Overview & Reviews

Founded in Britain, Lotus is very much a specialty outfit, with output limited to high-performance racecars and sports cars known for their sleek and lightweight designs. Though its cars are prized by enthusiasts seeking maximum handling performance, Lotus has never been particularly keen on sales volume, and it rarely has more than one or two models for sale at a time.

The marque was founded by racing enthusiast Anthony Colin Chapman. The first Lotus was built in 1948, and used by Chapman to compete in races. By 1955, Chapman had officially formed Lotus Cars Ltd. A company milestone was reached two years later with the unveiling of the innovative Lotus Elite. This remarkably light coupe owed its featherweight status to its fiberglass unibody construction. Though the use of fiberglass for a car's body wasn't unique, the Elite was the first vehicle to use this material both in its skeleton and its skin. The resultant weight savings helped the Elite to distinguish itself at Le Mans and other notable races around the world.

The 1960s saw Lotus expanding its line with the addition of the Elan. First available as a roadster, the car offered a twin-cam engine, four-wheel disc brakes and a four-wheel independent suspension. Hardtop versions were later offered. By 1967, Lotus had added the Elan Plus 2 to its lineup. Dubbed Lotus' first family car, the Plus 2 was just as sporty as the Elan, but more practical thanks to a bigger cabin and the addition of two jump seats.

Lotus discontinued the Elite in 1972, but the name was revived in 1974. The new Elite was a four-passenger model with a 160-horsepower engine. Two years later, the Lotus family grew yet again, with the addition of the Esprit. The two-seat sports car continued Lotus' ethos of lightweight design, and it was instantly recognizable due to its distinctive wedge-shaped exterior and appearance in two James Bond movies.

Movie stardom aside, this was not a good decade for Lotus. The brand's vehicles had evolved significantly since the first Elite cruised off showroom floors. But Lotus cars of the 1970s were bigger and more expensive than their predecessors, and the brand had muscled its way into a segment populated by the likes of Ferrari and Porsche. Lotus cars were now premium-priced exotics; unfortunately for the brand, this segment saw a dramatic fall-off in demand in the wake of that era's fuel crisis. As a result, the niche-market automaker suffered significant losses.

In 1986, General Motors took full control of Lotus and created Lotus Cars USA in 1987. That relationship lasted until 1993, when GM sold Lotus to Bugatti. Bugatti's ownership was even shorter; Lotus was sold to a Malaysian firm in 1996. The same year, Lotus began producing the flyweight Elise, a car that would quickly become the company's main product and financial savior. The Elise was finally imported to North America in 2004 after safety and emissions considerations were overcome.

Today, Lotus remains true to Chapman's original desire of producing lightweight and race-oriented sports cars. With tight cabin accommodations, a stiff ride and minimal comfort and storage features, modern Lotus cars make poor grocery-getters. But for the enthusiast looking for world-class handling, sporty style and an unfiltered connection between car and driver at a reasonable price, the Lotus brand is hard to beat.

User Reviews:

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  Incredible car, may be the last car like this ever - 2011 Lotus Exige
  By scm6079 - January 30 - 6:53 pm

  The Exige is an amazing car that Makes you forget about any shortcomings when you take the next corner. Mine is not a daily driver, and although I love the car there are days you need to carry passengers and cargo. This car is incredibly light weight and a type of car I fear may be dissapearing forever as cars continue to grow in size and weight and even lotus themselves is talking about transforming into a Ferrari competitor with much heavier cars. Although cliche, this car really is a useable go-kart for the street.

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  A Real head turner - 2002 Lotus Esprit
  By LotusOwner - December 7 - 10:00 am

  Exotic looking car. Somewhat practical. What can you say with a car that is only waist height. Getting in and out is difficult. Styling is timeless.

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  Best Sports Car! - 2006 Lotus Elise
  By jhill - November 23 - 9:53 am

  I have been an owner of five Porsches over the past 14 years. I have driven a 968 convertible, 86 911 Carrera that had a race suspension and performance engine, 98 996 S w/turbo body, 03 997 turbo and a 06 Cayman S. All of these cars were amazing and unique, but the Lotus Elise is truly the ride I have been looking for. Yes it is not a Porsche uni-body design and it does lack German engineering, but the feed back and handling is so much like a race car it is truly awesome! The light weight chassis design along with the independent suspension makes this vehicle very unique. For the driver that wants a sports car experience, Lotus is as close as you can get to driving a formula one.

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  Best Lotus Yet - 2010 Lotus Evora
  By mkovalsky - November 21 - 6:59 pm

  A Lotus you can actually live with everyday-the interior is all leather and fits together properly, no squeaks or rattles. Instrument cluster is perfect and the touch screen stereo/navigation works well. Lotus even made it easy to get in and out of, relatively speaking. Handling is second to none, it is like driving a larger Elise. Interior is quiet under normal driving and you can actually hear a phone call using the built in bluetooth. Exhaust note is quiet at low rpms but becomes a fantastic wail at full throttle. Handling in the wet is scary at best but it has incredible grip when dry. Absolute head turner, expect to get a tremendous amount of attention everywhere you go.

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  My fourth Lotus -and the best so far - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By drdaave999 - November 16 - 12:33 pm

  What a great car. The true joy of driving returns with the new Elise. Colin Chapmans ghost would be ecstatic about this newest Lotus. Lithe, with spectacular handling, unbelievable weight to power ratio, beautiful sytling. And all for far less cost than either a Boxster or a Corvette. No wonder I remain an Anglofile!

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  Beware - 2007 Lotus Elise
  By tbd - November 15 - 9:16 pm

  Beware! I bought mine brand new and only put on 2200 miles per year. When the car was one week old the headlight flew out. The radiator hoses have blown 3 times stranding me on the side of the road. The build quality is terrible. Good luck going up-market lotus! People paying six figures for a car will not tolerate these issues.

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  Very fun car with some drawbacks - 2006 Lotus Elise
  By Ian - August 27 - 11:40 pm

  This car was built for the track. If you buy this car expecting anything more than a driving machine, you are looking at it for the wrong reason. The combination of aluminum and fiberglass that make up the Elise provide a very high power to weight ratio, even with the very small 1.8L Toyota engine. After pushing the car past 6200 rpm you feel a boost in power as the car switches to the second cam. As you redline in second at 8500 rpm, the shift into third pushes your head back into the seat. At this point you realize that youre on the freeway inching toward 100 and need to slow down. What a killjoy. Amazing handling and road hugging tires make freeway on ramps the best part of your day.

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  get one before its too late! - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By wade lee - July 22 - 10:00 am

  its hard to overcome paying $6000 over msrp to drive one off the lot right now, but i did. and no regret, its worth it, the fun factor, the attention and the sense of haha, look at me i have one while you still waiting.

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  Electrical nightmare - 2006 Lotus Elise
  By JSC - June 27 - 1:40 am

  Fun to drive, but hard to get into the car even with my height 57". Second day after I purchased the car, had a fuse blow up and electrical problem occur so very disappointed with all the excitement only to last one day.

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  Patrik - 2006 Lotus Elise
  By Patrik Lori - June 21 - 12:06 am

  Driving and ownership experience with this vehicle is superb. The power of the small 1.8L engine fits excellent to this super light car. If you dont need really all the silly comfort from todays cars, and just look for free driving experiences, it is one of the best car to drive with. Forget Porsche just drive Lotus.