Come Explore the History of Lotus
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman set up Lotus in order to build limited numbers of sports-racing cars, and quickly moved to road cars, as well. In this article, you’ll learn about Lotus cars, from Chapman’s low-weight philosophy to the Lotus Elan’s role in a popular television series. Starting with 1959’s Lotus Elite, Chapman built the world’s first car with unit fiberglass construction, in an effort to keep body weight as low as possible. This principle (if not the specific implementation) reappeared in each Lotus, from the popular and collectible Lotus Elan through the aggressive, mid-engine Lotus Esprit. Come explore the history of Lotus, beginning on the next page with the Lotus Elite. Chapman earned fame in his native England with a series of early-50s racing "specials," then set up a small company called Lotus to produce small numbers of sports-racing cars to his design. Before long, however, his ambitions turned to road cars, and in 1957 he announced the sleek Elite coupe as his first.
The Elite was not only the first practical roadgoing Lotus but the world’s first production car with unitized fiberglass construction, with no more than a tiny amount of steel stiffening. Chapman, who liked his cars as light as possible, thought this the ideal way to save weight without compromising structural rigidity. It also seemed the most affordable approach. A separate chassis was old hat, he felt, while a monocoque would have been too costly if built in steel. It was unrefined and unreliable in many ways, which hindered sales, while production costs proved higher than expected, so it never made any money.
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman set up Lotus in order to build limited numbers of sports-racing cars, and quickly moved to road cars, as well. In this article, you’ll learn about Lotus cars, from Chapman’s low-weight philosophy to the Lotus Elan’s role in a popular television series. Starting with 1959’s Lotus Elite, Chapman built the world’s first car with unit fiberglass construction, in an effort to keep body weight as low as possible. This principle (if not the specific implementation) reappeared in each Lotus, from the popular and collectible Lotus Elan through the aggressive, mid-engine Lotus Esprit. Come explore the history of Lotus, beginning on the next page with the Lotus Elite. Chapman earned fame in his native England with a series of early-50s racing "specials," then set up a small company called Lotus to produce small numbers of sports-racing cars to his design. Before long, however, his ambitions turned to road cars, and in 1957 he announced the sleek Elite coupe as his first.
The Elite was not only the first practical roadgoing Lotus but the world’s first production car with unitized fiberglass construction, with no more than a tiny amount of steel stiffening. Chapman, who liked his cars as light as possible, thought this the ideal way to save weight without compromising structural rigidity. It also seemed the most affordable approach. A separate chassis was old hat, he felt, while a monocoque would have been too costly if built in steel. It was unrefined and unreliable in many ways, which hindered sales, while production costs proved higher than expected, so it never made any money.