One of the most legendary names in the automotive industry, Lotus has produced many iconic road cars and in this article we will remember the five most impressive ones.
Founded in 1952 by the legendary Colin Chapman along with brothers Michael and Nigel Allen, Lotus quickly made a name for itself in the world of motorsport.
Just three decades later, it amassed a huge number of trophies in various disciplines, including Formula 1, and contributed to the development of motorsport with innovations such as the monocoque chassis.
Although it initially prioritised motorsports and subsequently went through numerous ups and downs, Lotus managed to develop a series of fantastic road cars that became sports car icons.
Lotus Seven
Photo: Lotus Cars
Colin Chapman's philosophy was focused on delivering high performance through lightness and simplicity.
This philosophy, combined with innovative engineering, has contributed to the company's rapid rise in the world of motorsports.
Furthermore, the philosophy carried over to its road cars as well, the second of which, and arguably the most iconic, was the 1957 Lotus Seven.
Like its predecessor, the Mark VI, the original Seven was a simple, lightweight open-wheeled two-seater, powered by a series of inline-fours.
Revered by many for its impeccable handling and ease of maintenance, the original Series 1 Seven was a huge success. Many owners considered it the ultimate driver's car, capable of being driven on public roads and entered into clubman races.
After the Series 1 ended production in 1960, four further generations of constantly improved models followed. The Lotus Seven was discontinued in 1973, but the model is still in production today thanks to Caterham Cars, who acquired the rights to the design shortly after Lotus stopped production.
Lotus Esprit Sport 300
Photo: The cultivated collector
Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and introduced in 1975, the original Esprit was not as successful as the company had hoped, but he kept the model alive and radically improved it in 1978, when the revised Series 2 went into production. The Series 2 and subsequent iterations were much more successful, and the Esprit survived until 2004.
Arguably the most impressive road-legal Esprit built during the model's 28-year production run was the limited-edition Sport 300.
Designed to homologate the latest generation Esprit X180 for GT racing, the Sport 300 looked very much like a regular Esprit, especially to the untrained eye, but beneath the slightly improved bodywork lay a long list of track-focused improvements.
The chassis received a vastly updated suspension system, larger brakes supported by a abdominal muscles system and a series of structural reinforcements that have significantly improved torsional rigidity.
The most impressive upgrade, however, was a special version of the 910S type with a 2.2-litre, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-four engine, which received a motorsport-derived cylinder head, enlarged intake valves and a larger Garrett hybrid turbocharger, all to boost power to 302bhp.
Capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.7 seconds, the 1993 Esprit Sport 300 was fast for its time, but, more importantly, it was (and still is) one of the best-handling sports cars ever made, which is why one of just 64 examples built is now highly sought-after by collectors.
Lotus 3-Eleven
Photo: Lotus Cars
Despite coming close to extinction and changing hands on several occasions, Lotus survived and continued to produce extraordinary cars.
The next iconic model on our list, called the 3-Eleven, made its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2015.
Related to both the Elise and the Evora, the 3-Eleven has become the most accurate modern example of Colin Chapman's early philosophy.
Weighing in at approximately 1,984 lb (900 kg), this doorless, two-seater speedster, characterized by near-flawless handling and spectacular performance, was initially available in both racing and road-legal versions.
In both cases, power came from a modified 3.5-liter Toyota 2GR-FE V6 engine, equipped with an Edelbrock Roots-type supercharger. However, the racing version's unit was rated at 460 horsepower, while the street version's horsepower was “only” rated at 410.
In 2018, Lotus offered enthusiasts the best of both 3-Eleven worlds by launching the track-focused but road-legal 430 editions, which, as the name suggested, featured the aforementioned supercharged V6, tuned to produce 430bhp, allowing this lightweight masterpiece to accelerate from 0-60mph (97km/h) in 3.1 seconds.
Lotus Carlton/Omega
Photo: Lotus Cars
While all the other entries on this list were based on Colin Chapman's philosophy of “adding lightness,” the 3,649-pound (1,655 kg) Carlton was anything but lightweight.
Weighing more than three Series 1 Sevens, the Carlton was the result of GM's plan to attract more interest to its European brands (Vauxhall and Opel).
In the late 1980s, GM commissioned Lotus, then owned by the American company, to develop a high-performance version of the Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Omega sedan.
The result was one of the craziest super saloons ever built and legend has it that it took Lotus just six weeks to develop it.
Visually, the Lotus version received only minor upgrades to distinguish it from the standard Carlton/Omega, but under the bonnet it featured a heavily modified, 3.6-litre twin-turbo version of Opel's C36GET straight-six.
Capable of producing 377 horsepower, which was slightly more than the C4 Corvette ZR-1's LT5 V8, this insane engine allowed the super sedan to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 177 mph (285 km/h).
Lotus Elise GT1
Photo: Lotus Cars
In 1997, when the BPR Global GT Series, the world's premier endurance racing series, became the FIA GT Championship, several manufacturers introduced new or improved GT1 race cars.
Lotus, who had been competing with the Lotus Esprit GT1, realised that they needed a new weapon to compete with the Porsche 911 GT1 or the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR.
So, a team led by designer Julian Thomson was tasked with creating a new car that abandoned the Esprit platform in favour of the new Elise.
The new racing car developed in record time proved uncompetitive, much to the disappointment of Lotus management and the company's fans, but the GT1 project gave birth to one of the most extravagant road cars ever built by the English car manufacturer.
Built purely for homologation purposes, the road-legal Elise GT1 shared the same aluminium chassis and carbon-Kevlar bodywork as the racing version, but received a slightly more “passable on the road” internal.
While the race cars eventually featured Chevy V8 engines, the road version was powered by a 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged, water-cooled Lotus Type 918 engine producing 542 hp.
Although it was a spectacular road-legal racing car that captivated many Lotus fans, the management decided not to follow the same path as the limited production Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, so the extraordinary road-going Elise GT1 remained a one-off.