First shown at Earls Court in 1962, the Lotus Elan was the sports car by which others were judged for a decade.
Costing from £700 to £7000 in 1985, would the Elan be your Classic Choice?
Above, the delightful coupe version of the Elan which isn't regarded quite as highly as the open version by some enthusiasts.
However, the closed car offers just the same thrills but in a more civilised package.
Vivacity, dash or even an impetuous rush: these are the meanings of the word Elan given by various dictionaries.
It's a great name for a great car, though the word impetuous is perhaps not all that appropriate for the car with which Lotus became firmly established as a manufacturer.
Colin Chapman's efforts to produce the Elite from 1958 onwards could well be described as impetuous, for that brilliant design had proved a nightmare to 'productionise', as we say today.
Chapman had been determined to get the Elite into production in 1958 and he made it: the first two Elites to have been delivered to customers Ian Scott-Watson and jazz bandleader Chris Barber went out on December 31, 1958.
There were troubles with getting the monocoque glassfibre body/ chassis units made properly to a reasonable price and on time; some of the customers did not understand that the Coventry Climax engines were meant to burn up a gallon of oil every 1200 miles; and there was an obvious lack of co-ordination between the factory and its officially appointed American sales operation.
In April, 1958, it was reported in the press that orders for 1000 Elites had been placed in the States, and that the bulk of the order would be delivered by the end of the year.
The Lotus contract with the body-shell manufacturers at that time was for 250 Elite units per year and they were far from being anywhere near meeting that schedule.
The all-important American deal collapsed and Chapman had to think again.
At that point I am sure Chapman had no clear idea of how to move Lotus ahead as a sports car manufacturing company.
Quite simply, he had so many good ideas that it was hard to tell which one to implement next.
Stung by the US fiasco, Chapman did have a new purpose-built factory at Cheshunt which was officially opened on October 14, 1959, and very quickly Lotus made a significant and highly successful move towards independent engine manufacturing status with the development of the Lotus Ford Twin-Cam, a major conversion of the then current Ford Anglia and Classic four-cylinder units.
The Twin-Cam made its famous debut fitted to a Lotus 23 in the 1000km race at the Nurburgring in May, 1962.
The new factory and the Twin-Cam engine were to be vital elements in the production of the new Lotus car but when Chapman set about planning it his early ideas were far removed from the great Lotus Elan that was first on show at Earls Court in October, 1962.
The car that finally emerged as the Elan was intended at first to be, like the Elite, a glassfibre monocoque.
It was also meant to be a very much more simple car in many ways, for Chapman saw it as a replacement for the Seven and as such, the original design was for an open two-seater without opening doors.
As the thinking on the new car evolved it was Ron Hickman, in charge of Lotus Developments, who argued — probably with great tact — that a prototype with a backbone chassis should be built as a temporary measure so that the engine/transmission/ suspension/brakes package for the new car could be developed immediately.
In agreeing to this Chapman gave the nod to the backbone chassis construction that has been a feature of every production Lotus road car since then.
Built in this way, the Elan was light, rigid and relatively easy to manufacture.
Though some of the suspension components were taken from existing designs, the result was a car of astonishing road-holding and handling, quite different from anything else on the market, and it would be competitively priced.
Lotus-designed double wishbones at the front were connected with Triumph GT6 uprights and a GT6 steering rack was used, too.
While the chassis opened out at the front to carry the Twin-Cam engine and standard Ford gearbox, the narrower rear end of the chassis held the final, drive unit, inboard rear disc brakes were tried but were found to be incompatible with the flexible Rotaflex drive-shaft couplings.
Ford Cortina front suspension struts were used in modified form as part of the Chapman-strut rear suspension design.
While designer John Frayling worked on the superb body styling, enormous trouble was taken to make the new car comfortable to ride in.
This included careful attention to seat design and position, suppression of noise which had been a fault in the Elite, heating and ventilation and the ride.
Lotus flair in these areas meant that a brilliant result was achieved for a fraction of the development costs that other manufacturers might have regarded as necessary.
So much had been learnt from the Elite.
Production engineer, John Cope-Lewis, was attracted away from Rolls-Royce to ensure that the Elan would be a practical manufacturing proposition as well as a desirable sports car.
Riding high on Grand Prix success with the Lotus 25 Formula 1 car, the Elan (which was also the Lotus 26, in fact) got off to a good start. Launched as the Lotus Elan 1500, it was priced at £1095 as a kit or £1499 built up.
The heater cost an extra £21 and a tonneau was £16; the car was good value for money and the first Elan's reached their new owners in early Spring, 1963. Almost immediately the first 20 cars were called back for a free engine swap: the new five-bearing 1558cc engine had arrived and was immediately turned into a Lotus Twin-Cam.
The old 1500 engines were needed badly for racing in the 1500cc classes then prevailing so the free swap was good for Lotus and the new Elan owners: all the early road cars were converted to 1558cc power in this deal.
Once the Elan was in production, great efforts were made to keep up the developments effort.
The 'Top ten complaints committee' at Lotus discovered badly fitting windows, various water leaks especially around the boot-lid, the lack of a lockable glove compartment, an unattractive wooden facia, low overall gearing, some con-rod failures in the early days, a weak handbrake and poor door trim location were the main complaints.
In November, 1964, these faults were largely corrected on the new Elan S2, and a special SE model, with the latest 115bhp Twin-Cam engine developed at Lotus by Steve Sanville, was also offered.
A more successful US sales operation was set up at around this time, too, though this is an area which has historically been difficult for Lotus.
However, the flamboyant Graham Arnold who had joined Lotus in July, 1963, was able to announce some encouraging US orders based on substantial letters of credit. US cars were fitted with Stromberg carburettors to comply with emission control regulations.
Plus Two and Sprint
The Elan sold very well at home as well and by September, 1965, the 1000th UK market Elan had been delivered.
A year later the progressive move into the new and much larger factory at Hethel was well under way and Lotus went into volume production with characteristic enthusiasm, and by April, 1967, it was announced that 4225 Elan's for all markets had been built.
At Hethel Lotus were able to make all their own chassis and bodies and set up their own engine production properly, amongst other advantages, though for a time final assembly of the Twin-Cam engines was still carried out at the old JAP premises of Villiers.
The Elan +2, later known simply as the Plus Two, was added to the range of fixed head and drop- head coupe models in August, 1967.
It was priced at £1923 built up or £1672 as a kit though kit sales were beginning to be discouraged.
The Plus Two was not just a stretched Elan: it was a completely new car though built in a similar way.
It was two feet longer, ten inches wider and 340lb heavier than the normal Elan.
The factory never offered an open version of the Plus Two.
The Plus Two was launched with the 118bhp version of the Twin-Cam engine which soon was fitted to the SE version of the standard Elan body.
This late 1967 Elan SE also had a higher final drive (3.55:1 instead of 3.77:1), servo brakes, knock-on wheels and other special features including a leather-rimmed steering wheel.
In April, 1969, the Elan name was dropped from the Plus Two range,at which point the Plus Two S was launched.
Above, to many eyes the 'Classic' variation on the Elan theme was the Sprint with the big-valve version of the twin cam engine.
This car was capable of over 120mph and offered vivid acceleration.
The days of the old Elan itself seemed to be numbered but then in January, 1971, the best Elan of the lot was announced.
This was the Lotus Elan Sprint, which was fitted with the superb Big Valve version of the Twin-Cam engine, developed under Tony Rudd to give 126bhp.
Ever since the Elan had first appeared, other sports cars had been judged by the standards it set, but the Sprint model was something really special, giving just over 120mph top speed and 0-60mph in 6.7sec.
It also had greatly improved flexible couplings in the transmission which
almost eliminated the surge experienced in previous models.
Before the summer holidays in 1973, however, Lotus announced that the last Elan had been built. In just over ten years 12,224 Elans had been produced, plus some 5200 +2 models which for a time had carried the Elan name.
A new generation of Lotus cars was on the way.
Today we await the announcement of a new Lotus sports car, which seems likely to carry on the Elan tradition and which seems certain to carry the name Elan once again.
Below, Plus 2, seen today the Elan underdog but in many ways the most practical of the bunch with its rear accommodation, albeit cramped.
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, December 1985
Costing from £700 to £7000 in 1985, would the Elan be your Classic Choice?
Above, the delightful coupe version of the Elan which isn't regarded quite as highly as the open version by some enthusiasts.
However, the closed car offers just the same thrills but in a more civilised package.
Vivacity, dash or even an impetuous rush: these are the meanings of the word Elan given by various dictionaries.
It's a great name for a great car, though the word impetuous is perhaps not all that appropriate for the car with which Lotus became firmly established as a manufacturer.
Colin Chapman's efforts to produce the Elite from 1958 onwards could well be described as impetuous, for that brilliant design had proved a nightmare to 'productionise', as we say today.
Chapman had been determined to get the Elite into production in 1958 and he made it: the first two Elites to have been delivered to customers Ian Scott-Watson and jazz bandleader Chris Barber went out on December 31, 1958.
There were troubles with getting the monocoque glassfibre body/ chassis units made properly to a reasonable price and on time; some of the customers did not understand that the Coventry Climax engines were meant to burn up a gallon of oil every 1200 miles; and there was an obvious lack of co-ordination between the factory and its officially appointed American sales operation.
In April, 1958, it was reported in the press that orders for 1000 Elites had been placed in the States, and that the bulk of the order would be delivered by the end of the year.
The Lotus contract with the body-shell manufacturers at that time was for 250 Elite units per year and they were far from being anywhere near meeting that schedule.
The all-important American deal collapsed and Chapman had to think again.
At that point I am sure Chapman had no clear idea of how to move Lotus ahead as a sports car manufacturing company.
Quite simply, he had so many good ideas that it was hard to tell which one to implement next.
Stung by the US fiasco, Chapman did have a new purpose-built factory at Cheshunt which was officially opened on October 14, 1959, and very quickly Lotus made a significant and highly successful move towards independent engine manufacturing status with the development of the Lotus Ford Twin-Cam, a major conversion of the then current Ford Anglia and Classic four-cylinder units.
The Twin-Cam made its famous debut fitted to a Lotus 23 in the 1000km race at the Nurburgring in May, 1962.
The new factory and the Twin-Cam engine were to be vital elements in the production of the new Lotus car but when Chapman set about planning it his early ideas were far removed from the great Lotus Elan that was first on show at Earls Court in October, 1962.
The car that finally emerged as the Elan was intended at first to be, like the Elite, a glassfibre monocoque.
It was also meant to be a very much more simple car in many ways, for Chapman saw it as a replacement for the Seven and as such, the original design was for an open two-seater without opening doors.
As the thinking on the new car evolved it was Ron Hickman, in charge of Lotus Developments, who argued — probably with great tact — that a prototype with a backbone chassis should be built as a temporary measure so that the engine/transmission/ suspension/brakes package for the new car could be developed immediately.
In agreeing to this Chapman gave the nod to the backbone chassis construction that has been a feature of every production Lotus road car since then.
Built in this way, the Elan was light, rigid and relatively easy to manufacture.
Though some of the suspension components were taken from existing designs, the result was a car of astonishing road-holding and handling, quite different from anything else on the market, and it would be competitively priced.
Lotus-designed double wishbones at the front were connected with Triumph GT6 uprights and a GT6 steering rack was used, too.
While the chassis opened out at the front to carry the Twin-Cam engine and standard Ford gearbox, the narrower rear end of the chassis held the final, drive unit, inboard rear disc brakes were tried but were found to be incompatible with the flexible Rotaflex drive-shaft couplings.
Ford Cortina front suspension struts were used in modified form as part of the Chapman-strut rear suspension design.
While designer John Frayling worked on the superb body styling, enormous trouble was taken to make the new car comfortable to ride in.
This included careful attention to seat design and position, suppression of noise which had been a fault in the Elite, heating and ventilation and the ride.
Lotus flair in these areas meant that a brilliant result was achieved for a fraction of the development costs that other manufacturers might have regarded as necessary.
So much had been learnt from the Elite.
Production engineer, John Cope-Lewis, was attracted away from Rolls-Royce to ensure that the Elan would be a practical manufacturing proposition as well as a desirable sports car.
Riding high on Grand Prix success with the Lotus 25 Formula 1 car, the Elan (which was also the Lotus 26, in fact) got off to a good start. Launched as the Lotus Elan 1500, it was priced at £1095 as a kit or £1499 built up.
The heater cost an extra £21 and a tonneau was £16; the car was good value for money and the first Elan's reached their new owners in early Spring, 1963. Almost immediately the first 20 cars were called back for a free engine swap: the new five-bearing 1558cc engine had arrived and was immediately turned into a Lotus Twin-Cam.
The old 1500 engines were needed badly for racing in the 1500cc classes then prevailing so the free swap was good for Lotus and the new Elan owners: all the early road cars were converted to 1558cc power in this deal.
Once the Elan was in production, great efforts were made to keep up the developments effort.
The 'Top ten complaints committee' at Lotus discovered badly fitting windows, various water leaks especially around the boot-lid, the lack of a lockable glove compartment, an unattractive wooden facia, low overall gearing, some con-rod failures in the early days, a weak handbrake and poor door trim location were the main complaints.
In November, 1964, these faults were largely corrected on the new Elan S2, and a special SE model, with the latest 115bhp Twin-Cam engine developed at Lotus by Steve Sanville, was also offered.
A more successful US sales operation was set up at around this time, too, though this is an area which has historically been difficult for Lotus.
However, the flamboyant Graham Arnold who had joined Lotus in July, 1963, was able to announce some encouraging US orders based on substantial letters of credit. US cars were fitted with Stromberg carburettors to comply with emission control regulations.
Plus Two and Sprint
The Elan sold very well at home as well and by September, 1965, the 1000th UK market Elan had been delivered.
A year later the progressive move into the new and much larger factory at Hethel was well under way and Lotus went into volume production with characteristic enthusiasm, and by April, 1967, it was announced that 4225 Elan's for all markets had been built.
At Hethel Lotus were able to make all their own chassis and bodies and set up their own engine production properly, amongst other advantages, though for a time final assembly of the Twin-Cam engines was still carried out at the old JAP premises of Villiers.
The Elan +2, later known simply as the Plus Two, was added to the range of fixed head and drop- head coupe models in August, 1967.
It was priced at £1923 built up or £1672 as a kit though kit sales were beginning to be discouraged.
The Plus Two was not just a stretched Elan: it was a completely new car though built in a similar way.
It was two feet longer, ten inches wider and 340lb heavier than the normal Elan.
The factory never offered an open version of the Plus Two.
The Plus Two was launched with the 118bhp version of the Twin-Cam engine which soon was fitted to the SE version of the standard Elan body.
This late 1967 Elan SE also had a higher final drive (3.55:1 instead of 3.77:1), servo brakes, knock-on wheels and other special features including a leather-rimmed steering wheel.
In April, 1969, the Elan name was dropped from the Plus Two range,at which point the Plus Two S was launched.
Above, to many eyes the 'Classic' variation on the Elan theme was the Sprint with the big-valve version of the twin cam engine.
This car was capable of over 120mph and offered vivid acceleration.
The days of the old Elan itself seemed to be numbered but then in January, 1971, the best Elan of the lot was announced.
This was the Lotus Elan Sprint, which was fitted with the superb Big Valve version of the Twin-Cam engine, developed under Tony Rudd to give 126bhp.
Ever since the Elan had first appeared, other sports cars had been judged by the standards it set, but the Sprint model was something really special, giving just over 120mph top speed and 0-60mph in 6.7sec.
It also had greatly improved flexible couplings in the transmission which
almost eliminated the surge experienced in previous models.
Before the summer holidays in 1973, however, Lotus announced that the last Elan had been built. In just over ten years 12,224 Elans had been produced, plus some 5200 +2 models which for a time had carried the Elan name.
A new generation of Lotus cars was on the way.
Today we await the announcement of a new Lotus sports car, which seems likely to carry on the Elan tradition and which seems certain to carry the name Elan once again.
Below, Plus 2, seen today the Elan underdog but in many ways the most practical of the bunch with its rear accommodation, albeit cramped.
Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, December 1985