Three-quarter front view of a 1979, Gold, Lotus Éclat series 1, on static display at the 2017 Silverstone Classic
otus Eclat (Type 76 and Type 84) is a front engine rear drive coupe automobile built from 1975 to 1982 by Lotus Cars. It was based on the Lotus Elite but had a fastback body style which offered more practicality with storage in the boot (trunk), albeit with less headroom above the rear seats. The car was initially to be called the "Elite Coupe".[2] The lower half of the fibreglass bodywork was actually identical to that of the Elit The Eclat Series 1 (1975–1980) was announced in October 1975.[4] It used a 1973 cc 160 hp (120 kW) Lotus 907 Slant Four engine. Later cars (1980–1982) used a larger 2174 cc Lotus 912 engine, however, because of emission regulations modifications it still only produced 160 hp (120 kW). It did, however, produce more torque and thus improved the car's performance. Both were versions of the Lotus 900 series engine series, which was also used in naturally aspirated and turbo charged versions in the Lotus Esprit. Early cars either had a four speed Ford gearbox or the five speed gearbox derived by Lotus from Austin Maxi components. Later cars used a Getrag five speed gearbox. Some cars (524) were fitted with three-speed automatic gearboxes. The Eclat had disc brakes at the front, and inboard drum brakes at the rear. Air conditioning and power steering were offered as options. The different equipments of the Series 1 cars were called 520, 521, 522, 523, and 524. The 520 has a four-speed transmission, a Ford bolt pattern, steel wheels, and smaller brakes. The remainder of the range have a mm bolt pattern, the same disc brakes as the Elite, and GKN alloy wheels. They also received a twin exhaust and various other comfort items such as a clock and a cigar lighter. The 522 added power steering and the 523 also received air conditioning. The 524 is like the 523 but with the automatic transmission. Some other cars were also fitted with the automatic, and Lotus accommodated a variety of changes to the cars.
Size: 5408px × 3037px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 160, 1973cc, 2-door, 907, 1979, 2017, automobile, automotive, bodywork, bonnett, british, car, cars, chassis, classic, club, coupe, door, drive, engine, fastback, fibreglass, front, gold, hp, hree-quarter, lotus, mild, mirrors, motorcar, motorsport, rare, rear, ront, series, silverstone, slant, sport, sports, steel, transport, tyres, vehicle, view, wheels, windows, windscreen, wing, zone, Éclat
