Lotus Elite

}} }} The first generation of the Elite or Lotus Type 14 was a lightweight two-seater coupé produced from 1957 until 1963. The car debuted at the 1957 London Motor Car Show, Earls Court, bearing chassis number 1006. The Elite had spent a year in development, aided by "carefully selected racing customers" before going on sale. The Elite's most distinctive feature was its highly innovative fibreglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed-skin glass reinforced plastic unibody replaced the previously separate chassis and body components. Unlike the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette, which used fibreglass for only exterior bodywork, the Elite used glass-reinforced plastic for the entire load-bearing structure of the car. A steel subframe for supporting the engine and front suspension was bonded into the front of the monocoque, as was a square-section windscreen-hoop that provided mounting points for door hinges, a jacking point for lifting the car and roll-over protection components. The first 250 or 280 The car had independent suspension all round with transverse wishbones at the front and Chapman struts at the rear. The rear struts were so tall, that they poked up in the cabin and the tops could be seen through the rear window from a car behind. in place of the standard "cheap and nasty" MG ones, and a silver coloured roof. The Super 95 model Other sources indicate that 1,047 were produced. A road car tested by The Motor magazine in 1960 demonstrated a top speed of and a 0– acceleration time of 11.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1,966 including taxes. Legacy The ownership and history of the more than 1,000 Elites is maintained by the Lotus Elite World Register. There are several active clubs devoted to the Lotus Elite. Motor sport Like its siblings, the Elite was campaigned in numerous formulae, with particular success at Le Mans and the Nürburgring. The Elite won in its class six times at the 24 hour of Le Mans race as well as two Index of Thermal Efficiency wins. Les Leston, driving "DAD 10", and Graham Warner, driving "LOV 1", 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 when 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. After winning Index of Thermal Efficiency prize, Lotus decided to go for an outright win at Le Mans in 1960. They built a one-off Elite, called the LX, with a FPF engine, larger wheels, and other modifications. In testing, it proved capable of a top speed of . Unfortunately, the lead driver, Innes Ireland, left Le Mans the night before the race, so the car did not have a chance to prove itself in competition. ==Types 75 and 83 (1974–1982)==

}} }} From 1974 to 1982, Lotus produced the considerably larger four-seat Type 75 and later Type 83 Elite. With this design Lotus sought to position itself upmarket and move away from its kit-car past. The Elite was announced in May 1974. It replaced the ageing Lotus Elan Plus 2. The Elite has a shooting brake body style, with a glass rear hatch opening into the luggage compartment. The Elite's fibreglass bodyshell was mounted on a steel backbone chassis evolved from the Elan and Europa. It had 4-wheel independent suspension using coil springs. The Elite was the first Lotus automobile to use the aluminium-block 4-valve, DOHC, four-cylinder Type 907 engine that displaced and was rated at . With this engine the car does in 8.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of . (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 Esprit power-plants, the naturally aspirated 912 and the turbocharged 910. The Elite was fitted with a 4 or 5-speed manual transmission depending on the customer specifications. Beginning in January 1976, an automatic transmission was optional. The Elite had a claimed drag co-efficient of 0.30 and at the time of launch, it was the world's most expensive four-cylinder car. The Elite's striking shape was designed by Oliver Winterbottom. He is quoted as saying that the basic chassis and suspension layout were designed by Colin Chapman, making the Elite and its sister design the Eclat the last Lotus road cars to have significant design input from Chapman himself. The Elite was available in four main variations, set apart by equipment levels: 501, 502, 503, and later on 504. • 501 - "Base" version. • 502 - Added air-conditioning to the base model. • 503 - Added air-conditioning and power-steering. • 504 - Added air-conditioning, power-steering and automatic transmission. The Elite was the basis for the Eclat, and the later Excel 2+2 coupés. Although larger and more luxurious than previous Lotus road cars, the Elite and Éclat are relatively light, with kerb weights not much over . In 1980 the Type 75 was replaced by the Type 83, also called the Elite Mark 2. This version received a larger Lotus 912 engine. The chassis was now galvanised steel and the five speed BMC gearbox was replaced by a Getrag Type 265 unit. The vacuum-operated headlights of the earlier model were replaced with electrically operated units and the Elite was now fitted with a front spoiler, a new rear bumper and brake lights from the Rover SD1. File:Lotus-elite S2 002.jpg|1978 Lotus Elite S2 (Type 75) File:Lotus-elite S2.2 002.jpg|1981 Lotus Elite S2.2 (Type 83) File:Lotus-elite S2.2 003.jpg|1981 Lotus Elite S2.2 interior ==Elite concept==

On 20 September 2010, Lotus unveiled photos of an Elite concept that was exhibited at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The car was expected to go into production in 2014. The car was to feature a 5.0-litre V8 engine sourced from Lexus, rated at . The car would have a front-mid engine layout to distribute weight evenly at all four wheels. An optional hybrid kinetic-energy recovery system would augment the V8 by feeding electricity generated by braking to motors in the transmission. The 0– time was reported to be as low as 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of . The car had a 2+2 body style and was to be marketed as a grand tourer. The Elite project was cancelled in July 2012 after a take over of Lotus' then parent company Proton by DRB-Hicom which initiated a new cost effective business plan. ==References==