body nevertheless added to the overall rigidity of the structure. As such, the chassis should more properly be considered a subframe - it is readily changeable and most Elans on the road today have had a new chassis fitted at some point, either due to accident or decay. The engine & gearbox are located between

5852-460: Was split from Lotus Engineering in 1954, was active and competitive in Formula One racing from 1958 to 1994. The Lotus Group of Companies was formed in 1959. This was composed of Lotus Cars Limited and Lotus Components Limited, which focused on road cars and customer competition-car production, respectively. Lotus Components Limited became Lotus Racing Limited in 1971, but the newly renamed entity ceased operation that same year. The company moved to

5929-461: Was undertaken. On 7 June 2012, Lotus announced the termination of Bahar and the appointment of Aslam Farikullah as the new chief operating officer. The ambitious plans for several new models were cancelled following Bahar's departure. Jean Marc Gales became CEO in 2014, and in 2017, he enabled the company to achieve its first profit in decades. Gales left the company in June 2018 for personal reasons and

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