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Lotus

The first Lotus was built in 1948, and used by Chapman to compete in races. By 1955, the owner Chapman had officially formed Lotus Cars Ltd. Two years leater, the company released the successful Lotus Elite. This remarkably light coupe owed its featherweight status to its fiberglass unibody construction.

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. By 1967, Lotus had added the Elan Plus 2 to its lineup and this certainly increased the company‘s reputation as a ‘real‘ car manufacturer.

The brand's vehicles had evolved significantly since the first Elite cruised off showroom floors. Lotus cars of the 1970s were bigger, costlier and more expensive than their predecessors, and the brand had muscled its way into a segment populated by the likes of Ferrari and Porsche which meant that the company faced harsh compitition.

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. 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 emission considerations were overcome after some changes.

Today, Lotus still remains true to Chapman's original desire of producing lightweight and race-oriented sports cars which are fully road legal.