Lotus started in 1952 as a British specialist. Decades of metal and rubber later they built plenty of good machines. Some flew off the shelves. Others… not so much. Some were exclusive by design, others because the market said no. Time to see which side of the ledger they land on. Starting with the sellers.
The Lower End Of The Spectrum
10. Lotus Seven (1957–73) – 2,47 sold. Wait. 2,477.
Colin Chapman’s first proper hit. A simple, open two-seater. People liked it. You could commute Monday through Friday and race Saturday. Brave souls even assembled “complete knock down” kits themselves to dodge taxes.
9. Lotus Esprit (1979–90) – 2,919
Park it outside Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli’s London office in 1979? Done. James Bond bought it, The Spy Who Loved Me bought it. Free publicity saved Lotus. The design was cutting-edge Italian, the handling sharp. Missile launchers? No. Just the dream of them.
8. Lotus Exige S (2006–006) – 3,0
Bred from track series DNA. A supercharged Toyota heart pumped into it. It beat pricier rivals to the finish line often. Track day guys loved it. Razor sharp. Faster than the basic Elise. Most of them got upgraded anyway for long circuit stints.
Climbing The Chart
7. Lotus Elise S (10–6) – 4,5
The original was great, the S was better. GM threw money at it, spawning the Vauxhall VX20 (Opel Speedster over there). Better inside, smoother outside, new K-series 8 engine. Styling borrowed heavily from the aggressive 0 M5 concept. It worked.
6. Lotus Elan S2 (8–2, –) – ,55
FWD? Really. GM money again, this time buying Isuzu engines. 16, turbo or otherwise. Reliable as a tank compared to the Brit stuff, but unprofitable for Lotus. So they sold the design to Kia. Kia finished it three years later.
5. Lotus Elan+ (–7–4) – 1
Need more room? Add a foot. Rear seats appeared, plus power to haul the weight. Twin-cam engine helped. Also, it stopped being a kit car. Reliability went up, mystery went down. A win-win, arguably.
The Heavy Hitters
4. Lotus Elise (9–) – 63
This car paid the bills. Literally saved them from bust. Roof? Nightmare in the wind. Door sill? High, annoying hurdle. Steering? Flawless. Weight? Low. That combo wins arguments.
3. Lotus Elise 11R (–1) – ,
Toyota engines again. 9hp, smoother power curve. Better than the 11S for sure, customers got an extra gear ratio. Crucially, this version finally met US emission laws. America got the Elise at last, ending the drought created by the polluting K-series.
