Following the original launch of its “pioneering and ground-breaking” Elise in 1995, the Proton group sports car maker Lotus has reached another production landmark – 40,000 examples have been produced of its technologically advanced ‘small car platform’.
This platform and its production flexibility is defined by the various models based on it which have included the Elise, Exige, Europa, 2-Eleven, 340R and racing variants.
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By being the first carmaker to use extruded and bonded aluminium, Lotus claims to have “revolutionised” the industry and this production method is being widely adopted by other automakers, notably here in the UK by Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover. Germany’s Audi is another major aluminium user and Honda, just last week, said aluminium panels would be used on the upcomng Civic Type R hatchback.
In the meantime, Lotus continues to refine and develop its own lightweight structure currently weighing just 68kg.
The landmark was not been achieved without considerable effort, Group Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales said.
“The small car platform was a landmark development in 1995 and developed at the right time in the company’s history. Yet, in an environment of continuous improvement, while a correlation exists between today’s platform and the first of the lightweight, bonded and extruded aluminium structures, it has altered radically. It remains a benchmark in light weight and efficiency and is as advanced and market-leading today as it was 20 years ago.”
The small car platform underpins the current Elise and Exige models with the same aluminium extruded and bonded technology used in the new Evora 400. Outstanding structural rigidity ensures that the brand’s benchmark handling is uncorrupted.
Gales added: “We are especially delighted that the 40,000th version of our small car platform will underpin, appropriately, an Elise 20th Anniversary model, the latest model that celebrates our landmark achievements.
“Looking to the future, the platform will continue to be developed, improved upon and form a solid and dependable base for future new models demonstrating the production flexibility of the technology and its importance to Lotus.”
