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The Lotus Elite name was used on two vehicles from Lotus Cars.
1958
The first Elite was an ultra-light 2-seater coupe, produced from 1957 to 1962.
Its most unusual 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 actually used this glass-reinforced plastic material for the entire load-bearing structure of the car. The Elite was thus simultaneously the first car to have a unibody construction (now the norm for all cars), as well as being the first car made out of composites.
The resultant body was both lighter, stronger (i.e. stiffer), and as a side benefit 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 (56 kW) 1216 cc Coventry Climax engine.
Advanced aerodynamics also made a contribution, with an astounding drag coefficient of only 0.29 - which actually outperforms most modern sports cars. This, from a company and a time that did not enjoy the benefits of computer-aided design.
1974
From 1974 to 1982, Lotus produced the considerably larger 4-seat Elite. This car also used fiberglass for the body but had a more conventional steel backbone chassis. It had 4-wheel independent suspension and used a Lotus 907 4-valve DOHC aluminium engine (which was the first production 4-valve engine). This car was the basis for the Lotus Eclat.
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