Lotus Elite

The first Elite or Lotus Type 14 was an ultra-light two-seater coupé, produced from 1958 to 1963.

Making its debut at the 1957 London Motor Car Show, Earls Court, the 14 spent a year in development, aided by "carefully selected racing customers",^[2] before going on sale.
The Elite's most distinctive feature was its highly innovative fiberglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed-skin unibody replaced the previously separate chassis and body components. Unlike the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette, which used fiberglass for only exterior bodywork, the Elite also used this glass-reinforced plastic material for the entire load-bearing structure of the car, though the front of the monocoque incorporated a steel subframe supporting the engine and front suspension, and there was a hoop at the windscreen for mounting door hinges and jacking the car up.^[3] The first 250 body units were made by Maximar Mouldings at Pulborough, Sussex.^[4] The body construction caused numerous early problems, until manufacture was handed over to Bristol Aeroplane Company.^[2]

The resultant body was both lighter, stiffer, and provided better driver protection in the event of a crash. Sadly, the full understanding of the engineering qualities of fiberglass reinforced plastic was still several years off and the suspension attach points were regularly observed to pull out of the fiberglass structure. The weight savings allowed the Elite to achieve sports car performance from a 75 hp (55 kW) 1216 cc Coventry Climax FWE all-aluminium Straight-4 engine. Most Lotus Elites were powered by the FWE engine. This engine, derived from a water pump engine usually found bolted to a fire truck, was used by Lucas Electric for electrical component life testing in the presence of intense vibration.
Like its siblings, the Elite was run in numerous formulae, with particular success at Le Mans and the Nürburgring. Elites won their class six times at the 24 hour Le Mans race as well as two Index of Thermal Efficiency wins. Les Leston, driving DAD10, and Graham Warner, driving LOV1, were noted UK Elite racers. In 1961, David Hobbs fitted a Hobbs Mecha-Matic 4-speed automatic transmission to an Elite, and became almost unbeatable in two years' racing – he won 15 times from 18 starts. New South Wales driver Leo Geoghegan won the 1960 Australian GT Championship at the wheel of a Lotus Elite.^[5]

The car had independent suspension all round with transverse wishbones at the front and Chapman struts at the rear. (The latter is essentially the same as a MacPherson strut, though Chapman pioneered the use of this form to suspend driven wheels). The Series 2 cars, with Bristol-built bodies, had triangulated trailing radius arms for improved toe-in control. Girling disc brakes, usually without servo assistance, of 9.5 in (241 mm) diameter were used, inboard at the rear.
Advanced aerodynamics also made a contribution, giving the car a very low drag coefficient of 0.29 – quite low even for modern cars. This accomplishment is all the more remarkable considering the engineers did not enjoy the benefits of computer-aided design or wind tunnel testing. The original Elite drawings were by Peter Kirwan-Taylor. Frank Costin (brother of Mike, one of the co-founders of Cosworth), at that time Chief Aerodynamic Engineer for the de Havilland Aircraft Company, contributed to the final design.
The SE was introduced in 1960 as a higher performance variant, featuring twin SU carburettors and fabricated exhaust manifold resulting in 85 bhp, ZF gearboxes in place of the standard "cheap and nasty MG" ones,^[2] Lucas PL700 headlamps, and a silver coloured roof. The Super 95 spec, with more power,^[2] from a higher-tuned engine with raised compression and a fiercer camshaft with 5 bearings. A very few Super 100 and Super 105 cars were made with Weber carburettors, for racing use.
Among its few faults was a resonant vibration at 4000 rpm (where few drivers remained, on either street or track)^[6] and poor quality control, handicapped by overly low price (thus losing money on every copy) and, "[p]erhaps the greatest mistake of all", offering it as a kit, exactly the opposite of the ideal for a quality manufacturer.^[2] Many drivetrain parts were highly stressed and required regreasing at frequent intervals.
When production ended in 1963, 1030 had been built.^[7]
A road car tested by The Motor magazine in 1960 had a top speed of 111.8 mph (179.9 km/h) and could accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 11.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of 40.5 miles per imperial gallon (6.97 L/100 km; 33.7 mpg_-US) was recorded. The test car cost £1966 including taxes.

1974

From 1974 to 1982, Lotus produced the 4-seat, considerably larger Type 75 and later Type 83 Elite.
Lotus' first saloon car was front engined with rear wheel drive. Like all production Lotuses since the Elan, the Elite used fiberglass for the hatchback bodyshell, mounted on a steel backbone chassis evolved from the Elan and Europa. It had 4-wheel independent suspension using coil springs. Power steering and air conditioning were optional from 1974. The Elite was the basis for the Eclat, and the later Excel 2+2 coupes.

The Elite was Lotus' first car to use the 907 aluminium-block 4-valve, DOHC, four-cylinder, 2.0 liter engine. (The 907 engine had previously been used in Jensen-Healeys.) The 907 engine ultimately became the foundation for the 2.0 L and 2.2 L Lotus Esprit powerplants, the naturally aspirated 912 and the turbocharged 910. Elites were available with a 5-speed gearbox as standard; from January 1976 an automatic transmission was optional.
Regarding performance, the Elite and the related Éclat are notable in that the stock curb weight is not much over 2,000 lb (907 kg). Once the motors reach their power band, both acceleration and handling are impressive for cars of the era.

2014

On September 20, 2010 Lotus unveiled photos of an Elite concept that was publicly released at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The vehicle is expected to go into production in 2014 and will cost in excess of £100,000.^[9]

2014 Elite at the 2010 Paris Motor Show

The power train will be a mid-front mounted V8 engine, chosen to distribute weight evenly to all four wheels. This power train will optionally use a KERS hybrid system, a kinetic energy recovery system that feeds electricity generated by braking to motors in the transmission. The car will feature a 5.0-litre V8 sourced from Lexus, delivering over 600 hp. The 0–100 km/h time is reported to be as low as 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 315 km/h.^[10]
The vehicle also features a GT body with a 2+2 seating configuration.