Lotus Elite
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Lotus-Elite-'60.jpg
The Lotus Elite name was used for two vehicles from Lotus Cars.
1958
The first Elite was an ultra-light two-seater coupe, produced from 1957 to 1962.
Its most unusual feature was its highly innovative fiberglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed-skin unibody replaced the previously separate frame and body components. Unlike the contemporaneous Chevrolet Corvette, which only used fiberglass for exterior bodywork, the Elite used this glass-reinforced plastic material for the entire load-bearing structure of the car. The Elite was possibly the first car made out of composites.
The resultant body was both lighter, stiffer, and provided better driver protection in the event of a crash. The weight savings allowed the Elite to achieve sports car performance from a 75 hp (55 kW) 1216 cc Coventry Climax engine.
Advanced aerodynamics also made a contribution, giving the car a very low drag coefficient of 0.29 — quite low even for modern cars. This accomplishment is all the more notable considering that the engineers did not enjoy the benefits of computer-aided design and wind tunnel testing.
1974
From 1974 to 1982, Lotus produced the considerably larger 4-seat Elite. This car also used fiberglass for the body but had a more conventional steel-backbone chassis. It had 4-wheel independent suspension and used a Lotus 907 4-valve DOHC aluminium engine, the first production 4-valve engine. This car was the basis for the Lotus Eclat.