1959 Lotus Elite S1

The Lotus 14, better known as the Elite, was introduced in 1959. With this new car, Colin Chapman demonstrated that the lessons learned from their racing program could be applied to production road cars. The Elite was conceived with competition in mind, as Chapman had set goals for class wins at LeMans and the Monte Carlo Rally.

The Elite featured a fiberglass monocoque body tub, independent suspension all round, and four-wheel disc brakes (the rears mounted inboard). Power was provided from a four-cylinder Coventry-Climax FWE, single-overhead-cam unit of 1216cc offering 75 horsepower. The gearbox was an MGA unit fitted with an alloy casing and modified bell-housing which was sourced from BMC.

The body design was the work of Peter Kirwan-Taylor, John Frayling, and the aerodynamicist Frank Costin. The result was a design that had a low coefficient of drag, though it made few concessions for comfort or noise suppression.

The car had a top speed of 112 mph and offered superlative handling. The cars were successful on the racetrack, winning their class well into the 1960s. Noteworthy achievements include five class victories at Le Mans and two wins in the prestigious 'Index of Thermal Performance'.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2017