Lotus Elan

Lotus Elan Guide

A Brief History

Lotus and its founder Colin Chapman had developed a reputation for building potent, lightweight sports and racing cars by the early 1960s. A force to be reckoned with in both sports car racing and Formula 1, Lotus had branched out into production sports cars with the iconic Lotus 7 and the fiberglass monocoque Lotus Elite. The Elite was a fatally flawed innovator however. Its fiberglass body was the chassis itself to which a steel subframe containing the engine, transmission and front suspension was bonded. The Elite was light and stiff, but fragile and it was also super expensive to make, with Lotus losing money on every single one.

The all-new Elan, launched in 1962, would be the first Lotus to use a steel backbone chassis lending some stiffness to the fiberglass body. Using a backbone chassis rather than a monocoque for the first time in a road car. Developed as the Type 26 and designed by Ron Hickman, it was launched at the Earls Court Motor Show with a price of £1,495 fully built or £1,095 in kit form. Front suspension was twin A-arm style with coil springs and shock absorbers, with a Chapman Strut layout in the rear. The four-speed manual gearbox and rear differential were modified Ford components, similar to the engine, while the four-corner disc brakes came from Girling. Weight was just 1,500 pounds for early convertibles, slightly more for later models and coupes.

The Elan quickly gained a reputation for being quick, well-balanced and very responsive. Initially it was a convertible only, though a removable hard top was sold as an option from May 1963.

It was during the Elan era that Colin Chapman decided the Cheshunt facility was not large enough, but a planning application to extend the site was turned down. It was time to move locations again, and preparations were made to head north to a former RAF base in the village of Hethel, Norfolk. The transfer of manufacturing took place in the spring and summer of 1966.

Lotus sold 17,392 examples over the course of 11 years. There were four main versions of the two-seat Elan (S1, S2, S3, S4), and it was offered as both a convertible and a coupe. Lotus added a +2 version in 1967, which ran until 1975, when it was replaced by an even larger shooting brake wearing the Elite name.

Engineering & Development

The Elan used a simple steel backbone chassis running down the spine of the car, to which the fiberglass body, suspension, engine and driveline were bolted. The resulting car was very stiff and incredibly light, Lotus saying the very earliest Elans weighed just 1411 pounds. Even the later, more luxurious models, aside from the larger +2, never eclipsed 1600 pounds.

With the Elan, Chapman and Lotus took the ethos that defined the Elite and applied it to a car that would be easier to make. The original idea was for a light roadster to replace the ageing Seven, with a glass-fibre monocoque like the Elite but in the end it would be a fibreglass body on top of a new steel backbone chassis. The idea wasn’t Chapman’s but in fact another engineer’s, Rob Hickman who was in charge of Lotus Developments at the time. Chapman built a simple steel frame to test out the new driveline of the Elan while Hickman worked on the chassis. The frame weighed around 75 pounds and was twice as stiff as the Elite's monocoque, so why not make that the chassis? This meant the bodywork could be simple and light because it wasn't needed to provide structural rigidity.

The steel chassis was relatively simple to produce, and therefore cheap, and it also meant that conventional components could be bolted to it without getting too bogged down in fabrication. So on went Triumph GT6 suspension and brake components, plus its steering rack, with the unique Lotus parts making positive effects rather than simply meeting packaging requirements. Lotus cleverness at the rear included modified Ford Cortina suspension struts and the famous Rotoflex driveshaft couplings. Suspension was by double wishbones in front and struts in the rear, with unusually soft springing all around. Use of soft suspension was enabled by the backbone chassis. Ladder-frame sports cars had to be stiff to keep all four tires on the road, but the stiffness of the Elan's chassis allowed Lotus to fit much softer suspension and achieve the same thing.

Also cheaper was Lotus's new engine. The Elite used the Coventry Climax four-cylinder, an all-alloy unit originally designed for water pumps. Chapman thought that Lotus could save money by using an engine based on something built in higher volumes, so it worked with Ford to develop a new twin-cam four. The basis was Ford's recently introduced iron-block Kent engine, which was fit with a twin-cam head designed by Chapman's friend and former Coventry Climax engineer, Harry Mundy. Lotus would use the engine in the Elan (initially in 1500cc form, but displacement was soon bumped to 1558 cc form) while Ford would get it in the Lotus-tuned Cortina sedan.

Lotus Elan 1500, 1600, S1/2/3/4, Sprint, SE, +2, +2S

Development was a continuous process for the Elan from the word go. Originating as a convertible, the Elan 1500 was originally offered with a 1.5-liter engine comprised of a Ford block and a special Coventry Climax dual-overhead-cam cylinder head. The earliest 1.5-liter cars are quite rare, as the decision was quickly made to enlarge capacity to 1.6-liters with a name change to Elan 1600. Launched in Spring 1963, only 22 examples were made with this 1.5 liter engine before being replaced with the now famous 1558cc twin cam unit as seen in the Lotus Cortina.

In late 1964 came the Elan S2 with a raft of small but significant improvements. They were a mix of technical and styling upgrades, creating a more refined product that brought new customers into the Lotus brand. There was now even the option of a 115bhp SE model. Elan SE variants were available through most of Elan production after that point, and offered additional power.

The Elan S3 and S4 came in quick succession, entering production in 1966 and 1968, respectively. In 1966 with production being shifted to Hethel, the new S3 model had even more refinement. It even came complete with a new type number, Type 36 – with more design changes, the most significant of which was the fixed glass fibre roof. The interior was also much-improved with enhanced door trims which incorporated armrests and proper carpeting. A convertible version, the Type 45, was launched in June 1966. In 1967 a new four-seater Elan +2 joined the range. Looking like a longer and wider Elan, it was really a different car in its own right but still similar to the Elan particularly in its build.

The S4 came out in 1968, spotted by more new taillights and also flared wheelarches. It was in 1970 that the famous and now highly desirable Sprint model came out, with what’s known as the ‘big-valve’ 126bhp engine. The Elan Sprint was the final development of the car. The Elan +2 was also available with this engine from 1971. In 1973 a five-speed gearbox was made an option for the Sprint models before production wound to an end.

More Than The Sum of It's Parts

The Elan wasn't about raw numbers; it was a symphony of perfectly balanced ingredients. Low weight met eager power from the Ford-Lotus Twin Cam, transforming it into a David amongst automotive Goliaths. This wasn't just a sports car; it was the essence of sports car distilled, delivering an experience unlike any other. The suspension was a masterpiece, striking a harmonious note between razor-sharp handling and a surprisingly comfortable ride, a benchmark that continues to inspire.

Steering feel was its own concerto, with the thin-rimmed wood wheel acting as a conduit, faithfully translating every whisper of the road surface to your fingertips. Remarkably, even by modern standards, the Elan possesses a satisfying turn of speed. The twin-cam four-cylinder thrums with a lively spirit, perfectly matched to the most delightful four-speed shifter you'll ever find. Get behind the wheel of a well-preserved example, and you'll understand why the Elan continues to be revered as a legend.

Lotus Elan M100

With General Motors taking ownership of Lotus from 1986, the business needed a new small car. Such a car – the thinking was for a ‘new Elan’ – would sit below the larger and more expensive Esprit and Excel models. The big idea for this new car was that it would be front-wheel drive. Ditching the traditional front engine/rear-wheel drive layout would appeal to new generation of potential Lotus customers. It would provide sure-footed handling and tap into the popularity of the hot-hatches of the era.

The priority for Lotus was to find a new powertrain. A new-generation 1.6-litre straight-four in both naturally aspirated and turbo versions with an excellent power-to-weight ratio was identified from within the GM portfolio, and so the project was given the green light. Peter Steven’s ‘cab-forward’ design wasn’t to everyone’s liking but was aerodynamically effective.

Given the Type number 100 and the project name during development of M100, the Elan went on sale in 1989. Feedback from the media was initially positive and pent-up demand meant more than 1,200 had been sold by the end of 1990. The car picked up a prestigious award from the Design Council.

However, it was ultimately not a commercial success. The front-wheel drive layout meant the Elan the traditional ‘pure’ Lotus dynamics were missing and it was too expensive to build, particularly when it had to be reengineered to meet changing USA crash regulations. That the engine was branded Isuzu – a maker of SUVs and small trucks – didn’t help perception of the new Elan.

When Lotus was acquired by ACBN Holdings, also the parent company of Bugatti, it was decided to introduce the turbo-only Elan S2 with the remaining 800 engines. This short production run would lead up to the launch of one of the most iconic Lotus cars of all time, the Elise.