The Eleven’s body, designed by noted aerodynamicist Frank Costin, was hand-formed from aluminum and certainly was slippery. Some of the later Series 2 cars (usually LeMans models) were fitted with Lotus 12-type double A-arm front suspensions and reinforced chassis designed to accommodate larger engines. Initially, all models used a swing-axle front suspension sourced from an English Ford model 93E and a BMC-supplied four-speed transmission. There was also a $3253 Sports model, similar to the Club but it sported a Ford 10 engine. The top-of-the-line Le Mans (priced at $5467 in 1957, the equivalent of $48,948 today) sported a deDion rear suspension and inboard disc brakes, while a Club model ($4301 back then) came with a standard Austin live rear axle and drum brakes. There were three basic versions of the Eleven. However, a variety of engines were ultimately fitted into the Eleven–culminating with a 1500cc variant festooned with the famed Lady Godiva badge. Power originally came from an aluminum block/head 1100cc Coventry Climax engine with single overhead cam that was rated at 83 horsepower. The Eleven, with its 85-inch wheelbase, tipped the scales at only 1000 pounds, sans fuel. Chapman is famously known for his mantra of wanting each part to serve two or more functions. Before we had Hollywood’s “Ocean’s Eleven” and its various remakes and reboots, we had what many consider to be Colin Chapman’s defining achievement, the Lotus Eleven–manufactured from 1956 through 1958.Ĭhapman essentially created the Eleven from scratch it featured a lightweight tubular steel spaceframe with aluminum supports that weighed only 70 pounds.
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