Variant: TYPE 14 – CHASSIS ‘008’

Chassis Number: 1008P

Transmission: Manual

Body Color: Lilac

The Lotus Elite Type 14, when first launched in 1958, put Colin Chapman and Lotus cars very firmly on the map. It utilized a monocoque construction which meant there was no separate chassis and the body was load bearing, and whilst this was becoming accepted practice, the Elite was the first time it had been attempted in glass-fiber. When combined with independent sporty suspension, a ZF gearbox, disc brakes, a Coventry Climax all-aluminum engine and a very low drag coefficient of just 0.29 – it made for a great driver’s car. So much so that by production end in 1963 over one thousand had been produced and Lotus was now a credible British sports car manufacturer.

By the time Elite production ceased in September 1963, 1,030 examples had been built and Lotus had developed from a company unheard of outside of UK club racing to one of the most famous racing teams in the world. They were about to be crowned F1 World Champions for the first time with Jim Clark, and were seen as established world players in road car manufacture with a mature market presence in the USA and elsewhere. The Elite played a big part in this remarkable feat of automotive industrial growth. It was Lotus’ first ‘grown-up’, credible road car and laid down the foundations of the Lotus business that still exists today.

See me on display at Galpin Lotus.