Lotus Elite at 50: a sensible supercar

By Martin Buckley

| 28 Dec 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Lotus Elite: the sensible supercar

The Lotus Elite of 1974 was a clever car – and a brave one for a small company.

This bold, wedge-shaped coupé, the Norfolk firm’s first full four-seater, really was all new, sharing almost nothing with its predecessors and using close to 70% in-house Lotus content.

As uncompromising in its looks as it was in its technology, the Elite maintained all of founder Colin Chapman’s traditions of engineering elegance and fine handling in a machine that projected Lotus firmly into the luxury gran turismo class.

Lotus Elite designer Oliver Winterbottom took inspiration from the Lamborghini Espada

It finished the job of putting the company’s kit-assembly roots in the past with a vehicle that appealed not just to enthusiast buyers, but also to wealthy individuals who wanted a fast, luxurious and practical coupé: traditional Lotus customers who had growing families, plus owners who might be coming fresh to the brand from a Jaguar, BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

People such as Chapman himself, in fact: by then in his mid-40s, the Hethel boss had availed himself of a variety of contemporary GT cars to get a feel for what was required.

Superb handling was non-negotiable and achieved via the combination of a low centre of gravity, wide 205/60 tyres and ideal weight distribution.

The Lotus Elite in early (furthest), late (closest) and modified forms

Weight, as ever, was the enemy: at just 2450lb the Lotus Elite, with its easily tooled backbone chassis, was much lighter than most of its four-seater rivals of the mid-’70s.

Indeed, there was nothing else quite like it, although Chapman may have been galvanised by the surprise arrival in 1970 of the Marcos Mantis, a failed attempt to do a glassfibre-bodied full four-seater of surprisingly similar concept to that of the Elite.

Chapman’s business acumen was second only to his engineering genius, and he had long since concluded that his future lay with the higher profit margins associated with bigger, more expensive models that did not necessarily cost that much more to produce than an Elan or a Europa.

It is hard to believe the Lotus Elite has hit its half century

He was also frustrated by the expense of keeping the ageing Elan and Europa safety compliant.

Thus, as the ’70s dawned, a more grown-up Lotus seemed the only way to go.

The Elite, reviving a name associated with Chapman’s first pure road car of 1957-’62, was never timidly priced in comparison with exotic foreign or domestic machinery.

While its four-cylinder engine appeared to put it at a disadvantage (it was the world’s most expensive ‘four’ at the time), it emerged as a blessing in the midst of the 1973-’74 Fuel Crisis: here was a refined, 125mph four-seater good for 26mpg when its six-, eight- and 12-cylinder rivals were doing well if they got 16 miles to every gallon.

This ‘entry-level’ Lotus Elite 501’s untouched cabin has lasted well

Tellingly, the Lotus Elite required just 41 of its 155bhp to maintain 100mph, and could cover up to 350 miles on its 15-gallon tank.

Chapman was heavily involved with the design, but meted out day-to-day responsibility to a team that included Mike Kimberley (chief engineer), Tony Rudd (technical director) and Oliver Winterbottom (styling), who had left Jaguar for Lotus in 1971 to revive the M50 project that had been off and on since 1967.

The project had stalled a bit by the time Winterbottom (whom I interviewed in 2002) arrived, having only got as far as a scale model that looked too much like a Maserati Ghibli.

The Lotus Elite’s wedge-shaped profile aided fuel economy

His sleek aero-wedge design, with its long, wide-opening doors and Reliant Scimitar GTE-style glass rear hatch, cut a striking figure every bit as dramatic as the Lamborghini Espada that had partially inspired it.

“The backbone chassis was only adopted in 1971,” he told me, “but the shape suffered from lift back and front, and the fastback meant limited room. The estate-type shape gave headroom for a rear seat.”

The body was formed in two halves along its waistline in a ‘secret’ new process developed for Chapman’s Moonraker boats.

Decent rear headroom in the Lotus Elite

The rear suspension was a classic example of the Lotus founder’s ethos of making one component do two jobs, with the driveshaft doubling as the upper link, Jaguar-style.

He insisted on this idea against Kimberley’s advice: in service it suffered leaky differential output seals and hub-carrier failure, and was perhaps the Elite’s greatest cause of frustration to owners – although it suffered many other detail and build-quality issues that led to its star falling rather rapidly as a secondhand buy.

Safety features included sturdy door beams and a quick-filling fuel tank designed to prevent petrol spillage if the car ended up on its roof.

The early Lotus Elite’s in-house Type 907 four-cylinder engine displaces 1969cc

It was easily as strong as any steel-bodied car, and Lotus was proud of the fact that the 30mph impact test only registered half an inch of steering-column movement against the permitted 5in.

If the rear drum brakes – the same as a 3-litre Ford Capri – looked regressive in an era when some quite ordinary cars had four-wheel discs, they were at least inboard in the interests of reduced unsprung weight.

Lotus started development in March 1971 and had a running prototype by January the following year, with Kimberley and Rudd doing much of the testing across Europe.

This Lotus Elite 501’s unassisted steering is no handicap

One of the keys to the car’s acceptance in the rarefied world of thoroughbred GTs was the in-house Type 907 engine.

Heavily canted over for a low bonnet line, it featured four valves per cylinder and a belt drive for its twin overhead cams.

The unit was first seen, in 140bhp form, in the Jensen-Healey, and it shared only dimensions and bore spacing with the Vauxhall engine whose bottom end served as a mule to speed up the development of the cylinder head.

With its die-cast alloy block, head and sump, this lightweight 2-litre made 155bhp and took minimal changes to meet Federal emissions requirements.

The 1976 Lotus Elite 501 rides on simple alloy wheels

Running twin Dell’Orto carburettors (but Zeniths in the USA and Japan), it was built to metric rather than imperial dimensions and featured cast-iron cylinder liners.

The shape of Winterbottom’s fastback Éclat variant was approved in August 1973, but the recession delayed its launch until ’75, a year after the Elite, leaving Lotus somewhat exposed as a one-model company for a time.

Both were designed to take a V8 version of the four-cylinder engine (although they never got it), and there were plans for a higher-volume ‘budget’ model on a shorter wheelbase.

At Geneva in 1972 Winterbottom introduced Chapman to Giorgetto Giugiaro, and he ended up doing the cabin.

The Lotus Elite 501’s stylish pop-up headlamps

Winterbottom said: “I never liked the interior he did for the Elite – my version was going to be more like something out of an Espada – but Chapman would not contemplate any changes because he wanted exactly the same as the original presentation, using delicate dress fabrics and so on.”

Winterbottom ended up respecting Chapman, for all his faults: “He squeezed content out of design, rulebooks, people, bank managers or whatever, using competitiveness to make people work harder for him, which sometimes made them unhappy; but when a boss like that said you’d done a good job, it meant more.”

The 1974 launch of the Lotus Elite was a bright spot in those grim, strife-ridden months of powercuts and strikes (the BBC even made a 25-minute film about the new car, called Project M50).

The Lotus Elite’s striking hatchback shape, with Reliant Scimitar GTE-style glass

The Lotus Elite got mostly rave reviews, particularly for its magnificent handling and lusty performance, if less so for finer points
of refinement.

But it was relaxing over long distances in a way no previous Lotus had been.

The car was offered in three specifications: the 501 was the basic variant; the 502 added Marcasite trim, air conditioning (consuming 8bhp when the pump was running), a tape deck, tinted glass and quartz halogen lights; and the 503 had all of the above plus power steering.

The early brochure talks of an entry-level Lotus Elite 500, but that trim level was saved for the Éclat.

‘Our’ Lotus Elite Series 2.2 is rare sunroof-equipped Riviera model

The 1975-on 504 with Borg-Warner auto found a few takers, even at a showroom price roughly double that of the contemporary Scimitar GTE.

Lotus produced 2402 Elites in total through to 1982.

Its best year was 1974, with 687 examples sold, while its worst was 1980, when just 20 found homes.

The less radically styled Éclat coupé was by then doubtless undermining the popularity of the original car.

The Lotus Elite marries Italianate elegance with sporting practicality

The arrival of the Series 2 – or, more accurately, the Series 2.2 – should have marked a modest revival in the four-seater’s fortunes.

This was undoubtedly a much better Lotus Elite: a deeper front spoiler, bigger tail-lights (inverted Rover SD1 items) and a square numberplate are chief among the visual telltales, although in some ways the best news was unseen, in that the rot-prone chassis was now galvanised.

The new Type 912 version of the twin-cam was bored out to 2174cc for better mid-range torque.

It gave 160lb ft at 5000rpm but, more tellingly, matched the previous engine’s peak output of 140lb ft at half the revs.

The later Lotus Elite Series 2.2 can be identified by its square rear numberplate

You could still get an automatic, but the old 501/502/503/504 model hierarchy was ditched in favour of a traditional options list.

The manual gearbox was a bought-in Getrag, apparently on the basis that low sales of its front-engined cars could no longer justify building the old, Austin Maxi-based five-speed in-house.

But soaring prices, north of £17,000 by 1981, hobbled sales dramatically, with just 99 S2.2 Lotus Elites sold in 1980 and a grand total of just 133 S2.2s by the time production gave way to the Excel in ’82.

This Lotus Elite Series 2.2’s interior was retrimmed in bright yellow

In fact, sales of the Éclat had already begun to overtake the Elite substantially, so the decision to stick with the more conventional booted fastback body for the new model was understandable.

Mike Taylor of LotusBits has probably done more to help keep Elites on the road than anyone else over the past 30 years, and he has an almost unrivalled inventory of parts and knowledge, particularly of the 907 twin-cam engine.

He kindly put together a representative set of Lotus Elites from his database of happy customers to help us celebrate a hard-to-credit half century of this controversial wedge.

The Lotus Elite Series 2.2 received the larger, Type 912 version of the twin-cam engine

Mike Clifford’s 1976 501 has been in his wife’s family from new.

It has never been restored and is still on its original chassis, which at least proves that they didn’t all rot away.

“It was originally Kermit the Frog green, but my wife’s uncle had it resprayed silver,” explains Mike. “Apparently Lotus only made about 75 501s, so it’s quite rare.”

He enjoys the Elite, but says his daughter won’t even ride in it: “It’s so low – compared with modern SUVs it is a completely alien experience. She hates it!”

The Lotus Elite references the marque’s Formula One heritage

Being a basic model, the cabin has survived well and the lack of power steering could be seen as a bonus because the assisted set-up was mildly criticised for being overly light: even at parking speeds it’s acceptably weighted.

The car flows through corners with a lack of both roll and understeer that makes for effortless, swift progress, although you do have to keep above 2500rpm to feel the benefit of the torque.

Use the revs and the 501 feels lively and cruises peacefully, but it is fairly vocal when pushed – there is no disguising that it’s a ‘four’.

The Lotus Elite’s later rims are shared with the Esprit

Mike Taylor casts aspersions on the dependability of the Lotus five-speed ’box, but with only 140lb ft of torque to cope with it is light and precise, with a narrow gate between third and fifth.

Roger Makhlouf’s black S2.2 Lotus Elite is one of the ultra-rare Riviera models, with a removable targa-style roof panel that stows in the boot.

Roger began his passion for the products of Colin Chapman in his 20s, driving +2S Elans, and says he enjoys the Elite principally for its shape, which he likens to a “mini Espada”.

He also commissioned the retrim in bright yellow leather. “If anyone were sick in it, at least you wouldn’t notice,” he laughs.

This heavily modified 1974 Lotus showcases the Elite’s potential without diluting its essence

There is a broader-shouldered feel to the Riviera’s power delivery.

Driving quickly, you rarely have to drop below fourth to keep the urge flowing, with a similarly lusty sluicing from the Dell’Orto carburettors.

The dash looks more polished than that of the earlier car, yet is less characterful, but in matters such as the evenly matched feel of the tiny pedals, the lightness of the Getrag ’box (which has a wider gate) and the general sense that you ‘wear’ the car, it is much like the earlier model, if perhaps a little bit more carefully screwed together.

‘Superb handling was non-negotiable, and the Lotus Elite was much lighter than most of its four-seater GT rivals’

Paul Britton’s 1974 Lotus Elite is a counterpoint to the standard cars, and shows what can be done using modern technology combined with intelligent application of the later developments that made the Excel a more robust, customer-friendly machine.

Finished in a deep blue colour (or is it purple?) as per the original Elite brochure, it features the full range of LotusBits upgrades including an Excel galvanised chassis with transverse top links/wide-based lower wishbones and Toyota Supra-sourced driveshafts.

Apart from the lack of waist moulding it looks outwardly standard, but under the bonnet is a 2.6-litre, 270bhp fuel-injected ‘stroker’ 907 engine with a billet crank, ported head and many other tweaks developed over several seasons in Mike’s fearsome 300bhp Talbot Sunbeam Lotus rally car.

This modified Lotus Elite’s 907 engine has been stroked to 2.6 litres for 270bhp

Combined with an upgrade to the Toyota gearbox, plus a limited-slip diff, the result is a rocketship that will keep up with almost anything you’re likely to encounter.

The torque is in another league and feels as if it could bring you up against the limits of the car’s composure quite rapidly, although the general feel is benign enough.

Combining the best of the new with the look and feel of the 1970s, it is not a Frankenstein restomod but a fully sorted expression of what the four-seater Lotus concept might have become, had it continued in production.

The cleverly conceived four-seater Elite secured Lotus a place at the big players’ table

I would contend that the Type 75 Lotus Elite was one of the cleverest cars of Chapman’s career.

To get four full-sized adults into a slippery, low-slung coupé of compact dimensions, and which combined performance with modest fuel demands, was quite a feat of engineering.

To make that car highly crash-safe – it won the 1974 Don Safety Trophy – and able to meet all foreseeable emissions requirements adds further weight to the argument that the much-maligned Elite was actually an important design, not one to be quietly forgotten about or endlessly castigated.

Images: Luc Lacey

Thanks to: LotusBits

Factfile

Lotus Elite

Sold/number built 1974-’82/2398
Construction steel backbone chassis (galvanised for S2.2), glassfibre body
Engine all-alloy, dohc, 16v 1969/2174cc ‘four’, twin Dell’Orto carburettors
Max power 155-160bhp @ 6500rpm
Max torque 140-160lb ft @ 5000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual or three-speed auto, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar rear trailing arms, lower transverse links, fixed-length driveshafts, coil-over dampers
Steering rack and pinion, optional power assistance
Brakes discs/drums, with servo
Length 14ft 7½in (4458mm)
Width 5ft 11in (1803mm)
Height 3ft 11½in (1207mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 1¾in (2483mm)
Weight 2552lb (1158kg)
Mpg 36.2
0-60mph 7.5 secs
Top speed 132mph
Price new £16,433
Price now £2-20,000*