Some Like It Wet

Road & Track, April 1964 and January 1965

When nature's violent forces drive timorous souls to fireside and telley, the roadsterman is out and flying, sloshing through the groundwater, boring gleefully into the writhing curtains of rain. If the truth be known, the roadsterman is quite at odds with his contemporaries. In an age of supergadgets and creature comforts, he finds satisfaction in the genuine and spurns ostentation. His pleasures are empirical, rather than vicarious. He's the type who would make his mother-in-law sleep in a motel. It is for just such individuals that the Lotus Elan was created. The Elan retains the classic feel and basic form of the all-weather two-seater within an advanced engineering structure that provides handling and performance characteristics unequalled by any other production roadster, regardless of price.

The rigid strength of its deep box channel central backbone, chassis, coupled with the fantastic adhesion of the full Chapman suspension, result in a very sturdy machine that is extremely light to hand, at all speeds, and with unmatched cornering capabilities. The 105 bhp Lotus Ford dual overhead cam engine with twin side draft Weber carburetors is quite effective in dealing with a vehicle weight of less than 1,500 lbs. Acceleration is zero to sixty in eight flat and one hundred in twenty plus, right off the showroom floor. If you are that kind that ought to have a Lotus Elan, no one will have to sell you-you will make up your own mind.

LOTUS ELAN ROADSTER
Four cylinder Lotus twin cam
Twin Weber carburetors
1558cc,105 bhp@5000 rpm
Top speed 115 mph
Four speed close ratio all synchro gear box
All independent Chapman suspension
Lotus Girling disc brakes
Approximate delivery 60 to 90 days
$3,922 P.O.E.

SHOWROOMS AND SERVICE FACILITIES

BOB CHALLMAN
2301 Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach

BRINEY-GRAY IMPORTS, INC.
3515 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach

BOB COLE MOTOR IMPORTS, LTD.
444 El Camino Real, San Bruno

ROD CARVETH ENTERPRISES, INC.
770 El Camino Real, San Carlos

FOREIGN MOTOR SALES
310 Blackstone Ave., Fresno

PHIPPS MOTORS
233 W. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara

WESTLAND MOTORS, INC.
20021 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills

Exclusive distributors for Lotus Cars throughout the Western United States

ECURIE SHIRLEE
DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION
2409 Sepulveda Blvd.
Manhattan Beach, California

Preprinted from Road & Track - April 1964 and January 1965 with permission