Left-hand drive
1962 Lotus Type 14 Elite Series II Coupé
Chassis no. 1825
Colin Chapman was anxious that his embryo company should have a firm commercial foundation upon which to survive and grow. To provide this he created the Type 14 Elite as a road-come-racing Grand Touring Coupé.

Chapman's structural concept was breathtakingly futuristic by the standards of the mid-1950s. The finished Elite's exquisite styling is credited to Lotus owner and accountant Peter Kirwan-Taylor while aerodynamicist Frank Costin is said to have advised upon the finished shape. Chapman was able to prevail upon Leonard Lee, head of the Coventry Climax engine company, to enlarge the basic 4-cylinder single overhead-camshaft FWA engine to displace 1216cc, thus placing the finished car within the up to 1300cc category of International competition.

The original intention had been to enter a Lotus Elite in the 1957 Le Mans 24-Hour race, but in fact the first running pro