Lotus M200

The Lotus M200, also called the Lotus Elan M200 Speedster, was a one-off concept car shown as a speedster version of the Lotus Elan M100 at the Frankfurt Motor Show of 1991 and again at the Geneva show in 1992. Designer Julian Thompson, who later shaped the Lotus Elise, gave it a simple airstream deflector instead of a true windscreen, individual driver and passenger cockpit openings, a large rear wing and faired-in headlights in place of the retractable ones of the production car. He meant it as a niche special for real enthusiasts and as a way to show management how Lotus could move on from the Elan. Because a show car was needed in a hurry, it was modelled on a blue Elan returned by a customer. David Brisbourne designed the interior and Russell Carr detailed the exterior. Afterwards the car passed through private hands, including the collection of the Lotus enthusiast Olav Glasius.