This yr marks the twenty fifth anniversary of the beginning of gross sales of the chic Lotus Elise – in addition to the tip of its manufacturing.
Named after Elisa, the granddaughter of Romano Artioli (chairman of Lotus and Bugatti on the time of the automotive’s launch) it’s a traditional British light-weight sports activities automotive.
Listed below are 25 methods by which the much-loved two-seater has created a long-lasting legacy, not simply at Lotus, however throughout the automotive business.
1) The Elise epitomises ‘easy but subtle’ engineering with its minimalist development. It’s the essence of what a Lotus automotive ought to be all about.
2) Like all Lotus vehicles, it delivers a taut and exact journey, providing its driver instantaneous reference to the highway by constructive really feel and correct suggestions.
3) The Elise reminded the world that an excellent driving expertise ought to be the precedence for sports activities vehicles. It reset the usual for journey and dealing with, delivering a brand new dynamic benchmark for every part that adopted.
4) In August 1996, after a ‘first drive’ within the Elise, CAR journal wrote: ‘The acceleration, the zest, the eye-popping capability to vary pace and route, the sheer unbridled sense of movement – these are what make driving the Elise so particular and intense.’
5) The bottom-breaking extruded and bonded aluminium chassis was really forward of its time. Designed by Richard Rackham – who continues to be with Lotus as we speak – it was a world-first know-how.
6) It turned the go-to chassis know-how for low-volume manufacturing. Automobiles such because the Alpine A110 and Morgan Aero 8 are examples of how what Lotus did with the Elise influenced others.
7) The Aston Martin Vanquish is one other. Ford noticed the underpinnings of the Elise as the best way ahead for its European efficiency automotive model, and Lotus Engineering was introduced in to help varied facets of the automobile engineering.
8) With an authentic listing worth beginning at £18,995, the Elise immediately created a extra reasonably priced approach into Lotus possession. The one different 25 years in the past was the Esprit, which began at £39,995 for the GT3.
9) Crucial and gross sales success with the Elise supplied Lotus with a reinvigorated worldwide profile. When modified for North American rules in 2004 – the automotive was given airbags, traction management and stability management – it put Lotus again on the map throughout the Atlantic.
10) The rebirth and persevering with recognition of Lotus vehicles in membership motorsport will be traced again to the launch of the Elise. Lotus Cup Europe is one in every of a number of one-make collection all over the world, together with in Japan, USA, Italy, Malaysia and Australia. The UK additionally has the Elise Trophy.
11) Such was the automotive’s recognition, there was even a Lotus Women Cup collection. Staged in Hungary, it began in 2011 and operated for 4 seasons.
12) Many a potential purchaser has been launched to the Elise by the Lotus Driving Academy. The launch of the LDA adopted shortly after the Elise entered manufacturing and continues to be massively widespread, with operations in France, Italy, Malaysia, USA and at Hethel within the UK.
13) Within the yr 2000, a specifically developed motorsport Elise was supplied for the Autobytel Lotus Sport Elise Championship, a part of the undercard for the UK’s British Touring Automotive Championship. Lotus Design put ahead a sketch for a full coupe model, it was made obtainable as a highway automotive… and the Lotus Exige was born.
14) Different Lotus derivatives which wouldn’t have occurred with out the Elise embrace the Europa, 340R and 2-Eleven.
15) The Elise’s chassis know-how was developed additional for the Lotus Evora. It was a unique chassis design, however the ideas behind it had been precisely the identical.
16) Lotus Engineering was additionally capable of profit from ‘The Elise Impact’, commercialising the know-how behind the automotive with invaluable third-party contracts. The Vauxhall VX220 / Opel Speedster is one such instance.
17) Would Tesla be the world’s most respected automotive firm as we speak with out the Lotus Elise? Its adoption as the premise for the Roadster set the trail for Elon Musk and group.
18) There have been different prospects for the Elise, too. The Hennessy Venom GT and Pininfarina Take pleasure in could be very completely different vehicles in the event that they had been primarily based on one thing else.
19) The person credited with the design of the unique Elise has gone on to have a stellar profession. After a spell at Volkswagen, Julian Thomson joined Jaguar in 2000 and is now the model’s director of design.
20) Norfolk’s profile as an engineering centre of excellence shot up within the mid-Nineties, because the Elise made Hethel a severe profession vacation spot for world-class engineers.
21) Demand for the Elise was on the coronary heart of the expansion of Lotus on the finish of the final century and into the present one. The corporate took 47 years to promote a complete of fifty,000 vehicles (1948-1995) but hit the 100,000 mark in 2018 – simply 23 years later.
22) Between its launch in 1996 and the millennium 4 years later, 10,619 examples of the Elise had been constructed. Buyer demand made it the fastest-selling Lotus automotive in historical past.
23) The Elise turned the engineering check mattress for extra eco-friendly sports activities automotive ideas from Lotus. These included the Eco Elise (2008), which used a hemp, eco-wool and sisal to create the physique panels and inside trim.
24) Later the identical yr Lotus revealed the Tri-fuel Exige, a showcase for different and extra sustainable fuels. The automotive ran on petrol, bioethanol and methanol.
25) It additionally turned an early indicator of how electrical automobile (EV) know-how and driving traits would go well with sports activities vehicles. The Zytec-Elise, developed by provider Zytek, used the unique Frankfurt present automotive and made its debut in 1997.
