For sale: maybe the best looking Lotus Elise ever
Lotus celebrated the 60th anniversary of its first F1 win in 2020. Here's how it marked the occasion
We’re now a good couple of years into the Emira’s lifecycle, and although it’s probably got the best part of a decade still to go before Lotus ditches the combustion engine altogether, we’ve yet to see the barrage of special editions that Hethel loves to produce. And for good reason, not least for its rich history filled with victories and championships to draw from, but also because it tends to keep people interested in models that otherwise remain largely the same.
Granted, most limited-run Elises and Exiges can be boiled down to classic racing colours for the paintwork, a different palette for the interior, a few stickers and a build plaque. But, really, what more do you need? We’ve all had dreams of driving a Gold Leaf-liveried Lotus, and though black and gold have been done to death, you inevitably think ‘I must have one’ the moment a new John Player Special, er, special is announced. Then there’s the car we have here, a little-known special edition that marks arguably the most important milestone in Lotus’ history - its first Grand Prix win.
For a company with more championships under its belt than Red Bull (though that’ll probably change come the end of the season), it’s a mystery as to why it doesn’t shout about its first F1 victory at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix more often. Perhaps it’s because it wasn’t technically a Team Lotus car that took the chequered flag, but rather a privately-run Type 18 dressed in Rob Walker Racing colours and piloted by Sir Stirling Moss. So dominant was Moss that he snatched pole position by a full second over that year’s champion, Jack Brabham, and would go on to win the race - held over 100 laps - by nearly a minute.
The following year’s race is better remembered, with Moss taking victory again in a Rob Walker Racing Type 18, only with the side panels removed in an extreme effort to keep the driver cool, leaving Sir Stirling’s arms and legs exposed as he charged around the streets of Monaco. While that would have made an incredible limited-edition Elise - especially if Lotus went the whole hog and took the doors off - marking your first championship-counting Grand Prix, and with it one of Britain’s all-time racing superstars, seems like the perfect starting point for another stellar special.
Alongside the dark blue with white stripe colour scheme inspired by the race-winner, Stirling Moss Editions came with pretty much every optional extra as standard, including a DAB radio, air conditioning, cruise control and interior carpets. Most examples look to have been fitted with plain black leather seats, though this car gets red inserts and an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel. Performance was left unchanged, though Lotus did throw in chunky two-piece disc brakes and forged alloy wheels. It really is a looker.
The Stirling Moss car formed part of the Elise’s Heritage Edition range, which retained the same overall design as the car we have here, only with the body and stripe colours swapped out to match the famous liveries of old. Only 100 were produced across the entire collection, and there’s no word on how many were finished to Moss-spec. Can’t help but think most buyers would have gone for the more recognisable black, red or green-coloured liveries, so odds are it’s one of the rarer specials. All yours for £45,995. Admittedly, this Cup 250 GP Edition gets you more performance and the JPS appeal for a grand more, but the Moss car marks a particularly special and lesser-known milestone in the Lotus story, so it gets the nod from us. Honestly think it might look better, too…
Of course it's not the best looking Elise ever, possibly a contender for the worst looking. Anyone with any taste whatsoever can see that. I know, looks are subjective, but some things are actually quite objective. Dark colours never showed the shape well, true since the S1. The stripes over the hips look wonky from any angle except the perfect side elevation that only the CAD muppet who designed it, and equally artistic children in pushchairs, will ever see. LOTUS lettering on the side is just sad, the Elise does its talking in the corners, so plastering it with shouty branding is only going to appeal to drivers who turn up at trackdays in full Nomex but spend all day kicking tyres in the pitlane. And the whole association with the era of Yet Another Special Edition Lotus is tragic.
Don't get me wrong, I love Elises. You don't get this passionate about crap paint schemes if you don't love a car with all your heart. But this one is just wrong wrong wrong.
But, here we are commenting and driving revenue to PH, so job done!
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