50 Years of Elan

The Lotus Elan was launched in October 1962 at the British Motorshow, making next month the car’s 50th anniversary. The early ’60s marked a renaissance for sports cars—Jaguar launched the E-Type, AC had the Cobra and Ferrari the GTO. Big, expensive, powerful muscles cars. The Elan was very different, and typically Lotus – ultra modern, lightweight, rapid and huge fun.

The Elan was Lotus’ biggest commercial success to that point, reviving a company stretched thin by the more exotic but in turn more costly to produce Elite. Four different series were produced up until 1973, including a coupe version. Seventeen thousand original examples, including the Elan +2, were produced.