Elan

The Lotus Elan paired a steel backbone chassis with a glassfibre body and the twin-cam engine, weighed barely 700 kilograms, and redefined sports-car handling for good. A guide to the S1 to Sprint, the +2 four-seater, the Emma Peel fame, what to check on chassis and twin-cam, and what an Elan costs today.

Lotus built Britain's cleverest sports cars from a philosophy Colin Chapman put in one line, simplify, then add lightness, and won seven Formula One constructors' titles while doing it. A guide to the classic Lotus road cars we cover, from the Eleven and Elan to the Esprit, Excel and the outrageous Lotus Carlton, what each is like to own and what they are worth.