Lotus Elan

The Lotus Elan perfectly captured the spirit of the Swinging Sixties. Light, agile and brilliantly engineered around the groundbreaking Lotus-Ford Twin Cam engine, it evolved between 1963 and 1968 from the simple Series 1 roadster to the refined Series 4 convertible, amid factory moves, Team Lotus victories, Formula 1 World Championships and the landmark JPS sponsorship era. In 1967, it was joined by the elegant four-seat Plus 2, as Colin Chapman elevated the Lotus brand into the world of sophisticated Grand Tourers. The Elan name returned briefly in 1989 with the Isuzu-powered, front-wheel-drive M100. Including more than 250 photographs, many of them previously unpublished.