At the end of the Elise/Exige/Evora production at Lotus, the three sports cars were photographed once again together with many members of the Lotus team who were involved in the design, construction, assembly and sale of the cars.
Great success
In the course of 26 years, a total of 51’738 vehicles of the three model series Elise/Exige/Evora have rolled off the production line. Together, they account for nearly half of Lotus’ total production in its 73-year history. In addition, 9715 sports cars were built for third-party Lotus customers, including GM and Tesla.
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From 1996 to 2000, the first generation Elise and Exige sports cars were built together with the Lotus Esprit in a small assembly hall in Hethel.
The assembly lines, installed in 2000, are currently being dismantled and replaced by completely new, state-of-the-art equipment to support the new Emira plant. Full Emira production will begin in the spring after the prototype and test phase currently underway is completed. Lotus sports car production thus enters an exciting, high-tech and semi-automated era, increasing capacity to up to 5000 units per year in single-shift operation.
Off to the museum
The last examples of the Elise, Exige and Evora models are reserved for the growing Lotus historic collection.
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The last Elise, a Sport 240 Final Edition in Yellow and the last of 35,124 examples, the last Exige, a Cup 430 Final Edition in Heritage Racing Green – number 10,497 – and the last Evora – a GT430 Sport in Dark Metallic Grey – the last of a series of 6117 examples – are added to the collection.
One platform for many cars
The Elise and Exige sports cars were built on the Lotus “small cars” sports car platform.
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On the same platform, and also manufactured by Lotus in Hethel, came the Opel Speedster / Vauxhall VX220 (7200 cars built between 2000 and 2005) and the Tesla Roadster (2515 cars built between 2007 and 2012). Including the Lotus 340R, Europa, 2-Eleven and 3-Eleven, the total production volume of the Lotus “small car platform” is 56,618 vehicles.
Matt Windle, Managing Director of Lotus Cars, said: “Firstly, I would like to thank the Lotus team who have worked on the Elise, Exige and Evora over the years and are now moving into Emira and Evija production. I would also like to sincerely thank all the customers of the Elise, Exige and Evora over the last 26 years for their passion, enthusiasm and support. These customers have given our E* sports cars a true cult status that normally only applies to classics that have long since been discontinued.
As we say goodbye to the last cars, we look forward to the Emira and Evija at the all-new factories in Hethel and the pre-assembly plants in Norwich, which will offer greater efficiency and automation, higher quality and flexibility, and the very exciting next chapter in our Vision80 strategy.”
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Russell Carr, Design Director, Lotus Cars, added: “These three special cars have not only played a major role in Lotus’ 73-year history, but have also been omnipresent in my daily life. Together with the Lotus design team I lived and breathed these cars for over 26 years. We’ll miss them, but it’s a bit like Christmas: As soon as it’s over, anticipation builds for the next holiday – and that’s exactly what’s happening now at Lotus with the Evija, the Emira and the upcoming Type 132. 2022 is going to be a great year as a new generation of Lotus springs into action.
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Gavan Kershaw, Director of Vehicle Attributes, said, “The Elise in particular has been a big part of my life. It was conceived when I had just finished my training and was working in the vehicle workshops, helping to build the first prototypes. The Exige will always be close to my heart, as the development program was the first I worked on as an engineer, and I also won the British GT3 Championship in a racing version. The Evora is also important because it showed that you could have high performance and award-winning handling without sacrificing GT capabilities for longer distances. I know this first hand, having won the British GT4 Championship in an Evora, and I will never forget running the technical program for our Evora Le Mans campaign, where we achieved a podium finish.”
Richard Rackham, Head of Vehicle Concepts, who was involved in the Lotus Elise as a vehicle architect and was part of the team that introduced pressed and bonded aluminum technology to the automotive industry, said, “The impact of these three cars over the years has been spectacular, both technically, structurally and dynamically. But all technologies and innovations evolve, and if you had asked me four years ago to name my proudest moment, I would have named the Elise chassis without hesitation. However, this has been superseded by our new Project LEVA architecture for our new range of electric sports cars, which will start in a few years with the Type 135. This is now the pinnacle of Lotus architectures, as it has taken the technology so much further. There is a lot to look forward to.”
25 reasons why the Lotus Elise was important
The oldest of the trio, the Elise, has been part of the automotive landscape for more than 25 years.
1) The Elise with its minimalist design embodies a “simple but sophisticated” Technology. It is the essence of what a Lotus car should be about.
2) Like all Lotus cars, the Lotus Elise features a taut and precise ride that gives the driver an immediate connection to the road through a positive driving experience and accurate feedback.
3) The Elise reminded the world that an outstanding driving experience should be a priority for sports cars. It set new standards for ride and handling and provided a new dynamic benchmark for everything that came after it.
4) In August 1996, the magazine CAR wrote after a “first drive” with the Elise: “The acceleration, the momentum, the breathtaking ability to change speed and direction, the sheer sense of motion – that’s what makes driving the Elise so special and intense.”
5) The groundbreaking pressed and bonded aluminum chassis was truly ahead of its time. Developed by Richard Rackham – who still works at Lotus today – it was a world first.
6) It has become the chassis technology of choice for low-volume production. Cars like the Alpine A110 and Morgan Aero 8 are examples of how what Lotus did with the Elise influenced others.
7) The Aston Martin Vanquish is another example. Ford saw the Elise’s underpinnings as the way forward for its high-performance European car brand, and Lotus Engineering was brought in to help with various aspects of the car’s engineering.
With an original list price starting at GBP 18,995, the Elise instantly opened up a more affordable path to Lotus ownership. The only alternative 25 years ago was the Esprit, which started at GBP 39,995 for the GT3.
9) The Elise’s success with critics and sales helped Lotus achieve a new global profile. When the car was modified for North American regulations in 2004 – it received airbags, traction control and stability control – it put Lotus back on the map on the other side of the Atlantic.
10) The rebirth and continued popularity of Lotus cars in club motorsport can be traced back to the introduction of the Elise. The Lotus Cup Europe is one of several marque series around the world, including in Japan, the U.S., Italy, Malaysia and Australia. In the United Kingdom there is also the Elise Trophy
11) The popularity of the Lotus Elise was such that there was even a Lotus Ladies Cup series. It took place in Hungary in 2011 and was held for four seasons.
12) Many a prospective buyer has been introduced to the Elise through the Lotus Driving Academy. The LDA was created shortly after the start of production of the Elise and still enjoys great popularity. It operates in France, Italy, Malaysia, the United States and Hethel in the United Kingdom.
13) In 2000, a specially developed motorsport Elise was made available for the Autobytel Lotus Sport Elise Championship, which is part of the British Touring Car Championship supporting program. Lotus Design proposed a sketch for a full coupe version, which was made available as a road car . and the Lotus Exige was born.
14) Other Lotus derivatives that would not have existed without the Elise include the Europa, 340R and 2-Eleven.