Lotus Elise: The Troubled road That led To The Revolutionary Sports Car

Lotus has faced some difficult times in its history. That is, until Romano Artioli came and gave the green light to Elise we know and love today

As everyone knows, the Lotus Elise is one of Reviews those natural, right-first-time cars that, Although 20 years old in its basics, still Informs sports car design and manufacture around the world.

Rival manufacturers continue to ape the Elise's ultra-rigid, box-section 'tub' chassis, bonded and riveted from extruded aluminum components. And when they do, they call it a modern and progressive, even though Lotus has been using the process for Decades.

owner consecutive Lotus Cars have always concluded that to be successful, requires a sports car marque is simple to sell a decent amount (as it was in the days of the good from the original Elan) but has had some significant struggle to get there.

In the early 1980s, when the Toyota-owned company, it is working on a compact coupé based components Celica and called M90. It was mid-engined with rear-wheel drive; some people say it bore a relationship with the first Toyota MR2. But the idea was not passionate management, probably because Toyota will soon sell its stake in Lotus.

In 1986 General Motors bought Lotus and the company set about launching a transverse-engine, front-wheel-drive Elan M100, largely for reasons of expediency. development funds were tight and Isuzu has a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine that is comfortable, sporty and very durable and gearbox mounted. The extent to which the design is driven by the availability of parts is clearly visible in the large track rear axle, sourced from a bar. This sloping styling.

However, the car lasted for seven years and, for a time, Lotus marketing men captured the mood of expediency; a copy of the brochure they even found in some way, a sports car frontdrive faster than the rear-drive equivalent.

That soon stopped in 1993, though, when the Italian tycoon Romano Artioli bought the company from GM and gave the green light for the Elise concept we know today. The rest is modern history

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