Lotus Mk1 was poriduced in a single copy as a trials car based on the Austin 7. The Austin 7 was a vintage car produced from 1922 through 1939 in the United Kingdom. ...
All Lotus past models such as Seven, Elite, Elan, Europa and Esprit are all considerably lighter than their competitors, thus handling and acceleration are remarkable in spite of smaller engines used.
Lotus has no tradition in high build quality, especially when Elise is its cheapest model.
Lotus said it is destined to race track, but I think its achievement is well beyond that.