The
Elise: Lotus' cogitation about the early Beginnings
In the early nineties it seemed
that luck has left the small British sports car manufacturer. After almost
one decade of GM-ownership they decided to part with this 'unprofitable'
tradition marque. Lotus' future was, once again, full of doubt. Fortunately,
a shining knight appeared in the unlikely shape of Romano Artioli, who
heads the secretive Bugatti International operation. As the italian importer
for LOTUS made him, perhaps, the logical choice as the new owner.
Under his administration a project code-named: 111 was called
into being. LOTUS decided to move away from the upper-class luxury sports
cars that they have built recently, like the later Esprits and Elans. The
contemplation was to return to Colin Chapman's original philosophy: To
produce agile, light and well thought-out sports cars. Lack of power should
be compensated by lightness, this means all luxury gadgets have to be omitted.
This was the birth of the LOTUS ELISE, named after Artioli's little niece.
| The car that attracts
both, male & female drivers |
Elise production:
assembly-line at Hethel, Norwich |
 The
designer Julian Thompson also went back to Lotus' roots. The Elise shows
the attributes more of a sixties car than the undistinguished japanese-looking
cars of today |
 |
|
Early drawings
of the yet unborn Elise
|
|
  |
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| The first sketches, still in
need of refinement. |
|
Lotus' first designs
of the interior were already very close to the later production car |
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to
go to the technical specifications
The
designer Julian Thompson also went back to Lotus' roots. The Elise shows
the attributes more of a sixties car than the undistinguished japanese-looking
cars of today
.