1958-61 Sales Brochure

"The Lotus Elite: A Grand Touring Coupe at Earls Court ," The Motor, October 16, 1957

"If last-minute preparations are completed according to plan, Earls Court visitors today will find on the Lotus stand one of the most attractive closed coupes ever to appear from an English factory, and one which is moreover of great technical interest."

"Lotus Elite," Autocar, October 18 1957

"There appears to be a very big market awaiting a successful British design in this class, to challenge the field which has been dominated by the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Porsche.  The new Elite has the right specification, but at the moment it is only a prototype, and it will need to be proved."

"Star Car," Autosport, October 25 1957

"One of the most dramatic last-minute exhibits at the Motor Show -- the 1,220 c.c. Climax-powered Lotus Elite G.T. Coupe."

"Two new models from Lotus intended for the Elite," Sports Cars Illustrated, November 1957

"From the outset, the designer has kept in mind the need to provide every comfort possible in a two-seater of exceptionally high performance."

"Car of the Year?" Road & Track , January 1958

"Colin Chapman, as usual, provides something really new and different as he ventures into a new field."

Stephen Wilder and Jesse Alexander, "A new strain of Lotus," Sports Cars Illustrated, January 1958

"By using the annual event [Earls Court Motor Show] to present the Lotus Elite, a Gran Turismo coupe of exquisite lines, he [Chapman] has not only estabilshed himself as a leading designer...but as a master of publicity and showmanship second to none in his field."

"Interim Report on the Lotus Elite," Motor Sport, February 1958

"The Lotus Elite is the most promising British G.T. car of the present decade and we await a road test with impatience."

"On the Road with the Lotus Elite," Sports Cars Illustrated, December 1958

"Summed up there can be few 'road' cars which could live with the Elite on a short or long journey under modern traffic conditions -- or even on deserted roads!  It is the modern sports car personnified -- room for two people in great comfort, complete weather protection, ample luggage space, good looks, and near-racing car performance."

Gordon Wilkins, "First Test Run of the Lotus Elite," Motor Trend, February 1959

"After a few miles the Elite had imparted so much confidence that it seemed quite natural to be cornering with the throttle, helping the tail around or checking it almost without conscious effort."

David Phipps, "Impressions: Lotus Elite," Motor Racing, May 1959

"No one who saw the Elites raced last year can doubt the car's performance potential, although not until one has driven an Elite can the manner in which it performs be appreciated."

"Salon-Styled Speedster," Sports Car Guide, September 1959, 20-21, 64

"The combination of classic simplicity of line with modern, aerodynamic streamlining gives the car great beauty.  With its novel, apparently very strong and rattle-free constructions, light weight and top-flight sports-car performance, the Elite is one of the most desirable cars to reach this country at any price."

"Road Test: Lotus Elite," Road & Track, January 1960

"To sum things up, this is a car for enthusiasts only.  And, for the enthusiast, it represents a car that 'looks right,' embodying an excellent body design from both the aesthetic and functional standpoints, good performance for its class, superb handling and comfortable seating."

"Lotus Elite," Sports Car Graphic, May 1960

"The Elite is a classic example of the maxim which says that if a thing looks good, it is good.  It is the most attractive small coupe that we have ever seen out of England -- a country noted for stodgy design policies -- and it goes."

"The Lotus Elite," The Motor, May 11, 1960

"Speed, controllability in all conditions and comfort in all its aspects make this compact two-seat coupe an immensely desirable property for anyone who wants to enjoy covering big daily mileages: expensive in relation to its size and weight, although realistically priced in relation to what it will do and how it does it, the Elite is a perfectly docile runabout for shopping errands and its buyer has no need to budget for a hack 'second car' as well s this mettlesome thoroughbred."

John Bolster, "The Lotus Elite," Autosport, May 13, 1960

"It must be made clear that the whole pattern of handling and controllability is literally in a different world from that of the typical popular sports car.  Yet the Elite presents no new handling problems."

"Lotus Elite," Autocar, May 27 1960

"The road manners of the Elite come as near to those of a racing car as the ordinary motorist would ever experience.  By this it is meant that an outstanding performance is obtained from a relatively small engine, and the controllability and safety in handling are as high as in any car tested by this journal."

"Road Test: Racing Lotus Elite," Sports Cars Illustrated, June 1960

"One of the secrets of Peter Lumsden's success was the car's complete reliability.  At the Nürburgring the Elite ran faultlessly, building up an early lead in its class and increasing it as the Alfa-dominated entry was forced to stop for tire changes and brake adjustment.  On some sections it proved -- due to its excellent handling -- to be as fast as the leading Aston, and faster than some of the Ferraris."

Charles H. Bulmer, "The Lotus Elite: A Technical Appraisal," The Motor , June 22, 1960

""The Elite really does embody the combination of soft suspension and heavy damping that is often extolled but seldom encountered."

"Road Impression: The Lotus Elite," Motor Racing, July 1960

"To sum up then, we can report that the Lotus Elite is all that it has been cracked-up to be.  A car for the connoisseur, possessing everything (or almost everything) that is looked for by the real sports car enthusiast."

Jack Glasson, "Lotus Elite: A First Long Look," Sports Car World , July 1960

"Properly set up behind the wheel, you really feel this is a thoroughbred sports car.  Close, form-fitting seats (the most comfortable we have yet tried) hug you firmly.  You know in these you will stay put in the tightest corners.  The pendant foot pedals are exactly right, but dipper switch and windscreen washer button are on the floor very close together."

"Lotus Elite," Track & Traffic, October 1960

"This car is without reservation the most beautiful automobile we have ever set eyes on, regardless of price.  Its lines and finish are positively tops.  The unique chassis-less construction in glass fibre and its mechanical components set the Elite years ahead in the car-design field."

John Bolster, "The Lotus Elite -- 'LOV 1'," Autosport, February 24, 1961

"A rather remarkable feature of the performance of 'LOV 1' can be appreciated if one looks back at my earlier road tests of 'works' Lotus sports-racing cars.  Within a remarkably short period, a comfortable closed car has been produced which can better the figure of quite recent 'racers'. "

John Christy, "Lotus Elite: How Grand Can Touring Be?" Sports Car Graphic , August 1961

"Nor is it a loud, fierce, impressive looking car.  It is, rather, a car to worry a man with a loud, fierce, impressive looking car.  In short, the Lotus Elite is not everyman's sports car (should there even be such an item) but rather it is an esoteric machine built for those who deman the ultimate in grace, performance and, above all, handling in a unique Grand Touring car.  For the man to whom these things are important, or to whom productino class racing in such a machine is important, the Lotus Elite is worth the price of admission.  There may be bigger cars and there may be more luxurious ones but there are few that will give more than the Elite in terms of sheer sensuous driving pleasure."

John Bolster, "The 'Do-It-Yourself' Lotus Elite," Autosport, December 1, 1961

"The Lotus Elite in an ideal fast-touring car in almost every respect.  The engine sounds 'busy' but it is the encouraging sound of willing machinery enjoying its job.  It is very flexible, too, but the revs must be kept up if a lively performance is desired."

Bill Dale-Otis, "An Elite in the family," Sporting Motorist, January 1962

"Even if a car provided in this form is not, as the ads imply, as easy as a jig-saw puzzle, it is not a difficult nor a tedious business.  Yet the very fact of being involved in its birth brings out the father in a man."

Bill Dale-Otis, "Three months with the Elite," Sporting Motorist , March 1962

"All in all the Lotus has given satisfactory service and a great deal of pleasurable driving in the first two and a half months of ownership."

David Phipps, "Reassessment: The Lotus Elite," Autosport, March 2, 1962

"For anyone prepared to assemble the car really carefully, and to pay a little extra for balancing the engine and clutch, the Do-It-Yourself Elite is extremely good value for money.  There is certainly not a production sports car to compare with it."

Dennis May, "The Lotus that Came in a Crate," Car & Driver, July 1962

"His last word: 'What I'd really like to do is build two.  Knowing what we knkow now, we'd get the second one together in not much more than half the time this one took.'"

"Lotus Elite S/E," Small Car, December 1962

"All in all we would accept the Lotus with its faults for the sake of the sheer pleasure to be had from driving it."

"On the Track with the Hobbs Mecha-Matic Transmission Lotus Elite," Motor Sport, December 1962

"The gearbox behaved in a most impressive fashion in conditions ranging from flat-out cruising to trickling through town traffic."

"Lotus Elite (Special Equipment)," Motor Annual, 1963

"The Special Equipment Elite has a more highly tuned version of the 1,216 c.c. Coventry Climax 4-cylinder engine and an all-synchromesh ZF gearbox.  Although noise has still to be defeated, the Lotus Elite is a superlative car by reason of excellent roadholding and steering, an outstandingly level and well-damped ride, good, although very heavy brakes and a conspicuously rapid performance."

Pamela Smith, "Highland Lotus," Autocar, March 29, 1963

"...half an hour after, there came from the garage a promising sputter, and then a healthy roar.  A figure came dancing through thehouse.  'She goes!  She goes!'"

"Road Test: Lotus Elite," Road & Track, April 1963

"Noisy, but nice; the smallest, prettiest and most intriguing GT car in a decade."

"Lotus Elite: An Appreciation and an Obituary," Road & Track , June 1964

"Without question, it was one of the best, if not the very best looking Grand Touring car ever built."

"Cars on Test: Lotus Elite," Cars Illustrated, August 1964

"Taken all round, the Elite is a most satisfying car to drive.  Such a small, compact car, with light weight, generous power and superb roadholding sets new horizons for G.T. car designers."

"Used Cars on the Road: 1961 Lotus Elite," Autocar, October 15, 1965

"Essentially an enthusiast's car, the Elite would reward patient renovation, and could make a fine grand tourer offering a tremendous amount of fun and that rare combination -- high performance and good fuel economy."

Nick Brittan, "The '68 twin cam Elite," Car, January 1968

"Yet how much prettier was the Elite than the Elan, people continue to say.  How much better was its roadholding.  All of which has made Mr. Chapman think again..."

Nick Brittan, "Return of the Lost Elite," Modern Motor, March 1968

"Yes, there's no doubt about it.  A more sanitized version of this car [twin cam Elite] could be a wow.  Without the fug, the noise and the drum-beat of the transmission it would be my sort of motor car."

"Lotus Profile: The Elite," Lotus, Mid-Winter 1969

"This car was then, and still is, outstandingly beautiful."

"The Elite: Road Impressions," November 1958

"The roadholding is in the racing car category in that the tail can be broken away quite easily without any danger of a complete loss of adhesion, and steering with the throttle materially increases potential cornering speeds."

Ian Fraser, "Elite vs. Elan: A Decade of Difference," Modern Motor , January 1970.

Though she may not come out on top in every respect, the Elite does give her younger sister a run for the money.

Chris Goffey, "Fragile Beauty -- The Lotus Elite,"Autocar, December 21, 1972.

Author acknowledges the Elite's "incredible capacity for going wrong in every conceivable way" and briefly recounts the need to keep all the parts screwed on right.

"My Elite," Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, November 1973.

Owner sells, but can't let go.

"The Most Beautiful Car Ever Built," Sports Car World, July 1977.

Car as hopeless love object...

"Elite -- The Roadgoing Racer," Motor, April 5, 1980.

Elite compared favourably with the "chisle-edged wedges" of its descendants.

Jonathan Wood, "The Elitist," Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, October 1982, 59-61.

Interview with Peter Kirwan-Taylor and a nice cover photo of a Miles Wilkins Elite closing in fast on a 250 Testa Rossa.

Mark Hughes, "Featherweight Champion," Classic and Sportscar, April 1988, 60-63, 66-69.

Recounts the Elite's early production history and discusses with David Blacklidge his restoration experience.

Wolfgang König, "There is Elite in the Dark. Restaurierung am Beispiel: Lotus Elite von 1961," Motor Klassik, Mai 1988, 114-117.

Follows Hansgeorg Werner's successful  restoration of a "hopeless case".

Julian Balme, "Ace in the hole," Classic and Sportscar, July 1995, 110-113.

History and driving impressions of the twin-cam Elite.

Peter Dobson, "Elite class," Practical Classics, August 1995, 4-7.

"Your cars" feature describes reader Geoff Tompkins' restoration of a Series II SE.

Harry de Jonge, "The Trial of My Elite, 1. Teil," British Car Magazine , Juni/Juli 1997, 74-81.

Starts out as a promising account of the author's ambitions to restore an SII as a roadworthy racecar, but quickly degenerates into a history Stonehenge mixed in with odes to the Welsh countryside.  Not much Elite content.  I didn't bother looking for Teil 2.

Martin Buckley, "Charge of the Light Brigade," Classic Cars, March 1998

Author takes an Elite and a Seven for a spin around the block.

Al Williams, "Lotus by Name Elite by Nature," Old Car, February 1990, 46-51

Many beautiful photographs of Geoff Tomkins' restoration of his 1961 SII.