The Lotus Elite name was used for two vehicles from Lotus Cars. Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports cars and racing cars based in East Anglia, and formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. ...

1958

1960 Lotus Elite

The first Elite was an ultra-light two-seater coupe, produced from 1957 to 1962. Image File history File links Lotus Elite 60 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Lotus Elite 60 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1995 Buick Riviera coupe A coupé (from the French for cut) or coupe is a two or four-seater car with a fixed roof and two doors. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Type 14's most distinctive feature was its highly innovative fiberglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed-skin unibody replaced the previously separate frame and body components. Unlike the contemporaneous Chevrolet Corvette, which only used fiberglass for exterior bodywork, the Elite used this glass-reinforced plastic material for the entire load-bearing structure of the car. The Elite was possibly the first car made out of composites, and certainly one of the first automotive monocoques. Fiberglass or fibreglass is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. ... Monocoque (French for single shell) or unibody is a construction technique that uses the external skin of an object to support some or most of the load on the structure. ... C5 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at the Memphis Motor Speedway, 2004 The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car first manufactured by Chevrolet in 1953 and is built today exclusively at a General Motors assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. ... For eyeglasses, see glasses. ... Plastic bottles for recycling Plastic is a term that covers a range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products. ... Composite materials (or composites for short) are engineering materials made from two or more components. ... Monocoque (French for single shell) or unibody is a construction technique that uses the external skin of an object to support some or most of the load on the structure. ...

The resultant body was both lighter, stiffer, and provided better driver protection in the event of a crash. The weight savings allowed the Elite to achieve sports car performance from a 75 hp (55 kW) 1216 cc Coventry Climax engine. Climax powered Elite's won the "Index of Performance" six times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Honda NSX sports car A sports car is a type of automobile designed for sporting performance. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... Coventry Climax was a British specialty engine manufacturer. ... Le Mans is a city in France, located at the Sarthe River. ...

Advanced aerodynamics also made a contribution, giving the car a very low drag coefficient of 0.29 — quite low even for modern cars. This accomplishment is all the more notable considering that the engineers did not enjoy the benefits of computer-aided design and wind tunnel testing. The original Elite drawings were by Peter Kirwin-Taylor. Frank Costin, future founder of Cosworth, and then Chief Aerodynamic Engineer for the DeHaviland Aircraft Company contributed to the final design. Aerodynamics is a branch of fluid dynamics concerned with the study of gas flows, first analysed by George Cayley in the 1800s. ... The drag coefficient (Cd or Cx) is a number that describes a characteristic amount of aerodynamic drag caused by fluid flow, used in the drag equation. ... Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of a wide range of computer-based tools that assist engineers, architects and other design professionals in their design activities. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Frank Costin pioneered monocoque chassis design. ... A Ford Cosworth DFV on a Ligier JS11 Cosworth is an engine design and manufacture company founded in 1958, specialising in engines for automobile racing. ... Aerodynamics is a branch of fluid dynamics concerned with the study of gas flows, first analysed by George Cayley in the 1800s. ...

Just over 1000 Elites wer built.

1974

From 1974 to 1982, Lotus produced the considerably larger Type 75' and "Type 83 4-seat Elite II. Lotus's first saloon car was front engined with rear wheel drive. Like all production Lotus's the Elite II also used fiberglass for the body mounted on an upgraded-to meet-Federal-collision-standards steel backbone chassis evolved from the Lotus Elan and Lotus Europa. It had 4-wheel independent suspension and used Lotus's all new all 907 4-valve DOHC aluminium engine; the first 4-valve per cylinder, 2 litre production engine. In both naturally aspirated and turbo versions the engine was the foundation for the Lotus Esprit powerplants. The Elite II was the basis for the Lotus Eclat, and later the Lotus Excel four seaters. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1966 Lotus Elan 1990 Lotus Elan SE Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible automobiles produced by Lotus Cars, the first from 1962 to 1975 commonly known as the ’60s Elan, and the second from 1989 to 1995 but commonly known as the 1990s Elan. ... Lotus Europa (S2 Federal) The Lotus Europa, built by Lotus Cars from 1966 to 1975, was among the first production road cars to feature a mid-engine rear wheel drive design. ... An Independent Suspension is an automobile suspension system that allows the wheels on an axle to move independent of each other. ... In automotive engineering, an engine is referred to as multi-valve (or multivalve) when each cylinder has more than two valves. ... A cylinder head sliced in half shows two overhead camshafts—one above each of the two valves. ... Lotus Esprit Turbo 1981-1986 1993 Lotus Esprit S4 The back of a 1993 Lotus Esprit S4 1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit HC The Lotus Esprit was a sports car built by Lotus from 1976 to 2004. ... The Lotus Eclat, built from 1975 to 1982, was a front engine rear drive coupe. ... The Lotus Excel, built from 1985 to 1992, was a front engine rear drive car based on the earlier Lotus Eclat. ...