Classic Car | Lotus Elite | British Car | Drive in | 1974

[@bobupen6476]

We all wanted an Elan or an Espirit back in the day, nobody wanted an Elite. Great to watch this old vid though, I used to wear the same type of trousers as this guy, thanks for uploading.

[@klwthe3rd]

Why did NOONE want to buy an Elite? It was the top of the line car from Lotus.

[@ericgeorge5483]

Still looks stunning today. A beautiful piece of automotive engineering.

[@manofthehour6856]

Agreed! Amazing how Mr. Evans points out it meets contemporary and the then-near future propsed crash standards, yet retains a timeless look.

[@ericgeorge5483]

@@manofthehour6856 I simply adore the whole thing; performance and those looks.

[@Holeyguagaamoley]

Went on holiday with my friends family in one of these and it is still astonishing that a car made of so many ordinary parts could be the best driving experience I’ve ever had,what a machine!

[@barryrudge1576]

Love his flared trousers but to give some idea of its true value back in 1974 you could buy a semi detached house with garage for an average price of £4000 (excluding the home counties) So it really was a very expensive car.

[@pnamajck]

you see, Doug DeMuro … this is how to make a proper and respectable review of an automobile.

[@tz6414]

Cant stand DeMouro's odd voice intonation, can't watch him

[@lancraft]

He’s a dope

[@lewis72]

@@tz6414 Yes, he is incredibly annoying. Only second to Schmee

[@ModMokkaMatti]

@@lewis72 That hack mechanic Scotty and Doug DeMuro are the toxic twins of KZbin automotive content, IMO.

[@chuckselvage3157]

Demuro is a tool.

[@jeffallinson8089]

I think this is a stunning piece of car design; yes it was pricey at the time but it was an exotic car, and everything is relative.

[@stuartliddle7228]

My Dads mate had one in 1979..... Gold. I was about 7. BEST THING EVER.

[@Wbroach24]

These videos popping up in my feed make me want to clean up the one my poppy bought in the 70's. It's been indoors and under a car cover as long as I can remember and I'm 36! Were in the U.S., not sure how many came this way but I imagine not many if only a couple thousand were built.

[@Banglish123]

That tie was tucked into his Y fronts

[@TheIamIrving]

From the way he's talking, the crash actually improved the car.

[@nickwilczynski3684]

Do these pop up in England?? I have NEVER seen one in the US

[@gothicpagan.666]

Castlegrad 😂

[@gothicpagan.666]

You have to feel sorry for anyone that bought one. Great in theory but thats were it ended

[@TheAllMightyGodofCod]

At least it should improve the styling...

[@elise9126]

Nick Wilczynski Two for sale right now! search craigslist parkersburg, WV. 2 for 4500. A’76 and a ‘74. Never seen one before, and why i’m here.

[@robreg2990]

4:02 "rear screen wiper..." and almost breaks it off :-D

[@ozzie-sk9dh]

Twin filler caps? Genius. Never get caught out at the petrol station.

[@The-Sea-Dragon-1977]

If it was aluminium & had a Lamborghini badge people would be paying £100k for them. Lotus did amazing things & these cars are criminally underrated.

[@grndiesel]

160 BHP from a N/A straight-4? Non-turbo, with CARBS!? Forget back in the day, that's still good by today's standards.

[@MrRealstreet]

David totally

[@benday1218]

Colin Chapman genius!

[@dannycolverson6944]

simon lloyd Name some N/A, 2.0 straight 4s with 160 bhp....

[@dannycolverson6944]

Bob Clapperton Errr when exactly did I say "non turbo"? Mine and the OPs point was that the numbers were great for the time and great for todays standards. You've named two engines that replicate the numbers, which sort of backs up the point.

[@volvo480]

20 years ago, the 2 litre straight-4 non-turbo Renault F4R-engine from the Clio RS delivered 170 bhp already. An updated version in 2004 delivered 180 bhp. However, the engines did have an intake VVT system. Without VVT the F4R-engine delivered 139 bhp in the Laguna, which is a normal family saloon, not a hot hatch. Also, in the early 70s cars did not have a catalyst, so they could run happily on high octane fuel with a set of highly tuned dual carbs.

[@STICKYBOY214]

I loved the Elite. As a kid it was the ultimate car 👍🏼

[@grahamariss2111]

I remember a house on my walk to school had one of these on its drive, I recall it in a period of a few months losing various bits of trim fell off, I guess it went back under warranty, because it reappeared looking neat and tidy again, then it promptly did the same again and then it disappeared for good.

[@zaphodbeeblebrox6627]

MIRA used the same car for front crash, rear crash side crash & roof crash where most other manufacturers supplied a car for each test. I love the way the presenter ‘Big’D’ this point up. In real life LOTUS probably couldn’t afford to smash up umpteen cars, which is why they just used the one.

[@alunhoskins4513]

I remember when that car came out, the 'shooting brake' looks really divided opinion. Even then too the poor build quality was talked about with regard to body panels, the pop up headlights - and pop up they would often do overnight when parked...well, one of them...and the use of Morris Marina door handles; the dreaded BL parts bin was much used. The 'saving grace' though was always the Lotus engine and the fact that (at the time) 'nothing handles like a Lotus'. Overall quality of the car and its reliability was shocking though.

[@timothysimpkins3664]

You notice on the film, the lotus had Austin Allegro door handles!

[@skunksrus007]

Some had Morris Marina as well depending on which parts bin was used on the day... and i do believe they are mini clubman side light/indicator units in that front bumper.... lol

[@charitycharity3316]

simon lloyd here here

[@nlpnt]

Very similar to ones used by American Motors, which is interesting because the Elite's styling is very much Gremlin-inspired, the big differences being chalked up to the Elite being the four-seater coupe version of a two-seat roadster while the Gremlin was cut down from a bigger sedan to compete in the class below it.

[@LOTPOR0402]

skunksrus So what they do this today even more than they did back then.Whats the point of redesigning and remanufacturing parts if there is useable one already available

[@jigrodrigues]

@davecessford the irony...

[@cbayer5012]

absolutely beautiful

[@marcushmp]

It's a brand new car and look at the terrible panel fit around the headlamps!

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

that was poor finishing.

[@MathsYknow]

The same car they used for passing all of the crash tests was then fixed up and made into their press car. ;)

[@TheImperfectGuy]

@Hitogokochi I wouldn't be so sure considering more than half of the British motoring industry is owned by Germans or Indians

[@team3383]

@Hitogokochi I am foaming at the mouth also in anticipation of GREAT Britain starts conquering the world again in the near future only to realise that its already been done while they had their backs turned. The phenomenal slap in the face will be worse than that of actually living the vote for Brexit change of jacket by Boris Johnson who so blatantly lied to the British about getting out and then was so taken aback that his lies had worked and that Brexit was ON and he'd actually have to WORK (thats something he's never done - and can't) that he resigned !!!!!!!! Just like EVERY good trustworthy politician. The going gets tough ? = I resign. Theresa May MADE him come back and he's weaseled his way out again. WITH SUCH PROFESSIONALS AT THE HELM I HAVE VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR GB ..... I'VE PUT ALL MY MONEY ON THEM AND INVESTED MY EVERY LAST PENNY IN THE UK ..... "NOT". Allthough they did well to get out of something that hasn't worked - AND WILL NEVER WORK - it will take another 50 years to get Britain to where they would expect to be had they NEVER joined the EU.

[@waytosacramento3843]

@@team3383 Getting back to the topic: British car quality sucked before and regardless of Europe. And union wars had their share in it. Hence I doubt the British car industry today w/o Europe would manufacture anything much more advanced than the Elite. And without the EU market, they can only competitively sell it in the UK. No country can survive on its own. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@endsleighplace]

4:16 that panel gap on the driver side headlamp, does that look quite right?

[@benartee9493]

endsleighplace “Na, don’t worry, sir. They all have that.”

[@martf8014]

first thing I seen too dude

[@johnwh1039]

Awful panel fit! It looks like......a big, ugly. plastic kit car

[@mrquordlepleen]

Funny thing was, even when the car was launched, I remember the build quality (or lack of) getting a real hammering! You can see already - in what I assume was a Press car - that the headlights don't sit fkush when closed. Many a time youd see one of these with one headlight in the 'up position' when 'off' and not being used :-) (Just like the TR7 did)

[@michaelbamber4887]

Mate has a white one in his garage. Had it a number of years, in the middle of restoring it again as he drives his cars as a daily. So his 64 elan is out now as it's sunny! Quite rare now an if you Google eclat it's his that comes up.

[@johnstairs]

Untuck your tie man!

[@woodyeckerslyke9676]

It’s holding his trousers up

[@team3383]

he was just out of school - remained quite obediently behind the wheel until he got the go and made a spectacle of taking his shaded glasses off LOL. Amazing stuff this the 70's.

[@adrianadrian1887]

What sort of monstrosity is this?

[@GSimpsonOAM]

These cars are a practical classic. Parts are cheap and readily available, Any problems fix it right and it will be reliable.

[@nealcollins8981]

A friend's dad in high school had one with the personal license plate HARDWORK...got two rides in it ...a slow absolutely fun car to be in the BACK SEAT!..

[@LauriShowler]

Never mind the looks and build quality, the way it pitched and rolled into that corner looked terrifying.

[@04dram04]

'sThats good ol 70 suspension tech, for ya.

[@antman5474]

the interior was pretty cool but I guess their camera was too big.

[@ceedoubleyou]

I thought I had blinked and missed the interior shots

[@CB-et9dm]

Absolutely staggering price! £6,240! Ferrari Dino 246 GT was c£5,500 - mmmm what to choose.....

[@BobMartinsback]

The kindest thing I can say is that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". To each their own.

[@majkrryqi5016]

Nice ford pinto/ amc pacer

[@Porsche996driver]

What a wild design! Looks like the old Pink Panther car by George Barris!

[@deanstanley5799]

Never mind the car look at Richards trousers can’t he pull them up any higher!😂

[@michaelgrace1298]

Has that got the Austin Allegro estate back quarter windows?

[@tomwebber9377]

43,700 GBP in today's money. That was an incredibly expensive car. The build quality was horrendous! Look at the right head light. Nothing matched up. Looks like they were having the same quality issues that the USA was having.

[@jigrodrigues]

UK made some of the worst mass produced cars ever. Far worse than american Cars.

[@NoosaHeads]

£6200 in 1974 is much more like £140,000 in today's terms. An average house is now £300,000 - in 1974 it was £9000. A Ford Cortina was about £1,200 in '74 - the equivalent car is now £25,000.

[@herrfister1477]

Ian Rivlin More like it. I’m not up to speed on modern prices but £43k that the OP mentions must be about the price of a loaf of bread these days, whereas £140k is practically a million pounds, if you round up to the nearest million. Quite a difference!

[@saganich74]

Even the Vega didn’t have fit and finish problems compared to Leyland vehicles 🚗

[@beachamgroup2482]

He sat on his sunglasses

[@Nickpaintbrush]

The Europa looked great!

[@countdown2xstacy]

That’s a flimsy rear wiper 4:02

[@madsteve9]

Used to pass one parked up, in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham. With one headlight up. Beautiful design, though. But the chassis usually rot or rust, so needs to be replaced by a Galvanised one, that can be powder caughted. Best looking is the JPS, Black and Gold ones. The S2, with the upgraded 2.2 Litre engine has better torque. Interiors can be typical funky 70's. Most have then retrimmed in Leather. Really underrated. Looks much better than the Eclat / Excel, hatchback sister. .

[@mrrolandlawrence]

christ what was winterbottom thinking? just checked ... if you had bought an e-type instead back then that would be worth $115,000 today if you had kept it in good condition.

[@danmccarthy4700]

I actually like how it looks from the front. The rear 3/4 view however, is like a trainwreck.

[@davemellor7503]

5.05Is there a bloke relieving himself in the bushes as the car comes down the hill?

[@herbshattuck6269]

"Vacuum operated headlights which come up just as on the Elan." So these won't go down either after a year or two.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

How the hell did anyone allow a single car to go through four separate crash tests? Even a high schooler would tell you one crash will compromise the overall structure, rendering data from any subsequent crash tests meaningless at best.

[@nlpnt]

I had the Tomica toy of this when I was a kid, it fit well in their lineup because it looked like it could be a Japanese car. But not with those panel gaps!

[@stuco81]

Because Japanese cars of that time were so wondrously built and finished!

[@VCYT]

4:56 - that ramp looks like the tank gradient test part at Longcross.

[@abrahkadabra9501]

The 1970s....the era when car makers made their cars look like wedges.....and for some odd reason I like it!

[@andrewjones-productions]

Well, I say good for you (sincerely)! Everybody has to like something. It would be a dull world if we all liked the same things. One thing we can be sure of is that you are not alone, even though I may not be one of them in this instance. The more variety there is out there, there will be many more people who can find what best suits them.

[@michaelallen3918]

I heard that LOTUS stands for Lots of trouble usually serious....

[@tommissouri4871]

They are the only car I have ever seen that included chassis replacement as a scheduled maintenance item.

[@mrdemocracy7106]

Lotus are iconic British sports cars with a proud history

[@lancraft]

He never showed the interior.

[@robertmarsh3588]

What a bizarre feature. Anything on the driving aspects was almost an afterthought at the end. No mention or the actual comfort or access inside beyond saying it was a full 4 seater.

[@BennysBenz]

Oliver Winterbottom is just screaming I am British! Great Auto..

[@jasonyoung9226]

Rear seats devided from the boot by a "glass partition" 😮😂 sounds safe enough to me lol

[@simontonry4754]

You could buy a nice house for £6000 in 1974

[@simontonry4754]

My parents sold our 3 bed victorian semi in 1975 for £6000, while not in Chelsea it wasnt in shitsville either

[@simontonry4754]

Yes and the average house price today is £260k but you can still buy a nice house for £130k that's the way averages work.

[@herrfister1477]

Simon Tonry Ah numbers!

[@VCYT]

I only saw this car once - in 1983 outside tate art gallery.

[@1984318i]

A unique looking car, but i've always found the styling awkward.

[@lewis72]

That's why the Eclat, turning into the Excel, was made.

[@04dram04]

Its so sureal to hear him sale this is a brand new car.

[@CLee-oo9yl]

Oliver Winterbottom 😆

[@mindfixer4you]

A lot of options on cars today cost more than that!

[@g-man8705]

Great handling and looks. Not sure about the rest of the car. Interesting about only using one car for the different crash tests, though I imagine Lotus couldn't have afforded to sacrifice three cars, especially not at the price they were managing to sell them (the Rover SD1 3500 only cost about €5000 and that was nearly three years later, and for a much better car).

[@martinparker6536]

0:19 it me or does the alignment of that car look wrong ?

[@ccc369]

Headlamp and rear wiper fit must be part of the unique styling ?

[@McVaio]

The rear wiper has to sit below the glass because the glass panel opens up.

[@Roshake77]

0:34 - That name tho

[@jonnno243]

And Morris Marina door handles

[@GSimpsonOAM]

Range rover if you want to be a bit posher ;)

[@TheDivineicons]

It’s mad how a today’s Skoda estate would wipe the floor with that... 😂😂

[@aethelsteadtheunsteady450]

Abbi Awesu Depends what engine is in the Skoda.The Lotus has 160hp and will weigh next to nothing, so might be closer than you think.

[@TheDivineicons]

Garry Fakenham A Skoda estate VRS.... A lot of 2 L diesel cars would be that Lotus

[@LOTPOR0402]

Yeh but u cant feel proud owning a Skoda Estate

[@TheDivineicons]

Mark cbay true 😂

[@LOTPOR0402]

Yeh but out in the real world top speed is irrelevant in out on the roads i will give it the fuel consumption ,and this engine un turbocharged ended up with over 200 hp by the 1980s in an esprit

[@bradleymilton9372]

I wider if any left now.and would it run on e10 thses days

[@rabit818]

Lotus need to supply new owners of the Elite with rubber mallets to hammer down bits and pieces to prevent it from falling off, ie wipers, headlamps, etc

[@elbownesdam4024]

rabit818 😂😂😂

[@sammygirlie345]

Always reminded me of the pink panther car

[@sdry1688]

£6K in 1974 but £8500 by 1976 - that was 70s inflation

[@unigateman]

My dad bought one in 1977, a 504 Elite top of the range, a piece of shit, creaky springs, and always broke down. It was a cool looking car though.. and quick for its time - other models were the Eclat and the best in my opinion the Esprit

[@alphatrion100]

Beautifull design

[@CaptHollister]

No belt and a wide tie tucked into pants that go all the way up to the navel. My God, we dressed funny back then, but at least we were all slim.

[@topcat4643]

This still is the real Top Gear....

[@LNMarls]

@ 1:38 I mean those pants!!

[@gtrman9706]

My dad bought a 501 in 1976.Then it started to fall apart. 😂😂😂

[@paulhunter123]

like a TR7 went into the fly machine with a reliant Scimeter

[@BillCarrIpswich]

He sounds exactly like Angus Deayton

[@jacobmoses3712]

He kept talking about how expensive it was but didn't mention what other comparable cars cost

[@enricofumi8072]

much better than modern "2+2" useless sports car. didn't think it was so expensive, i remember the europa was just a bit more than the fiat 124 spider, much less than the alpine or the porsche 914-6. so this one to be considered "incredibly expensive" must have been something like 3x the lotus europa. really hope build quality improved accordingly.

[@skunksrus007]

Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious... !!

[@karlx19]

skunksrus oh perlease

[@skunksrus007]

Karl Shaw You mean "Oh please..!!... make it home...."!! was another regular owners saying..

[@skunksrus007]

Today's modern Lotus's are fine just the older ones were renowned for going wrong all the time

[@jamesgoodwin2450]

Look chapman had an expensive racing team to keep,a mans got to have a hobby you know

[@robshoulder5357]

Thank god those who either haven’t driven one or seen one in life think it’s terrible. It’s actually not , it’s an absolute bargain that draws more attention than any other car. Low wide fast solid and fantastic to drive and four seats. Unloved undervalued attracts bad comments the few of us in the know have one and cherish it. Those paying 20k for a Capri or escort or believe it a Peugeot 109 gt good luck to you. Keep up the bad comments , it means another bargain for me - 1979 lotus elite 503 air conditioning electric windows electric door mirrors rear wiper pop up headlights 160 bhp, race bred suspension, non rot fibreglass etc ...

[@philstone7328]

Had my 503 elite near on 14 years now used most dry days and without doubt it's not a car for a shrinking violet, everywhere you go people ask about the car, weather they are young old or somewhere in between ,Capri's escorts and xr fiestas from 70s and 80s had loads and they are all over rated, shopping trollies, but if you want to pay stupid money to drive a grumpy old ford,all the best

[@margonewman6086]

You could release this car today with pride

[@AngelEditz123]

I want one.

[@markb4112]

Had a few of these over the years, still got an S1 Esprit and and S1 Eclat. The Elite was not such a pretty car as the Esprit but they drive very well when you compare them to the likes of RS Fords etc of the day. The American cars of the day were some of the worst handling cars in the world (I have had a few) but the Elite was a joy to drive. The panel gaps were poor on the earlier cars but then I can think of a very modern electric car maker who's panel gaps were poor but have now improved. Lotus were learning with a new injection mould process at the time and I remember a filler sales rep telling me that they needed two large tins of filler on each body to get it anywhere near right. Probably caused by too much heat generated in the curing process and removing the body from the mould too early. Oh nothing against American cars either as my everyday car is one of those modern electric cars that had poor panel gaps but it is a great car and I wouldn't change it for anything.

[@johnstairs]

Never trust a man without a belt

[@johnkrols7974]

£6,200 in 1974 → £62,758.39 in 2018 is in fact NOT too expensive

[@XLordLeamingtonX]

Looks like someone smashed an AMC Gremlin and Lamborghini Jarama together...

[@Kyntteri]

I was looking for this comment. Although the front end got me thinking De Tomaso Pantera L.

[@thirdpedalnirvana]

6,290 GBP sounds like an absolute bargain until you remember this was pre-inflation and 1 GBP was worth what 10 are today.

[@davidhayes4814]

Shocking inflation from 74 to 78. By 78 £6K would get you a topend Cortina.

[@XQGaming]

Hello I have my tie in my pants thank you.

[@Zocky73166]

on english Wikipedia you can't fin any mention of Giugiaro and Ital Design excellent look with average mechanic

[@neoworks160]

1984, grate car !!

[@McVaio]

Yeah, grate

[@valicourt]

In all these old reviews they keep talking about cross winds. We’re not flying to work are we?

[@stuco81]

Cars were not very heavy back then and they also sat quite high on skinny tyres (although not the case here). Crosswinds would have indeed been a nuisance.

[@markanthony3275]

The British version of the American Motors GREMLIN LOL !!!

[@stuartkelly3106]

Unaffected by cross winds because it weighs 17 tonnes

[@GSimpsonOAM]

A heavy Lotus? Try 1.2 tonne

[@bobolulu7615]

@@GSimpsonOAM Actually even less 1.05 tons wet weight!

[@jakobholgersson4400]

I just can't help but stare at how poorly the pop up headlights align with the rest of the front.

[@robbo777cricket]

£6k? Seems a lot given that in 74' a top spec V12 Jag XJ was £5k

[@jacobmoses3712]

Thanks for giving us something to compare with. That's a reason for people to buy something else. So a V6 Capri would have 3 grand or thereabouts? (I don't have a pound symbol on my keyboard)

[@Mexxx65]

Forerunner of the Lotus Evora...funny thing though...what they have both in common..is that they were complete sales failures...i believe the term used is...a lemon

[@davidviner4932]

I always thought these looked wrong, still look wrong now

[@paulhunter123]

the front end looks like its been crash repaired headlamps are pissed