Light fantastic: the greatest Lotus road cars

Lotus will shortly end production of its three current sports cars, the Elise, Exige and Evora, ahead of introducing an all-new model in 2022. It marks the end of an era for the Norfolk-based brand, and the start of an exciting new chapter under Geely ownership. We’ll get to the Elise and Exige Final Editions – and indeed the incredible 2,000hp Evija hypercar – in due course. But first let’s rewind 52 years to the first great Lotus road car…

Lotus Seven SS

Weighing next to nothing and boasting a 125hp Holbay Twin-Cam engine, there was simply nothing like the Lotus Seven SS back in 1969. The Seven still lives on today, of course, albeit wearing a Caterham badge. The basic formula (and it really is basic) has endured.

Lotus Eleven

The Eleven was essentially a racing car you could buy in road-legal form. Its Coventry Climax engine was tiny, but aerodynamics made this Lotus competitive at Le Mans in 1957.

Lotus Elan Sprint

For us, this makes the top three of great Lotus road cars. The original Elan was a perfect exponent of company founder Colin Chapman’s ‘simplify, then add lightness’ mantra. In its final 1970s incarnation, the Elan got the famous 126hp ‘big valve’ twin-cam engine – good for 0-60mph in just 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 125mph.

Ford Cortina Lotus

The Ford Cortina Lotus – or ‘Lotus Cortina’ to its friends – is perhaps the most famous of the third-party cars tuned in Hethel. Ford partnered with Lotus to prepare its Cortina saloon for racing, leading to famous victories for Jim Clark. However, you could have almost as much fun on the public road in the 1960s. These revvy twin-cam precursors to the hot hatchback can still be seen driving on their door handles at the annual Goodwood Revival.

Lotus Europa Twin-Cam

Losing the Renault engine from the distinctive Europa was a good move. A Lotus Twin-Cam motor brought this little mid-engined sports car to life in 1971.

Lotus Esprit Turbo

The most iconic Lotus shape. Just look at it! The original Esprit was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, whose career highlights include the Mk1 Volkswagen Golf, Fiat Panda, Maserati Bora and BMW M1. With a 210hp turbocharged engine, it could exceed 150mph, although we don’t recommend it unless your codename is ‘007’.

Lotus Elan 100

Shock, horror: a front-wheel-drive Lotus. But fear not, it’s still great to drive. With a 160hp turbocharged Isuzu engine and a brilliant chassis, the Elan 100 served up plenty of fun in 1989.

Lotus Esprit Sport 350

A stylish new body by Peter Stevens and a twin-turbo V8 made the Esprit even more desirable. Add rarity to the mix – only 50 examples of the Sport 350 were made – and you have perhaps the ultimate Esprit. Pictured is the Sport 300 (just imagine it with a big rear wing).

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

A car that strikes fear into the hearts of supercars, the Carlton saw Lotus take its fettling of previously unassuming road cars to a new level. With a turbocharged V6 producing 377hp, it could crack 175mph. Sensational stuff in 1990.

Lotus Elise S1

Lotus’s bread and butter for the modern era – although not for much longer – the Elise first appeared in 1996. Instantly, it brought the brand back to its lightweight, nimble roots. The 111S version had around 145hp and seemed plenty quick enough. It could also shame larger, heavier supercars on a twisty B-road.

Lotus Elise GT1

Speaking of supercars, here’s the Elise GT1. With a roaring American-based V8, this car seems almost entirely out of character for Lotus. Sadly, it never succeeded in road-based GT1 racing, which saw McLaren and Porsche take Le Mans victories. Only one road car was homologated.

Lotus Exige S1

As a pure driving machine, the first generation Exige deserves its spot here. This hardcore, hard-topped and bewinged beast is revered by many as perhaps the greatest modern Lotus.

Lotus Elise S2

The restyled Elise swapped a Rover K-series engine for Toyota twin-cam units. They were arguably less characterful, but certainly more capable. The pinnacle was the supercharged 220hp Elise SC, which could rocket from zero to 60mph in 4.3 seconds.

Lotus 340R

Strip the shell from an S1 Elise, bolt on a body that comes from a Mad Max movie and you have the 340R. With the Sport pack fitted, it produced 190hp in 2000. In a car weighing 701kg, that’s plenty.

Lotus Exige S2

The second Exige and last of the naturally-aspirated versions. This is a car that needs to be celebrated, as it takes the revvy Toyota engine up to 190hp. Jeremy Clarkson fought off an Apache helicopter gunship using one on Top Gear in 2004.

Lotus 2-Eleven

Invoking the spirit of the 340R, the 2-Eleven is a cannibalised Exige with a 250hp supercharged Toyota engine. Weighing just 670kg, the 2-Eleven was quick: 0-60 in under four seconds and a 150mph top speed. Making it road-legal was a £1,100 option.

Lotus Evora

First it was rumoured to be the new Esprit, then the ‘Eagle’ prototype name started floating around. When the Evora was revealed in 2009, it was praised, but wasn’t quite the Lotus rebirth some had hoped for. Still, we’ve no arguments with a sporty, mid-engined, semi-luxurious two-plus-two with a 280hp six-cylinder heart.

Lotus Exige S3 V6

That same six-cylinder engine made its way into the third-generation Exige, packing 345hp thanks to a supercharger. In present 430 form it has – you guessed it – 430hp. That’s more than twice the power of the S2 and enough to keep a Porsche 911 GT3 honest on a road or racetrack.

Lotus 3-Eleven

The 3-Eleven was the quickest production Lotus road car ever when it was revealed in 2016. With a 450hp supercharged V6, it could top 180mph and crack 60mph in three seconds flat.

Lotus Evora Sport

It didn’t take long for Lotus to supercharge the Evora. It first reached 350hp, then leapt up to 400, 410 and 430. With carbon fibre aero add-ons and a price tag nudging £100,000, the Evora 430 almost achieves supercar status.

Lotus Evija

The Evija, however, leaps straight into the realm of the hypercar. Pronounced ‘Ev-eye-a’, this 2,000hp all-electric machine is a halo model, paid for by a much-needed cash injection from Geely. Only 130 will be made, priced at well over £1 million each. We’ve come a long way from that old Seven SS…

Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition

Here’s the first of the run-out models marking the end of Exige and Elise production. The Exige Sport 390 serves up an extra 40hp from an uprated Edelbrock supercharger and sprints to 60mph in 3.7 seconds. Unique paint colours, wheel finishes, decals and Final Edition badging will surely make it a collector’s item in years to come.

Lotus Exige Sport 420 Final Edition

The Exige Sport 420 ups the ante, with 60mph in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 180mph. The Eibach anti-roll bars and Nitron dampers are both adjustable, while AP Racing brakes offer serious stopping power. Lotus describes it as ‘the most complete driving car of its class’.

Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition

We end with the Elise, the car that has sustained Lotus for a remarkable 25 years. Choose all the lightweight options (selected carbon fibre panels, lithium-ion battery, polycarbonate rear window) and the Sport 240 Final Edition weighs a modest 898kg – half as much as many modern sports cars. It’s still a brilliant driving machine that Colin Chapman would surely have been proud of. We’ll miss it when it’s gone.