Lotus Elan
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| Lotus Elan | |
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| Manufacturer: | Lotus Cars |
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| Production: | 1962-1975 and 1989-1995 |
| Predecessor: | Lotus Elite |
| Successor: | Lotus Elise |
| Class: | Sports car Roadster |
| Body style: | 2-door convertible 2-door coupe |
| Engine: | Lotus 1558 cc |
Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible automobiles and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version, 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans. The Type M100 from 1989 to 1995, is also commonly known as the 1990s Elan.
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[edit] 1960s Elan
The original Elan was introduced in 1962 as a roadster, although later a coupé version and an optional hardtop were offered. It was the first Lotus road car to use the now famous steel backbone chassis with a fiberglass body. The Elan was technologically advanced with a twin-cam 1558 cc engine, 4-wheel disc brakes, and 4-wheel independent suspension. The Lotus-Ford Twin Cam engine was based on Ford's Kent and would go on to be used in a number of Lotus production and racing models. An Elan +2 was introduced in 1967 with a longer wheelbase and two more rear seats. The Elan ceased production in 1973 and the Elan +2 in 1975. An estimated total of 17,000 original Elans and Elan +2's were built.
This generation of the two seater Elan was famously driven by the character Emma Peel on the British television series The Avengers. In 2004, Sports Car International named the Elan number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. The original version of the car was designed by Ron Hickman, who also designed the first Lotus Europa as part of Lotus' GT40 project bid, as well as the Black and Decker Workmate.
A Lotus Elan Type 26 was also seen in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. The car was of a gold color with a black leather roof and a number that was either 78 or 118. It appeared in only one scene.
The original Elan is commonly credited as being the design inspiration, if not the outright predecessor, for the original 1990 Mazda Miata. In fact, two Elans were "reverse-engineered" [citation needed] in the process of designing the Miata.
[edit] 1990s Elan
The second Lotus Elan (often known as the M100 Elan based on its internal Lotus model number), released in 1989, was a technical tour de force but one that also defied Lotus's "performance through light weight" tradition, some say to its detriment. Its styling by Peter Stevens, who was also responsible for the redesign of the Lotus Esprit, was also controversial.
Lotus Engineering had spent five years in tuning other cars and they put the knowledge from that into the new Elan. They wanted a very rigid chassis and used their gained knowledge to create a roadster chassis as rigid as a coupé.
The idea of a front-wheel drive Lotus, powered by an Isuzu turbocharged engine and motivated by an Isuzu five speed transmission, was a brave concept and its cornering performance was undeniable (on release the Elan was described by Autocar magazine as "the quickest point to point car available"). However the handling was negatively compared to the original Elan both by the press and some Lotus loyalists, often being accused of lacking driver feedback. According to Lotus sales literature, "The ride and handling engineers at Lotus found that for a given vehicle weight, power and tire size, a front wheel drive car was always faster over a given section of road. There were definite advantages in traction and controllability, and drawbacks such as torque steer, bump steer, and steering kickback were not insurmountable." [1] However, it should be noted that this was the only front wheel drive vehicle made by Lotus. Every model made since the M100 Elan, such as the Lotus Elise, have been rear wheel drive.
The relatively high price of the M100 Elan (vs. e.g. the Mazda Miata), along with the mixed reviews and the downturn in the global economy in 1992 particularly in the USA meant it was not a sales success, list price being around $40,000 similar to that of the Elise when launched in the USA over 10 years later.
Production numbers are a highly debated topic among some. Ann Talbot of Lotus Cars USA cited US sales of 1,500 units in 1991, and Lotus Cars USA issued a statement that they sold more than 2,000 Elans in the US in 1991 and 1992.
However Lotus UK archives indicate total production of 3,855 vehicles from November 1989 - July 1992. Included in the 3,855 total is the series 1 production of 129 normally aspirated examples built for the UK market only. In 1991 the only year the vehicles were available in the USA, Lotus UK records indicate that 559 Elans were sold into the US market.
Official production figures for the Elan verified by the archivist at Lotus UK are:
- 1989 (Nov-Dec)14
- 1990 Jan-Dec) 1286
- 1991 (Jan-Dec)2060
- 1992 (Jan-Jul) 495 (S1 production ceased in July)
- 1994 (June-Dec) 350
- 1995 (Jan-Sep) 450
US market vehicles featured a 'stage 2 body' which had a different rear boot spoiler arrangement together with a lengthened nose to accommodate a USA compliant crash structure and 16" wheels instead of the UK car's 15".
The M100 Elan used a 1588 cc twin-cam 16-valve turbocharged engine, sourced from the Isuzu Gemini (a third generation of this engine was later used in the Isuzu Impulse), which produced 162 hp. 0-60 acceleration time was measured by Autocar and Motor magazine as 6.5 s, and a top speed of 137 mph was recorded.
In June 1992 Elan production ceased due to economic conditions and a desire by the then owner of Lotus, General Motors, to reduce losses which amounted to some 36 million UK pounds over the period the Elan was in production.
In 1996 and 1997, Kia built the Elan under license for the Korean market, using a 151 hp 1.8 L engine instead of the Isuzu made 1.6.
[edit] Series 2 M100 Elan
A limited edition (of 800) Series 2 (S2) M100 Elans was released during the Romano Artioli era (produced from June 1994 - September 1995) when it was discovered that enough engines remained available to make this possible. According to Autocar magazine, the S2 addressed some of the concerns over handling but the 0-60 acceleration time allegedly increased to 7.5 seconds, which they thought was probably due to the legislative requirement to fit a catalytic converter in all markets. In overall performance the S2's have very similar performance to the USA vehicles, having an identical engine management system calibration and a slightly lower overall vehicle weight.
[edit] External links
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[edit] 1960's Lotus Elan
[edit] 1990's Lotus Elan
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