Sandy Watson's, Black and Orange, 1961, Lotus Elite waiting for the qualifying session of the RAC Tourist Trophy for Historic Cars (Pre '63 GT)
The Lotus Elite name has been used for two production vehicles and one concept vehicle from Lotus Cars. 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, as chassis #1008 , 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 GRP unibody replaced the previously separate chassis and body components. Unlike the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette, which used fibreglass 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. The first 250 body units were made by Maximar Mouldings at Pulborough, Sussex. The body construction caused numerous early problems, until manufacture was handed over to Bristol Aeroplane Company. 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 fibreglass reinforced plastic was still several years off and the suspension attachment points were regularly observed to pull out of the fibreglass 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 with fuel consumption at 35mpg. All production Lotus Elites were powered by the FWE engine. 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.
Size: 5099px × 3392px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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