| Lotus Elise | |
|---|---|
 Lotus Elise S Club Racer (Series 3) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Lotus Cars |
| Production | 1996–2021 35,124 produced[1] |
| Assembly | Hethel, Norfolk, England, UK Shah Alam, Malaysia (Lotus Cars Malaysia; Series 1, 1997–2000)[2][3][4] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2-door 2-Seat Targa Top roadster |
| Layout | Transverse mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Platform | Lotus small car platform |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Lotus Elan[5] |
| Successor | Lotus Emira Lotus Theory 1 |
The Lotus Elise is a sports car conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars. A two-seater roadster with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the Elise has a fibreglass body shell atop its bonded extruded aluminium chassis that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum. The Elise was named after Elisa Artioli, the granddaughter of Romano Artioli who was chairman of Lotus and Bugatti at the time of the car's launch.[6]
Production of the Elise, Exige and Evora ended in 2021. It was replaced by the Lotus Emira.[7][8][1]
- ^ a b Silvestro, Brian (22 December 2021). "The Lotus Elise, Exige, and Evora Have Finally Ended Production". Road and Track. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ Ben D'Cunha (28 June 1998). "Malaysian Lotus". New Straits Times. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ "Lotus Elise assembly at Proton terminated". autoworld.com.my. 14 November 2000. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Last 'Malaysian' Elise To Be Delivered This Month". autoworld.com.my. 9 December 2002. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Lotus Elise S1 1995 - 2001 Series 1 1.8". Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ Walton, Jeremy (2003). Lotus Elise: The Official Story. Motorbooks Intl. pp. 7, 95. ISBN 1-902351-05-3.
- ^ Allan, Lawrence (25 January 2021). "Lotus confirms new sports car, end of Elise, Exige and Evora in 2021". Autocar.
- ^ "A New Year and a New Future: New Lotus sports car series confirmed Elise, Exige and Evora embark on final year of production". Lotus Cars Media Site. 25 January 2021.