Lotus Elite

The Lotus Elite name was used on two production cars and a concept from Lotus Cars. The first generation, the Type 14, was a lightweight two-seat coupe built from 1957 to 1963 and debuted at the 1957 London Motor Car Show. Its most distinctive feature was a fibreglass monocoque in which the whole load-bearing structure was glass-reinforced plastic, unlike the contemporary Corvette that used fibreglass for exterior panels only. A Coventry Climax FWE all-aluminium 1.2 litre four-cylinder of 75 hp gave race-car performance. The second generation, the Type 75 and later Type 83, was built from 1974 to 1982, and a concept car carried the name in 2010.