Lotus Elise at 20: PH Heroes
Why 20 years on the Elise remains one of the best handling cars on the planet
To think this design was launched 20 years ago!
You could spend at least three lifetimes arguing about definitions here, and drain the Internet of pixels while doing so. But the Lotus Elise is one of very few that can lay genuine claim to being one of these unicorn grade always-classics, the most radical sports car of its generation, and one that was timeless from the day it was introduced two decades ago.
That's right, its 20 years since the Elise first appeared, a fact that makes many of us feel old. It had its official debut at the Frankfurt motor show in 1995 and deliveries started in 1996, so it's on the cusp of its third decade. Prepare for a deluge of backward-looking articles - we've tried to beat the rush. But in the Elise's case, the hype is mostly justified.
Everything you need and nothing you don't inside
I'll spare you most of the soap opera, but by the mid-1990s Lotus was in a semi-permanent state of crisis. The ageing Esprit was being produced in ever smaller numbers, an expensively developed V8 engine doing little to sharpen its case. The front-driven 'M100' Elan had been a huge hit with critics when it launched in 1989, but after a couple of years of decent sales (and an 'S2' refresh) its star had waned against cheaper rivals like the Mazda MX-5. In 1993, when GM sold its controlling stake in the company, Lotus produced just 320 cars; something that puts its more recent problems into perspective.
The new owner was Romano Artioli, a self-made Italian who wore the adjective 'controversial' as closely as one of his expensive suits. He was the man behind the relaunch of the Bugatti brand and the megabucks EB110 supercar, the slow sales of which were forcing Bugatti into a messy bankruptcy during the same period. So he was predictably keen to offload the British sports car maker, eventually persuading DRB-Hicom to buy most of his stake in 1996. Yet to give him his due, he was the man who agreed to spend the cash necessary to develop the Elise during his brief time in charge. He got to name it, too - after his granddaughter, Elisa.
Standard engine upgraded to Sport 135 spec here
In short, it was a brilliant reinterpretation of all the values that had made Lotus great; it was light, responsive, handsome and enticingly affordable. Early roadtests were almost radioactive in their praise and excitement levels spiked to the low stratosphere after prices were announced - for £18,950 the Elise undercut every obvious rival; a second-gen Toyota MR-2 was £22,000, the roofless and heater-less Renault Sport Spider was £26,600 and a Porsche Boxster was £33,950. Lotus had hoped to sell 800 Elises a year; by the end of 1996 it had built 2,500 and had a growing waiting list.
One owner since new and 136,000 miles...
Which brings us directly to here, and one of those early Elises. The cars we choose for Heroes shoots tend to be the nicest we can find, in many cases examples that are still close to the condition they were in when they left the factory. This early Series 1 definitely isn't that, but we could not have found a better car for the story.
Because owner Adrian Thomson is the only name there's ever been on the registration document, having collected his car on the August 1 1997 - he waited for the 'R' registration plate. It spent most of that time as a daily driver and - with the help of longer road trips and regular track use - it's racked up a very impressive 136,000 miles, while benefiting from various sympathetic upgrades along the way. It's got the knocks and wear that you would expect from anything of its age and mileage, but it's a patina that it wears with enormous pride.
Getting in is a time machine moment as the S1's interior feels instantly familiar, like going back to your childhood bedroom would. It's a good 10 years since I last sat in an Elise of this vintage, but everything is as I remember- the clear Stack instruments, the bulbous gear lever right where it should be, the fat sill dictating a slightly offset driving position. Even the parts bin switchgear feels right, the Peugeot light buttons and Cavalier column stalks. Alright, so I'd forgotten that the window winders and mirrors were donated by a Metro; but it's a bigger shock to realise something that still feels as modern as the Elise actually overlapped with the last couple of years of what was, by then, the wholly unloved Rover 100.
About to enter its third decade and still revered
Thomson's updates over the years have included a more powerful Sport 135 engine, sports suspension, a close ratio gearbox, a sports exhaust and four-point harnesses for regular track work. None of which stop the driving experience from feeling as familiar as the slightly worn cockpit, from the immediacy of the throttle response and the mind-reading steering to the way grit and small stones rattle their way across the metal floor every time you go around a corner. The revised gearing isn't too low for cruising and the heater blows hot enough to keep the cabin toasty, even without a roof. Usability has always been a core part of the Elise's appeal; a car you can drive without ever having to wear rubber trousers.
Well of course it's sensational to drive
In Lambourn I meet up with snapper Tim Brown and Peter Wright, the owner of a nearly new Elise 20th Anniversary that - in evidence of either remarkably good luck or Editor Trent's remarkable planning abilities - is finished in pretty much exactly the same shade of yellow. We're planning to follow up with a more detailed comparison story with both cars, but the fundamental similarities despite the two decades that separate them are striking.
The S1 can't match the straight line pace delivered by the 20th Anniversary's supercharged Toyota engine, but it still feels plenty fast enough thanks to the K Series' raucous enthusiasm, as voiced and amplified by the rorty exhaust. The ride is pliant, even on the local tarmac that West Berkshire council seems to be leaving to return to nature. The steering remains sublime: unassisted, bristling with feedback and so dialled into the road that you really can feel minor changes in camber or even surface texture. If anybody ever asks you to explain steering feel then save your breath and just sit them in an Elise for five minutes.
Even driving at a pace that's suitably respectful of somebody else's favourite car the Elise S1 feels special. The agility and response effectively disguises the fact there isn't a huge amount of grip by modern standards, even on a decent set of Toyos. There doesn't need to be; everything is flagged better than a semaphore school. This remains one of those cars you can drive hard, legally and socially acceptably, all at the same time.
More on this to follow...
I'm not going to end by asking where progress has come in the last 20 years, because that's obvious. It's in all the things that the S1 Elise didn't have - the current one is still minimalist by modern standards but even airbags, air-con and stability control now feature. It's also come in the way that while cars have got faster pretty much across the board, they also feel far less well connected. Dynamically the Elise has aged only in that, two decades on, it feels even more involving than practically everything else on the road. To throw objectivity under the bus on this one, it's close to being unimproveable, and that's what makes it more of a classic than 90 per cent of the cars that description gets stuck to. I drive back to Winchester having practically convinced myself I need to buy one, but knowing that Thomson will never sell me his.
LOTUS ELISE S1
Engine: 1,796cc four-cylinder
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 118@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 122@3,000rpm
0-62mph: 5.9sec (claimed)
Top speed: 126 mph
Weight: 723kg
On sale: 1996-2000 (replaced by S2)
Price new: £18,950
Price now: £8,500-£15,000
Elise-owning PHers on why they love their Lotuses - full story here!
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Photos: Tim Brown
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