The Lotus Type 14 Elite was developed by Colin Chapman in 1957. Powered by the Coventry-Climax FWE 1216 cc SOHC engine and ridiculously lightweight at 1,110 lbs, the Elite was a very successful race car winning its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times.
The Elite's most distinctive feature was its highly innovative fiberglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed skin unibody replaced the previously separate chassis and body components. The Elite used glass-reinforced plastic material for the entire load-bearing structure of the car with only a steel sub-frame supporting the engine and front suspension. The first 250 body units were made by a boat builder and this construction was moved to an airplane manufacturer after major quality issues.
The SE was introduced in 1960 as a higher performance variant with 85 hp, ZF gearboxes and Lucas PL 700 headlamps. This car was built in 1961 and was rescued from a barn in 1996 and underwent a complete bare shell restoration by a specialist in England from 2008 to 2012.
A total of 1030 Lotus Elites were built between 1957 and 1963 and it has been claimed Lotus lost 100 GBP on every car.
#ameliaconcours
You may purchase a print in our dElegance 2018 online gallery.
The Vintage Automobile Blog Index
