Eula Eckman

In the realm of auto enthusiasts, the name “Lotus” holds a high degree of respect. Take a look at the current line up from this classic English auto manufacturer and you’ll notice that the premise that Colin Chapman defined for his small company is still in effect some 60 years later; that premise being to build small and light cars that push the boundaries of contemporary design. While many instantly connect the Lotus Seven as being the very start of the successful transition of Chapman’s young company diversifying from an all out works racing outfit and into the world of production sports cars for the public, one must not forget the other car that Lotus unveiled in 1957 alongside the Seven; that being the Lotus Elite.

While the Seven evolved from the Lotus Mark VI, and would continue to evolve in the hands of Caterham from 1973 onwards, the Elite was a departure on a totally separate run way for the small English car firm. The material known as fiber glass was all the rage in the early to middle 1950s, as it was easy to mold, light weight, and when layered properly, relatively strong. Chapman was perfectly content as a racing constructor, but by the middle 1950s he saw the need to move into the retail sports car manufacturing realm in order to provide the finances for the racing department to continue on. The Seven did an excellent job, as the car was simple enough in construction that it could be supplied in kit form, thus getting around the dreaded English purchase tax of the day and becoming very popular with club racers in Britain, as the Seven offered a dependable platform to use during the week and a brilliant chassis that could be exploited at the track on the weekend. However, the Seven did not appeal to everyone at the time, as the lack of a heater and hood (roof, remember this is Queen’s English now) were two major detractions from the model.

Chapman decided that there was a distinct need for a small, and of course light, grand touring model; a car that would offer Continental appeal so to speak and attract a wider spectrum of buyers outside of England. Chapman was also a brilliant engineer and wanted to attempt something that had never been done before in the field of production sports car manufacture. Chapman and his small team of designers devised a monocoque coupe made of layered fiber glass. The only use of metal in the fiber glass monocoque was a steel hoop that surrounded the windscreen and tied the roof into the door sills. Steel was also bonded in at the engine, suspension, and steering gear mounting points to offer a little extra strength to the fiber glass structure. The Elite then made use of the revolutionary Chapman strut for its rear suspension. The Chapman strut was technology coming straight off the Formula 2 circuits of the day, and was essentially a coil spring, damper, and upright all made in one tidy piece. When matched with front wishbones that were also taken from the Lotus 12 formula 2 machine, the recipe for superior handling was set.

Keeping with the racing pedigree that Lotus was building every day in the middle 1950s, Chapman selected the Coventry Climax FWE engine to power his new GT car. The FWE was a SOHC four cylinder that had started life as a fire pump engine, only to become passionately sought after by racers in all formulas for its light weight and tune-ability. Lotus had experience with the Climax units through its efforts in racing, and decided to offer the Elite with a de-tuned Climax of 1,216cc in displacement. Initially, the Elite FWE engine was only offered with one SU carburetor giving the engine some 75 horsepower at roughly 6100 rpm. Later models would include the use of 2 SU carburetors as part of the SE, or Special Equipment package. It’s important to note that Chapman was very proactive in the support of his street cars, and was more than willing to help up and coming racers take to the track in the their Elites by offering different stages of tune. A Stage 3 Elite offered a number of little modifications to the Climax to bring over 100+ horsepower out of the little four cylinder fire pump engine.

With a sexy fiber glass body, and race derived engine and suspension, the Elite was poised to take the world by storm in late 1957. Early models of the little grand tourer were built by Lotus and sold directly from the Cheshunt factory. The fiber glass body was eventually manufactured by Bristol Aircraft, as there were quality problems with the initial supplier of Elite bodies during the first run of production. Chapman and his team also pulled off the incredible feat of producing the Elite in kit form. Even by today’s kit car standards, the efforts and achievement of the Lotus Elite as a build-it-yourself kit in the early 1960s had to be nearly unthinkable. Yet Lotus pulled it off, by shipping the monocoque complete and fully fitted with interior. The owner only had to mate the drive train and suspension up to the monocoque. Even the wiring was already done, save for a few minor harness connections. An article in the January 1962 issue of “Sporting Motorist” covered the build of a Lotus Elite by a do-it-yourself sports car enthusiast and reported that the job took some 45 hours to complete, however that was twice what Lotus was quoting at the time. Upon completion of a Lotus Elite in kit form, new owners were invited to bring their car to the Lotus factory and have the factory mechanics perform a thorough check and road test of the machine to fully certify all work was done properly. The cost of the factory check was absolutely free, compliments of Chapman and Lotus for taking the time to assemble and enjoy one of their products.

The performance of the Elite was, quite frankly, astounding. The Elite weighed in at a mere 1,460 pounds according to an April 1963 road test conducted by “Road & Track” magazine. “Sports Car Graphic” magazine recorded a 0-60 mph time of 10.6 seconds in their August 1961 road test of the small GT car. Top speeds seemed to vary, but generally most road tests indicated between 108-118 mph, and that 0-100 mph took just under half a minute, putting the Elite in a very high performance category. Fuel mileage was perhaps the most incredible, as testers frequently reported combined driving numbers in excess of 30 mpg, occasionally topping 40 mpg! Those are numbers that today’s auto manufacturers would pay dearly to be able to place on a window sticker. Much of the fuel mileage figures can be attributed to the Elite’s aerodynamic shape that was assisted by the legendary de Havilland aircraft designer Frank Costin. The Elite possessed a coefficient of drag of 0.29, which is quite admirable even by today’s design standards and another twenty years would pass before any other automobile would get near the same coefficient of drag.

The Elite was not completely flawless however, as differentials were prone to tear themselves out of their fiber glass body mounts. Front wishbones occasionally did the same under the stresses of motor sport. Elites generally were not favored by most mechanics in the day, as though access to the FWE engine was good from above, the monocoque left only a small “window” under the Climax engine to access the oil drain plug. Ultimately, the Elite would be discontinued in 1964, to make way for the new Lotus Elan.

While Chapman would later admit that the Elite was not a money maker for Lotus or for any of its key component suppliers, the Elite did secure Lotus very solidly in the Sports and GT production market segment, despite its high price tag of the day. It is without doubt that the Elite also paved the way, not just for Lotus, but for automobile production as a whole by utilizing a full fiber glass monocoque form of construction. John Christy of “Sports Car Graphic” magazine sums up the Lotus Elite best by saying: “There may be bigger cars and there may be more luxurious ones but there are few that will give more than the Elite in terms of sheer sensuous driving pleasure.”

Should the reader enjoy this article, I would like to invite them to http://www.sportscardigest.com for more on the history of sports and racing cars as well as current and upcoming events in the world of vintage and historic racing.

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