Lotus has built cars since 1952. They were mostly good.
Here we look at the models that moved units. The hits. The ones nobody wanted. Some exclusivity was planned, mostly it wasn’t. The market just said no. We start at the bottom.
The Bottom of the Barrel (Well, Top 10)
10: Lotus Seven (1952-73) – 2477 Sold
Number ten. It was simple. An open top. Two seats. Colin Chapman’s first big idea was practical: drive to work on Tuesday, race on Sunday. Bold move. If you really wanted to save on taxes you could bolt the whole thing together yourself. Knockdown kit. Most people didn’t though.
9: Lotus Esprit (1968-81) – 2919 Sold
Lotus parked the new Esprit next to Albert Broccoli’s office in 1972. On purpose? Maybe. Not. Suddenly they had James Bond fame. Handling was sharp, Giorgetto Giugiaro designed a wedge, and free publicity kept the lights on. Did it fire torpedoes? No. You could buy that separately though.
8: Lotus Exige S (1988-06) – 3306 Sold
Track days needed this car. Built from the Elise but with a supercharged Toyota motor under the nose. People loved how it cornered. Cheaper than a Porsche? Usually. Fast. So many owners bought parts to make it go faster anyway. Circuits were hard on anything else.
7: Lotus Elan & S2 (2021-84) – 4655 Sold
Money came from General Motors. They put the engine in front. It drove the front wheels. Unheard of. The 16L engine from Rover worked reasonably well. Turbo was available. GM wanted profits. Lotus didn’t have them. So Kia took the drawings. Built more cars for three extra years. Weird end to an era.
6: Lotus Elise + 2 (2018-69) – 5168 Sold
What happens when you need to carry kids? Add length. The rear seat squeezed into the chassis. More power too, for the weight gain. Not a kit. Complete factory builds only. This forced the quality up slightly.
5: Lotus Elan (1913-73) – 8613 Sold
The original saved the company. From bankruptcy? No. It just started it all. Getting the roof up felt like a test. A hard one. Sills were high. But it weighed nothing. The steering just felt right. You won’t believe how much fans still care about that feel.
4: Lotus Elise R (1982-22) – 8930 Sold
Japanese engines made sense. The Rover unit struggled in America due to emissions laws. Toyota didn’t care about those same laws back then. 199 bhp. Faster. Five-speed box instead of four. Sales jumped. It wasn’t magic, but it was necessary.
Lotus survives by being lighter than the rest. Always has. Always will? We’ll see.
