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25/02/2021 11:18 am
1963-1974 Lotus Elan
Lotus under Colin Chapman built a significant number of great cars. The essential 1960s British sports car, the tiny Lotus Elan, remains a benchmark for handling. With its pop-up headlights, curved windshield, and roll-up windows, it was a symbol of Swinging London, immortalized in The Avengers television series.
The Lotus Elan was the first Lotus road car to use a steel backbone chassis with a fibreglass body. This style of construction was to be repeated in subsequent Lotus models for nearly three decades. At approximately 1,500 lb (680 kg), the Elan embodied Colin Chapman's minimum weight design philosophy. The Elan was technologically advanced with a DOHC 1,558 cc engine, four-wheel disc brakes, rack and pinion steering, and 4-wheel independent suspension. Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1 Supercar, reportedly said that his only disappointment with the McLaren F1 was that he could not give it the perfect steering of the Lotus Elan.
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.
The basic structure of the Lotus Elan comprised a fabricated mild steel backbone chassis, similar to a double ended tuning fork, and a fibreglass body. The chassis was the primary stressed component, providing the necessary bending and torsional rigidity. The fibreglass body was solidly bolted to the chassis at 16 points, fitting over it like a saddle. While not highly stressed the body nevertheless added to the overall rigidity of the structure.
The performance of the Elan was derived from the combination of its powerful engine (by contemporary standards) and light weight. The roadholding and agility of the car also meant that high speeds could be maintained on corners, which allowed for high average speeds.
I am especially attached to the Elan as it played a major role in the development of the first Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Shown is a LOTUS ELAN S3 drophead Type 45 by Kyosho.
25/02/2021 1:29 pm
At the risk of repeating part of one of my previous post... Mrs Emma Peel is always worth a repeat.
65 Lotus Elan S3 FHC (Spark)
Frank Reed
Chesapeake, VA
25/02/2021 1:44 pm
Here's my two Corgis, plus the Elan+2 by Oxford. I posted the Thundersports SMART Elan a while back, so I didn't think it warranted a rerun.
25/02/2021 9:55 pm
Another shot at the Corgi from my collection....
