1962 Lotus Elite Series II Super 95
With the Lotus 14 of 1959 – better known as the Elite – Colin Chapman demonstrated that his skills as a racing car designer and constructor could just as easily be applied to production road cars. The Elite was, nevertheless, conceived with competition in mind – Chapman had his sights set on class wins at Le Mans and the Monte Carlo Rally – and incorporated technology developed in Lotus's single seaters. Every bit as innovative as Chapman's outright competition cars, the Elite featured a fibreglass monocoque body tub – the world's first – independent suspension all round, rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes, the rears mounted inboard. Its engine was the lightweight four-cylinder Coventry-Climax FEW, a single-overhead-cam unit of 1,216cc producing 95bhp, while the gearbox, an MGA unit fitted with an alloy casing and modified bell-housing, was sourced from BMC. Development was clearly assisted by the veritable Who's Who of professional racing drivers of the time, who were involved in test driving including Jim Clark. Clark favoured an Elite for the back roads around his farm in Scotland.
On the racetrack, the Elite proved every bit as successful as Chapman had hoped, scoring its first international class win as the Nürburgring 1,000km race in 1959, and would go on to win its class at Le Mans on five occasions. They were a mainstay of sports and GT racing at the national level on both sides of the Atlantic and many are still in action in historic events today.
The Lotus Elite was a groundbreaking car when built, a true race car for the road. Bonhams will be offering this example, at their upcoming Quail Lodge Auction on the 18th August, its estimated value is between $90,000 – $125,000. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below. Photos courtesy of Bonhams.