#elan s2

[englishcarssince1946]

1994 Lotus Elan S2

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[diabolus1exmachina]

Lotus Elise S1 

Launched at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Elise was the first ‘affordable’ sports car Lotus had built since production of the Series 4 Seven ended in 1973. At 50% cheaper than the Elan S2 and a third of the price of an Esprit, it would become Lotus’ best-selling sports car ever.Styled by Julian Thomson, engineered by his best friend Richard Rackham and named after the granddaughter of Lotus (and Bugatti) chairman Romano Artioli.The Elise pioneered epoxy-bonded anodised aluminium extrusions as a means of constructing a road car chassis.A simple, high-sided tub with transverse torque boxes at both ends, it is exceptionally stiff – on a par with steel saloon bodies – and exceptionally light, at just 68kg without the body and rollbar, keeping the weight of the whole car to less than 750kg and making it a phenomenal performer without needing outrageous power.Steel is used only for the rollbar, galvanised rear subframe and bonded-in suspension mounts.The Rover K-series engine and gearbox were lifted unchanged from the MGF and various Rovers, but it was somehow happier in the Elise than in any of its original hosts.With double overhead cams, 16 valves and all-aluminium construction making it very light, it was more like a race-car engine than a road-car one, and, like the Triumph Stag engine in the ’70s, needed more monitoring and maintenance than lesser power units.