1964 Lotus Elan

The successor of the Lotus Elite was introduced in October of 1962. It was a masterpiece by Colin Chapman and the recipe was simple, using an engine derived from a Ford Cortina product (displacing 1498cc and later growing to 1558cc), a homemade double-overhead camshafts aluminum cylinder head, a steel backbone chassis stiffening the fiberglass shell, a short-shift gearbox, and a hood. The gearbox and differential were also sourced from Ford. It had an all-independent wishbone suspension with a modified Chapman Strut, as developed in Lotus Grand Prix cars, at the rear. Rack-and-pinion steering was sourced from the Triumph Vitesse and there were Girling disc brakes all round.

After 22 cars had been produced with the 1,498cc engine, the engine was enlarged and the car was re-designated the Elan 1600. An optional hardtop was offered. The Elan roadster, the first Lotus road car to use a steel backbone chassis and a fiberglass body, measured 12 feet long and weighed just 1,485 pounds. The suspension was soft and compliant, and the disc brakes provided exceptional stopping power. The Ford twin-cam engine produced 115 horsepower in Special Equipment form, giving a zero-to-sixty mph time of 7.1 seconds, with a top speed of 120 mph.

Introduced in November 1964, the S2 featured numerous detailed styling changes and improved brakes. The first 15-20 examples of the Series 2 Elan, sometimes known as the Series 1½, had Series 1 three round rear lights on both sides and pull-up windows with a chrome button. Later, Lotus changed to the Series 2/3 elliptical rear lights with wind-up windows.

Given the specification and background, the Elan proved to be a highly capable circuit racer and, capitalizing on the numerous successes achieved by privately entered cars, Lotus introduced their own version, the '26R', in 1964. Chapman hadn't been interested in racing the Elan, as his focus was on the Formula One Championship with the Lotus 25. Privateers such as Walker and Chequered Flag modified the Elan's steering and brakes, and soon Chapman uprated his own cars in the same manner. The small sports car became giant killers, and Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, and Sir John Whitmore were very successful in racing them from 1963–1964. Homologated for racing in 1964 as the 26R, it remained competitive for about a decade, with John Miles winning 15 races and the Autosport championship in 1966. An estimated 97 Elan 26Rs were built.

In 1965, the Type 36 fixed-head coupe version was introduced, and in 1966 the drophead coupe Type 26 was replaced by the Type 45. Both Types, 36 and 45, were offered initially in S3 form, followed in 1968 in S4 form, and finally in 1970 as the Elan Sprint, remaining in production until 1973. The S2, S3, and S4 could be purchased with the more powerful and luxurious 'Special Equipment version, generally referred to as the SE.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2020