Why do people still think adding lightness was a...
Discussion
...Lotus road car thing?
Colin Chapman applied it successfully to his race cars but it was never a thing, in his time, for road cars. Yes the Lotus 7 was small and light but it was only like that due to budgets and it being used for motor sport events etc.
I didn't go back into the early 70s but since the mid 70s the road cars Lotus made were not especially light compared to competitors and it was only when the Elise came out, that there was car that was specifically designed to be light, and again, this was due to Lotus not having the money to make a 'normal' sports car.
I see people whinge about the Lotus EV's, or even the Emira and say CC would be turning in his grave and yet it'd be the opposite. He'd be thinking 'Lots of profits to go racing with!' because that was entirely the point of the road cars.
Colin Chapman applied it successfully to his race cars but it was never a thing, in his time, for road cars. Yes the Lotus 7 was small and light but it was only like that due to budgets and it being used for motor sport events etc.
I didn't go back into the early 70s but since the mid 70s the road cars Lotus made were not especially light compared to competitors and it was only when the Elise came out, that there was car that was specifically designed to be light, and again, this was due to Lotus not having the money to make a 'normal' sports car.
I see people whinge about the Lotus EV's, or even the Emira and say CC would be turning in his grave and yet it'd be the opposite. He'd be thinking 'Lots of profits to go racing with!' because that was entirely the point of the road cars.
For what’s it’s worth, I agree.
There s a new Evo mag podcast about the genesis of the Elise featuring Richard Rackham and Julian Thomson.
In it they described the Lotus dealers being really worried about how Lotus customers would take to such a lightweight basic car after being used to luxury offerings like the Excel and Esprit and even fwd Elan.
I think we forget a lot of Lotus road car history after 30 years of the Elise platform really being the only offering. The Elise might have saved the company but it s also been a millstone around its neck in a lot of ways.
There s a new Evo mag podcast about the genesis of the Elise featuring Richard Rackham and Julian Thomson.
In it they described the Lotus dealers being really worried about how Lotus customers would take to such a lightweight basic car after being used to luxury offerings like the Excel and Esprit and even fwd Elan.
I think we forget a lot of Lotus road car history after 30 years of the Elise platform really being the only offering. The Elise might have saved the company but it s also been a millstone around its neck in a lot of ways.
Not sure anyone is saying that - it's just a 'Lotus thing' is it not?
The original Elan was around 680kg, and even it's 'lardy' Plus 2 brother only 880kg and the S1 Espirit from 1976 also around 880kg and all were Chapman era cars.
Whilst he championed 'simplify and add lightness' in his racing machines he carried the same philosophy to his road cars - the resulting excellent performance from relatively low power outputs was good marketing. Perhaps fair to speculate that cost savings probably also fed into the equation. Later Plus 2 and Elan bodies were lighter than early ones - not to save weight for philosophical reasons but doubtless to save on the cost of fibreglass and resin!
Whilst It's true that later cars were heavier much of this would have come from meeting safety requirements but even then I would not say later cars were heavy per se compared to their peers. I think my Evora was only 1340kg which is not really 'heavy'.
The original Elan was around 680kg, and even it's 'lardy' Plus 2 brother only 880kg and the S1 Espirit from 1976 also around 880kg and all were Chapman era cars.
Whilst he championed 'simplify and add lightness' in his racing machines he carried the same philosophy to his road cars - the resulting excellent performance from relatively low power outputs was good marketing. Perhaps fair to speculate that cost savings probably also fed into the equation. Later Plus 2 and Elan bodies were lighter than early ones - not to save weight for philosophical reasons but doubtless to save on the cost of fibreglass and resin!
Whilst It's true that later cars were heavier much of this would have come from meeting safety requirements but even then I would not say later cars were heavy per se compared to their peers. I think my Evora was only 1340kg which is not really 'heavy'.
Lotobear said:
Not sure anyone is saying that - it's just a 'Lotus thing' is it not?
The original Elan was around 680kg, and even it's 'lardy' Plus 2 brother only 880kg and the S1 Espirit from 1976 also around 880kg and all were Chapman era cars.
Was it 680kg? Some sites cite 550kg for the S1 roadster, though the '65 coupe seems to be close to 700kg, A sprite was sub-700 wasn't it?The original Elan was around 680kg, and even it's 'lardy' Plus 2 brother only 880kg and the S1 Espirit from 1976 also around 880kg and all were Chapman era cars.
Frimley111R said:
...Lotus road car thing?
Colin Chapman applied it successfully to his race cars but it was never a thing, in his time, for road cars. Yes the Lotus 7 was small and light but it was only like that due to budgets and it being used for motor sport events etc.
.
Elan 600kg Triumph TR5 1030KgColin Chapman applied it successfully to his race cars but it was never a thing, in his time, for road cars. Yes the Lotus 7 was small and light but it was only like that due to budgets and it being used for motor sport events etc.
.
Espirt S1 - 980Kg Ferrari 308 1250 Kg
Lotus Éclat -1,055 kg Porsche 928 1450 Kg
Lotus always did light weight.
Edited by Gary C on Wednesday 4th June 16:03
otolith said:
Lotobear said:
Not sure anyone is saying that - it's just a 'Lotus thing' is it not?
The original Elan was around 680kg, and even it's 'lardy' Plus 2 brother only 880kg and the S1 Espirit from 1976 also around 880kg and all were Chapman era cars.
Was it 680kg? Some sites cite 550kg for the S1 roadster, though the '65 coupe seems to be close to 700kg, A sprite was sub-700 wasn't it?The original Elan was around 680kg, and even it's 'lardy' Plus 2 brother only 880kg and the S1 Espirit from 1976 also around 880kg and all were Chapman era cars.
giveitfish said:
Probably worth keeping some context in mind though - back in the 60 s and 70 s ALL cars were light.
The Escort Mk1 was only just over 800kg for a very ordinary 4 seat family car, about 50kg LESS than my 1.6 Club Racer was.
While thats true, the key point is that a Lotus car was generally lighter than its nearest equivalent competitor.The Escort Mk1 was only just over 800kg for a very ordinary 4 seat family car, about 50kg LESS than my 1.6 Club Racer was.
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