Lotus Elise - The Inside Story

[@0783155]

When I was a 10 y/o boy this documentary would be on Discovery channel at lunch often. I was glued to the TV at every opportunity, probably driving my mother mad. Fast-forward 25 odd years and I still love to watch this. Now not as a kid, but as an automotive engineer that has designed and built several vehicles from my own design. I am involved in pre-production testing of the vehicles optimising it's components in the complete vehicle. This documentary was crucial to my career choice I guess. Oh and I've been saving for the last 15 years to be able to buy an Elise :)

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Worked in automotive for 35 years, what a great documentary. This is true life, people that do know what they want and what they are doing. The UK can still be the best place in the world to get the job done. All kudos to Lotus for being honest.....a rare trait today.

[@JohnSmith-nz2yq]

problem is that UK also comes out with jags and rovers...

[@ianmason1668]

I was Millbrook's photographer at the time this documentary was made, I did some of the Millbrook footage and all of the crash test film footage for all of the crash tests they did. I remember at the time everyone commenting on how amazing the car performed in all aspects.

[@no-brakes]

Wait what?! Fascinating. Did any footage survive?

[@ianmason1668]

@@no-brakes yes, some of it ison the film

[@baselhs]

I always wondered how car development work. This rare documentary gave us a glimpse on how it’s done. I wish car manufacturers release similar videos even for normal cars but I guess they don’t want to reveal secrets in such videos. I’m not a big fan of Lotus but now I have huge respect for the effort they have put into this car.

[@JanMichaelFranklin]

This is an amazingly in-debth docu of one of the all-time great automotive designs! About half way through this I realised just how few people would actually get so much enjoyment out of a video like this! Great video!

[@hoggnog5154]

1.2 million views 8 years later! Are you happy that there is more people like you?

[@JanMichaelFranklin]

@@hoggnog5154 Yes!

[@allsearpw3829]

Long live lotus ,once driven ,never forgotten ,any model .

[@mrrolandlawrence]

ever driven an eclat?

[@allsearpw3829]

@@mrrolandlawrence YES AN EARLY ONE ,IT HAD ROSE JOINT SUSPENSION ,NEVER AGAIN ,SPINE CHATTERING . PICKED IT UP FOR DELIVERY TO ANOTHER PART OF THE GARAGE ,TO PICK UP AND RETURNED BACK IN AN EXCEL WITH THE TOYOTA TYPE RUBBER BUSHES ON THE SUSPENSION ,A TOTALY DRIVE ABLE ROAD CAR .WENT ON TO HAVE 2 OF THEM C AND H REG ONE I turned in to a 5 seater by making a frame to sit over the tunnel in the back and mounting the baby seat on it so we could put the older nippers in the back as well .

[@roybeasley9645]

A fantastic documentary that brought back so many memories of my days D&R testing at home and abroad - I’d forgotten all about those sticker thermocouples 🤣. Proud to own and cherish my FE Elise.

[@englishmaninfrance661]

In 1998 I was a testdriver at Millbrook and took the Elise round the tracks several times. Cracking good car.

[@patrickvanrinsvelt4466]

Nope. They are breathtaking

[@emrico]

Must've watched this documentary four or five times, I now own a blue Series 1. I can't wait for the summer!

[@pieterhaeck8888]

This is an amazing documentary! Thanks a lot to all the people involved. I've enjoyed this thoroughly and will probably watch it again!

[@logotrikes]

"I don't care if it falls apart as it crosses the line, as long as it crosses first." Colin Chapman, rest his soul...

[@ItzJigz187]

Built to cross the line first before the wheels fall off. Chapman was a bloke of the highest order

[@richardcrighton8079]

my whole view of life

[@patrickvanrinsvelt4466]

I love my 111R and now I see why. It's a driver's car made by drivers. But still with that Lotus "Simplify, then add lightness". Love all the new technology put into the new piece of engineering. Great doco.

[@wanganghost]

kinda ironic the rover guy at 1:50:36 saying that rover is good and lotus is on the edge of failure. bet those words came back to haunt him.

[@krrk6337]

Richard Rackham is the unsung hero here. Truly talented engineer.

[@wolfgangwolfgang5180]

When I saw the car at a dealership shortly after the launch, I thought "Wow, that's a car. Nothing in it but a little box for engine management." And I knew I would buy one someday. Bought my 2011 S3 in 2015. Ex Lotus Ladies Cup promotion car. And even though it has a bit more electronic in the meantime and aircon, it's massive. A friend of mine is a senior development engineer at BMW who does a lot of test driving of new vehicles and played a leading role at one of the BMW owned test tracks. His comment after test driving it with me was: that's a pure driver's car. Period. Nothing to the left, nothing to the right. A driver's car and nothing else. I can only subscribe to that.

[@NoahBB]

That's awesome! The S3 Elise is my dream car.

[@ItzJigz187]

Good old Colin Chapman legend

[@patrickvanrinsvelt4466]

Yep. Driving these beauties is unparalleled. Pure, raw, thrilling. I love my 111R and look forward to getting the Emira.

[@MarcStjames-rq1dm]

During the very early 2000s i was homeless in San Francisco..(it was a bad time) anyway...a high point of my day was walking past the Lotus dealership on Van Ness. (they also sold bentleys and such. I would just stand outside and pour over the Elise..it's a beautiful car. Built for the sheer joy of driving. Lucky enough to have been sent to school in Buckinghamshire for school as a teen....I have a keen appreciation for European sports cars....but English are the sexiest. (E type Jag... sexiest of the sexiest) ....being able to set my eyes upon such a creation again was stirring.... Thank you Lotus for a little bit of joy during a rather dreary stretch of road for me.

[@qalba3016]

It is an ugly coupe

[@user-gl2eq2ly4g]

Owned a lotus elan which I bought in 1990 ..... New from the factory..... Picked it up in Hethel and did a quick factory tour.... It was a great car .... Glad Lotus are still around.... True car people at Lotus......

[@cowanscott9047]

watched this a few times in the past.. and I still regret selling no.538 (P-Reg) back in 2007 after 7 yrs of ownership (secondhand).. but the S3 220 Sport I have now fills that void very well.. Epic car.. Epic story..

[@nilsbuer]

I love this video. Not so much marketing and lots of nice tech talks. The best are the clothes the people wear in the video. I own an Elise 220s and it is really a great car to drive.

[@Lapinmiam]

One of the best car ever build, Elise S1 change the world of sports cars

[@karras6239]

An old gem at 26:26 because the curve he randomly changes ends up in the actual car

[@trobin4629]

Je l'ai achetée en 1998 et je l'ai toujours. je suis allé en italie, espagne, allemagne, suisse, autriche avec, par petites routes, et je suis toujours heureux de la conduire partout en france . i've bought her in 1998 and still have. i’ve been in italy , spain , germany , switzerland , austria with , by little roads , and i’m still happy to drive her all over france

[@inspiringengineer]

Richard Rackham is just class - like the cars - Richard for the new James Bomd I say! ;)

[@designgauge]

Love the detailed long-form format of this video. Funny how the opposing priorities of designers and engineers is pretty much universal! ;-)

[@alexx726]

P

[@rogerhudson9732]

I've got this on videotape but no player.

[@richardealden2323]

Fantastic film about the fabulous little sports car . so informative

[@newT033]

Awesome documentary. Apart from being of interest because i like Lotus cars, its a relief to watch a documentary without shaky cam and weird screen effects. Todays docus are a pain to watch.

[@bengrizzlyadams6187]

I mean I would also cut the music, especially on youtube videos, I am here to listen to someone saying something not for anyone to play on my pathos to convince me of something.

[@mbcooke85]

@@bengrizzlyadams6187nnknnnkn nnnnknnk kkn n n n nk nnnnknnkknnnkknknx

[@bengrizzlyadams6187]

@@mbcooke85 did you have a seizure?

[@mbcooke85]

@@bengrizzlyadams6187 hahahaha it would appear so. Must of fell asleep on my phone or something. My bad

[@bengrizzlyadams6187]

@@mbcooke85 lol

[@sHOT0207]

Thank you very much for posting such a great film.

[@ISpinUWin]

Thanks for posting this, great film. I am a "newer" owner.. bought in 2008. It certainly encourages me to continue being an avid track rat! ;)

[@karlsumner5594]

This brings back many memories...the pressure of the automotive industry where so many parts of the jigsaw need to all come together on time, at the right cost and all fit perfectly together...well, that was always the goal. I always advised people and still do to never by a newly launched car within the first year of production.

[@autonomousindividual7780]

I somewhere read a quote about aircraft design made by and engineer. It went something along the lines that perfection isn't achieved when there's nothing left to add, but nothing left to take away. I don't know why, but I love that way of thinking.

[@DSerrador]

That quote is not from an engineer but Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[@OmegaSwitch]

This is sooo 90s. I love it.

[@ItzJigz187]

Moustaches and ties are period correct

[@ModMokkaMatti]

Your comment is so 2019. Welcome to the end of everything in 2020.

[@grandlotus1]

I must observe this is an amazingly transparent view of what design by committee must entail...praise, not critique.

[@proparanoid]

Thanks for this vid... once a Lotus driver, never satisfied with anything less. I know. I've tried. This underscores why it's so. Kudos to the producers, et al., too.

[@shimshonbendan8730]

I have always been impressed with Lotus since the 60s. I have never owned. Soon, I will be driving a 2011 Exige S260 which has been kept in brand new condition by a collector. When I say brand new, I mean brand new. It is the details that set Lotus apart of other companies. I have always been impressed by lightweight and function at the same time. The only American car that has ever really impressed me is an AC Shelby Cobra. Well, this American is as giddy as a child on Christmas morning. I am 68 and am more excited about it than any other car I have ever owned.

[@FlyingTigersKMT]

It's great to see the pictures on the wall in the design studio... Audi TT, Boxster, 356, and Miata. I love my Elise and I also own a Ducati. Great to see the backstory.

[@SuperMadpom]

Green car was Pininfarina Ethos - I wanted one of those but it was only a concept car.

[@aes53]

Just bought a 2005 Elise, I love it, the most fun I've had with my clothes on in a while:-) Great film, thanks for posting it.

[@global_nomad.]

very interesting to see and understand the whole design and engineering process. I wonder how many companies would allow such access these days. Also shows how much has changed from the mid nineties. Hoping to own an elise one day soon.

[@tonyfeuerhelm]

...that opening music made me dance...I'm too old for that now....wow flashback...A.C.Feuerhelm

[@gandi69]

Irony level on maximum settings there in regards to how the man from Rover power train said rover were very concerned with doing things right and lotus were close to the point of failure!

[@ChasHanks]

gandi69 - the Rover fellow had a list of examples? Not!

[@ItzJigz187]

And he was right. Just becuase rover are no more doesn't mean a thing. You tell me another Copmany that Honda has collaborated with. Rover was an absolute giant in the car Industry and many brands to this day have rover to thank for that. Lotus are nothing but a spec in broader terms of the general car Industry. Having owed both rovers and lotus in the past. You know what your getting with a rover but with a lotus you never know what's gonna go wrong. A rover owner knows you'll always need a head gasket kit in the garage for "that time" but lotus really could fall apart at any corner but went like a tabbed rat. That's the Chapman racing ideology hahaa

[@troythegardener]

@@ItzJigz187 wtf u on you fukin rat

[@primyrose7788]

@@ItzJigz187 hehhrrrrhrrrhrhrurhrrrhlhrhrhhrrhhrhrrhrhrherrrrrrrrrrrhrhrrrhrrrhrhrrrrhrrhrrrrhrrhrrurhrrrrrhrrhrrhrrrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrhrrhrrhrhrrhrrrhrrurrrrhrrhrrrhrhrrhrrhrhrrhrrhrrhhrrrurhrrhrrhrrhrhrrhrrrurrhrrhrrhrhrrhrrhrhrhrlrhrr

[@primyrose7788]

@@ItzJigz187 hhrrrrrhrrhrrhrrrhrhrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrhrrhhrhrrhrhhrhrhrrhrhrrhrrhrrhrhrhrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrhrhrhrrhrhrrhrrrhrrhrrhrlhrrhhrrhrhrrhrrhrrhrrhrhr

[@donniebaker5984]

It's like that 2 seater convertible has a high Roll center. Nothing like the Lotus Europa of the 1970s. It was quite unique two person with the mid-engine design. go around corners like a go kart. I drove one from Indy to Florida and then on to LA. It was quite a hoot. At the top end of around 140 miles per hour like you were on Rails at the beginning traveling down highway us 41, the highway ended at Evansville and you had to turn left on exit. The roadblock was not lit up at night that all I had time to do with turn the wheel to the right at 80 miles per hour onto an exit that was Mark 20 miles per hour the Lotus Europa made the turn with no problems at all exiting the turn at about a hundred and on to Florida . But of course if I had not have made the turn I probably wouldn't be telling you this as go karts were built safer back then. The Lotus Europa was made out of plastic with an aluminum double Wishbone frame. We would have been completely smashed up in a plastic car hitting a roadblock I thought I would be nice while we were washing the car in LA polishing the bumpers as they look like they were Chrome that the owner warned me not to do that as they are plastic also with a chrome finish like model car plastic Chrome. Like I said the car is quite a hey hoot hoot hoot hoot LOL

[@nooch86]

What a great documentary, seems very honest and informative. And what an awesome car too!

[@AtypicalDriver]

Quite surprised to see the Ducati connection since my Elise was a replacement for my Ducati 748 and I never knew the bike was part of the inspiration!

[@zyh6566]

Cool coincidence 😎

[@ihopetowin]

Thank you. Glad to have watched this documentary, learning more about the Elise's heritage, I'm even more proud of my Lotus than before.

[@davidsilger9811]

Is a fantastic machine developed to deliver a safe and satisfying driving experience. D.N. Silger

[@ItzJigz187]

The lotus 7 story is even better but your a lotus owner you know the shpeil

[@patrickvanrinsvelt4466]

There is nothing like driving a Lotus.

[@eriksmith5898]

Still a brilliant documentary.

[@9hundred67]

41:00 form always follows function...that julian tompson just doesn't get it. It's a car, not a bloody sculpture!!!!

[@trocola]

Great documentary! Thanks for the upload.

[@StigDesign]

i Loved the Espirit v8 design in need for speed 2 thats when i fell in love with Lotus cars and also Lotus GT1 :D

[@leno4920]

What a great documentary. Thanks.

[@howardg186]

What these guys did was amazing. Also i love the aerodynamicist’s hair!!

[@ricksallotment5923]

I had one for a few years and used it as a normal car, mine had a hard top on, I drove it in the worst of snow and ice. They are a tough car. But unless you're on a circuit not very effective. Was so exciting tho also it was the 111 mk 1 on a v reg. I put the s2 bilstein suspension on, toyo proxys and a induction kit properly plumed into the side vent. Then it really made sence. Unfortunately I sold it shortly after and I nearly cry about it sometimes. 😞

[@chawenhalo0089]

fantastic documentary. so refreshing to see the openeness and honesty about the building process. I whish Lotus would still male a sub 800 kg €25 simple sports car. With the prices they charge nowadays, they don't really compete and at tha premium level, the engines are just average and lack the exoticism of the rest of car.

[@BrendanWalton]

Amazingly honest transparent insight into this project and its challenges, warts and all. Kudos for that.

[@daspud5112]

Yes we

[@daspud5112]

Yes we

[@daspud5112]

Yes

[@daspud5112]

Yes

[@daspud5112]

Yes

[@formo58]

Thank you for the video. Great information. It shows the truth about great and worthwhile things in life don't come easy.

[@johnycrellin-davies4460]

quite amusing around 42 minutes, when the designer is upset with the fact that the rear has to be changed. He cant quite seem to accept that his design doesn't work aerodynamically, and however much he wants to keep it looking that way, it simply wont function properly. Very common problem with the relationship between deisgners and engineers

[@jumadhaheri]

this is amazing . thanks uploader. I also bought one without seeing it .

[@them34]

I'm about to buy a 2004 Elise. Any downsides i should really know about (apart from the obvious)?

[@higgins007]

Themzy's Flicks Did you go for it? I'm considering one too :p

[@poudikat]

Battery apparently a problem with all Lotus's My 2013 S3 let me down once (I bought a very good charger)

[@505stealth]

I'd have to say the last versions of Toyota MR2 were the closest ideal of a Lotus. I'm just sad I put off buying one when they were new. The only used 1s left here in the States are beat up pretty hard like an old Mustang or Camaro. But MR2s had rock-solid Toyota reliability and durability.

[@allunthomas8022]

Having seen a Lotus Europa as a lad I promised myself I would have one, at 21 I bought a Europa special JPS and I was hooked, years later had an elan 2+2 130/5 and more recently an Elan SE Turbo regretted selling all of them at some point. When I first saw a lotus Elise it took me back to the Europa same DNA and instantly wanted one.. 21 years later I am there and I absolutely love it.

[@francisco3283]

How does it compare to the europa? Cheers!

[@505stealth]

Ford started using composite brake rotors described in this video on their first generation Taurus...that began in the late 80's. Ever driven an old Taurus with the old composite style rotors? they would have to be replaced all the time, because the real world heat from braking would warp the rotors much worse than even cast-iron; that was when they did not de-laminate and cause extensive damage to the hub assembly.It was an experiment gone horribly wrong and expensive for the end consumer

[@PutSomeDsonThatBlink]

55:22 these are the kind of employees who hold a company back, giving people reasons why not and saying "oh you're new here, we don't do things like that" just to make their life easier

[@dorthynorton6699]

Anyone in England who had a driving test booked between Thursday 05/11/20 and Tuesday 01/12/20 will be emailed by the DVSA with a new date and time for their test. It could take up to a week for the DVSA to email everyone.

[@kuladeeluxe]

I love the Elise....wish they were priced rationally in Canada. Great video.

[@kuladeeluxe]

@Joe H For some reason the Lotus Elise is one of the only US spec cars we CANNOT import into Canada. Nothing you can do to make it legal.

[@59vaughn]

Wonderful little example of a down to earth premier machine for many joyous occasions....

[@ianbarber311]

1:48:05 the way they reacted to the odd sound.

[@nickloss2377]

lol

[@timwrk]

For little Elise, it must be just another day under the blankets :) This 90’s documentary makes me want a lotus now

[@shiftyfifty6475]

RIP Bobby Bell at the end saying goodbye to the new owner and his wife - such a tragic incident

[@CaptGregOlsen]

Excellent

[@MauriceEscargot]

35:48 reminds me of the Ford Indigo concept.

[@PeterLynch-md3kb]

wonderful

[@supercooled]

Never knew a pedal could be so steeped with such complexity both technically and originally.

[@seanlee4405]

The test driver says, “... you might as well drive an automatic car but that’s not what you associate sports cars with.” I’m thinking how I miss good old days.

[@freshyip]

I LOVE THIS THANK YOU!!!

[@vanmust]

and that is why my Scalextrc all black Lotus GPS special always came !st

[@tomthompson7400]

great documentary

[@dayxwalker]

Love the Elise ! On to my second now

[@wickiezulu]

Did Lotus ever give consideration to using the 103 hp 1.4-litre Rover K-Series at the lower-end of the range with possible scope for a 120-130+ hp turbocharged variant? Also interested to know if other engines were considered for the original Lotus Elise aside from the Rover K-Series?

[@fabianseewald7884]

and them came mazda and build the miata, maybe the best small sportscar ever, i think it´s based on lotus technology, but it´s certainly based on british small sportscars.

[@karlx19]

Superb!

[@TheAmazingMrMcFlyy]

Man, I miss those Ducatis pre 900s. Imagine if BMW would've let rover make the engine for the Elise, it could've potentially been a shared power plant with the MINI

[@betacam235]

OK the K series Rover had "idiotic Rover management" problems with head cooling....as Rover Power train engineers had repeatedly pointed out to said management. This problem, more than anything, ended up bankrupting Rover, due to recalls on everything to which the K engine was fitted, MGs, FreeLoaders etc. BUT....it had way better power to weight than any other available engine, and that's really important in a lightweight sportscar. I've used an Elise S1 with over 200bhp on track and seen the Toyota engined S2s spinning off on corners due to excess engine weight (driven by highly experienced race driver) where my 1999 Si with the light K engine went round with no drama.

[@moneypits]

Fantastic find so a big thanks to Jody for uploading it.

[@chrisshort87]

Thanks for uploading. Great insight into the process.

[@ozgur_tan]

very honest and frank documentary. (btw ferrari badges on dino 246 is so 90s)

[@stephengamble9388]

After running an S1 for a few years, and now owning an S2, I am now officially, see 8.00 minutes in, " a cool bloke." To be honest though, I am only a cool bloke, to other cool blokes.

[@505stealth]

3rd and 4th generation Supras started getting really porky. I had an oddball 1991 All-Trac wagon which came standard with the MR2 engine; then to overcome the drag of the center differential and rear live axle..and 350lbs extra weight. That car was fun crazy around the corners with flip/flop over steer/under steer.Would do 120mph going to visit friends in Arizona, but I had to engineer an overflow for the 5speed, because it would spit oil out on high speed runs..LOL!

[@DrRodrigoGonzales]

Why is it illegal to import?

[@robhoard9114]

It doesn't qualify as a car.

[@JaredConnell]

Just doesn't meet all the requirements for the US although after 25 years it makes it much easier to import cars. So next year the original elises will be able to be imported

[@rafaeloda]

awesome upload.

[@mikethedesertrat]

Awesome video.

[@Slipstream0001]

Very interesting, thanks for uploading.

[@UberLummox]

"Needs to have a hard edged no compromise attitude" he says. I can't speak for it's mechanical ability, but visually the '90s one they show @5:29 is a heinous looking dumpy blob. Due to over-regulation the end product looks fussy and "cute" at best. Great doc regardless.

[@swansmeister]

Proud to be a Lotus owner!

[@ManveruT]

9:33 "... and that's not really what sports cars are associated with". Good ol'days!

[@lotusjaggarage2989]

I wish we got this one in the states

[@yuglesstube]

One prang. Unrepairable.

[@snowyrichmond5445]

Two minutes in and the one guy has already said “it’s like a beautiful woman with a personality” and “if you take the clothes off a Ducati, you reveal nice things” both like he’s a madman 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@housier8124]

I fell asleep watching family guy and woke up with this

[@egeoeris]

This dude is what Google text-to-speech is supposed to sound like.

[@james-r]

I’m really glad they didn’t go with gull wing doors

[@carlitoxb110]

Colin chapman: weight is more important than power lotus 2019: we are proud to present lotus Evija the most powerful production car ever Colin chapman: 😑

[@jimmys6566]

it is also the lightest hypercar ever

[@AkiZhimo21]

Came to know about this car from NFSMW and though there are lot more faster cars this specific LOTUS ELISE had a very different taste that no other car has.... So my whole point is that how crazy will it be if i could drive one in real life...

[@MarioRossi-no7hs]

Best sport car in the world absolutely

[@dougmcdougalson]

bad management ,happens on every production line, never management problems though, blame the line workers until things work out then high five each other in the office when the people on the line work things out for you....