Breathtakingly sumptuous in its feminine lines, this is a car that takes your breath away, its aesthetics only enhanced by its Lotus Yellow color – sunshine in an automobile.

Buyer / Seller Questions? 310-975-0272

With the hungry and extremely basic Lotus Seven (a road legal car that could be used for club racing), the super-sporty Lotus Elan and the Lotus Cortina (the almost miraculous transmogrification of what was essentially a bog-standard saloon-car into a sexy racing powerhouse), Lotus was one of the significant design details of the the Swinging Sixties in the UK.

Mind you, I can think of easier ways to spend a Sunday morning or ten.

The Lotus Elite was on sale from 1957 to 1962 – impressive as Lotus Engineering Ltd had only been formed by Colin Chapman in 1952, its first factory situated in some old stables behind The Railway Hotel in Hornsey in North London.

This was a location with which Chapman would have been well acquainted: his father had run The Railway Hotel.

In 1948, at the age of twenty, Chapman had designed what he named the Lotus Mk1, a modified Austin 7; in the UK the Austin 7 was as revolutionary as the Ford Model T in the USA; and not just in the UK – the first BMW was a modified Austin 7.

Colin Chapman successfully entered his Lotus Mk1 in local racing events. With the prize money he developed the Lotus Mk2, employing the skills he had learned studying structural engineering at London’s University College.

In the 1950s, Chapman himself progressed through motor racing, designing and building a series of racing cars, sometimes to the point of maintaining limited production as they were so successful and highly sought after, until he arrived in Formula One. But piloting a Vanwall F1-car in 1956, Chapman crashed into his teammate Mike Hawthorn during practice for the French Grand Prix at Reims, ending his career as a race driver and focusing him on the technical side. Along with John Cooper, he revolutionized the premier motor sport. Their small, lightweight mid-engined vehicles gave away much in terms of power, but superior handling meant their competing cars often beat the all-conquering front-engined Ferraris and Maseratis.

The Lotus Elite debuted at the 1957 London Motor Car Show in Earls Court. The Elite had spent a year in development, aided by carefully selected racing customers, before going on sale.

The Elite’s most distinctive feature was its highly innovative fiberglass monocoque construction, in which a stressed-skin glass-reinforced unibody replaced the previously separate chassis and body components. Unlike its contemporary, the Chevrolet Corvette, which used fiberglass for only exterior bodywork, the Lotus Elite used glass-reinforced plastic for the entire load-bearing structure of the car. A steel subframe for supporting the engine and front suspension was bonded into the front of the monocoque, as was a square-section windscreen-hoop that provided mounting points for door hinges, a jacking point for lifting the car and roll-over protection components.

This Elite comes equipped with a manual transmission, Inline-four engine, SU dual carburetor, front-wheel disc brakes, dual exhaust outlets, slated grill, Equilux branded headlights, Lucas branded taillights, Smiths instrumentation, 15-inch wire wheels with knock-off spinners, Pirelli tires, a jack, and a spare tire. Step inside the opulent cabin and you’ll find convenience features including bucket-seating, driver-side rearview mirror, pop-out windows, door pockets, and vent windows.

If you’re in search of a classic sports car that combines elegance, performance, and heritage, look no further than this exotic British classic that is mechanically sound.

You really won’t be sorry you did.

This car is such a babe.

-Alex Manos, Owner