Like many cars produced by Lotus the Elan is the name given to three different cars; 2 convertibles and a coupe. The 1960s saw the first production of the Elan. In 1962 the first Elan was produced by Lotus as a roadster, which was later developed to include an optional hard top followed by a coupe version in 1965. The Elan was seen somewhat as a replacement for the Lotus Elise of that time which was expensive to produce and relatively unreliable.
The Lotus Elan was the first to use the steel chassis in conjunction with a fibreglass body; the start of the now famous trend with Lotus sports cars. The car weighed in at only 680 kg and demonstrated the desire of Lotus to produce lightweight performance sports cars well. Many advancements were made with the production of the Elan, including a twin-cam engine, independent suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes. The engine was later used in Team Lotus racing models and other production cars.
1967 saw the production of the Elan +2 which had a longer wheelbase to accommodate two rear seats. The car remained elegant and sporty with high performance and this model of Elan was highly sought after. With less than 1200 still on the road there is a great demand from collectors for this beautiful car. By 1975 both models ceased production despite massive commercial success.
The name Elan resurfaced in the 1990s with the M100. This 2-door roadster was designed by Peter Stevens, the man responsible for the new look Lotus Esprit. The car was the only front wheel drive sports car to be produced by Lotus. It offered a better ride and improved handling although several drawbacks in regards to steering kickback. Approximately 3000 were made making this evolution of the model relatively rare.
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