Lotus Elan S2 1966 - World Of Classic Cars -

Lotus Elan S2 1966

The original Lotus Elan (Type 26), was first introduced as a roadster and replaced the elegant, but unreliable and costly to produce Lotus Elite. It was the first Lotus road car to use a steel backbone chassis with a fibreglass body and in the early days, Elans were also available in kit form for home assembly but predictably that didn't last long. As is often the way, the Elan evolved through a number of iterations before manufacture ceased in 1973. These developments mainly concerned comfort and civility but all through its life the essence of the Elan didn't change. A technologically advanced DOHC

Lotus Elan S2 1966

development of Ford's proven ‘Kent' engine, bored out to 1558cc (commonly known as the Twin-Cam) provided the propulsion, whilst cutting-edge features such as all-round disc brakes, fully independent suspension and nimble rack and pinion steering provided agility and handling that was simply amazing compared to the opposition.
Colin Chapman proudly announced in the launch literature that "We wanted to build you a fun car.."; a brief he achieved with vigour thanks to the fact that his unequalled talent for vehicle set-up was never more prevalent than in the Elan's performance.

Lotus Elan S2 1966

Exciting paintwork colours were introduced such as Carnival Red, Pistachio Lime Green and the delectable Lotus Yellow and the Elan became the 'Darling' of the High Street in the mid-sixties. The Series 2 (S2) appeared in 1966 and featured a number of cosmetic and detail improvements over the earlier car and the Special Equipment (SE) model featured centre lock wheels and electric windows.