SNIFFING GLUE

LOTUS DARED TO USE A BONDED-ALUMINUM CHASSIS FIRST. TO EVERYONE’S SURPRISE, IT WORKED.

BY CHRIS PERKINS

LOTUS FOUND ITSELF at a crossroads in the mid-Nineties. It had pinned its hopes on the GM-bankrolled second-generation Elan, but the roadster was a flop, canceled after only a few thousand sold. With its product portfolio down to one model, the aging Esprit, Lotus needed to produce something new and inexpensive. The company’s survival depended on it. A team led by engineer Richard Rackham and designer Julian Thomson came up with the idea of making a back-to-basics car with a mid-engine chassis constructed by bonding aluminum extrusions. No one had glued a car together before, and while it seemed like a huge risk, it made perfect sense. Lotus Engineering had built a few bonded-aluminum prototype vehicles for Land Rover, so it had experience with the technology. “It gave you a very high-tech…

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Road & Track (Digital) - 1 Issue, August/September 2022

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