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1955 Ford Crown VictoriaMaking Light of the Lotus Elite
This 1961 Lotus Elite SE was an early example of Lotus’ ethos of lightness and simplicity making for success on the racetrack.
Lotus Started Out Elite
Lotus founder Colin Chapman was a man with an automotive ethos: “simplify and then add lightness.” For much of its over seventy-year history, that dictum has played out in Lotus cars time and again from the Elan and Esprit to the Elise and Emira, all exemplars of lightness. Perhaps nowhere is lightness more characteristic than in Lotus’ first road-going car, the Elite. The Elite was the first production car with a full fiberglass monocoque chassis. An all-aluminum engine shaved yet more poundage. In the end, the Elite weighed in at a trim 1,456 lbs. in total, that’s roughly half as much as today’s lightweight king the Mazda Miata.
As Lotus’ first foray into road cars, the Elite Type 14 (first generation) was built in sparse numbers and succeeded by the next-generation Elite, the Type 75 and 83, and the Lotus Elan. A scant 1,030 (or 1,050 depending on your source) were completed between 1958 and 1963. That makes the 1961 Lotus Elite SE we found listed on Carsforsale.com immediately exceptional.
The Lotus Elite Embodies Lightness
Lotus was founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman as an outgrowth of his work building and tuning racecars. As his cars saw success through the middle part of the decade racing in F1 and F2 circuits, Chapman sought to expand beyond racing cars and into road cars with the initial foray being the Lotus Elite.
The design for the Elite, with its slipstream fiberglass body, was a sensation at the 1957 Earls Court Motor Show in October of that year. It took Champman and his small team until December of the following year to finally get the car into production. (They had also been busy transitioning the company from a glorified garage and into a proper factory, the company’s first.)
The Elite’s fiberglass body wasn’t just light, it was also aerodynamic with a drag co-efficient of just 0.29. Power came from a 1.2L four-cylinder FWE (featherweight elite) engine built by Coventry Climax. The 75-horsepower engine was originally deployed as a fire engine water pump motor. The Elite’s top tested speed was 111.8 mph, fuel economy was roughly 28.4 mpg US (again, sources vary) and came with either a standard MG four-speed manual or optional ZF four-speed manual.
Later variants included the Elite SE of 1960 which tweaked the engine for 85 horsepower. The Super 95 version increased the compression ratio and implemented a five-bearing camshaft for 95 horsepower while the Super 100 and 105 added Weber carbs for yet more power (Weber carbs becoming a common upgrade for latter-day collectors).
Of course, many Lotus Elites were raced competitively. Graham Warner’s Lotus Elite was tuned to hit 8,200 rpm and climb to 140 mph. The lightweight of the Elite lent itself well to endurance racing and the car achieved six class wins at the 24 Hours of LE Mans as well as taking down the 1960 Australian GT Championship.
The Elite was not a moneymaker for Lotus, reportedly the company lost some £100 on each car. In truth, Lotus wasn’t able to realistically charge more for the car. Priced at £1,966 (roughly $5,500 USD), the Elite was equivalent to the more powerful, more refined cars like the then new Porsche 911 and Jaguar E-Type. Like many later Lotus cars, like the Elan and Seven, the Elite was also sold as a kit car. While this allowed buyers to sidestep hefty sales taxes, it also meant the build quality of those cars was contingent on the competency of owners with varying levels of expertise.
This 1961 Lotus Elite
This 1961 Lotus Elite is an extra rare bird. First, it’s a later SE variant. It’s rebuilt FEW 1.2L features the five-bearing single overhead cam along with twin Weber 40 carbs. It was also optioned with the ZF full-synchro four-speed manual transmission. The paint job is especially striking, finished in Burgundy with a white top and tan leather seats.
The Lotus Elite, like other British sports cars of the time, is a wonder of small but telling details. Take the car’s finger door handles, actuated by pushing in the lock cylinder with one’s thumb (sourced from Commer’s vans). Note the handle latches for the windows implemented so that the entire windowpane can be removed and stowed in the seat backs. A single offset NACA duct is found on the bonnet, first implemented on Elites in 1960, including on the LX racing car. A pair of Heuer Track Star stopwatches are mounted to the center console for track day use. The strut towers, housing Chapman struts of course, are so tall the fiberglass housing protrudes upwards in the rear of the cabin. The wire spoke wheels are another classic flourish that rounds out a spectacular example.
This rare and exquisitely kept 1961 Lotus Elite is offered for $130,900.
