The Lotus Elan, built from 1962 through 1975 and comprising four series, helped later give shape to the ubiquitous Mazda ...

as it's just commissioned a recreation Lotus 26R Elan Le Mans coupe. The cars will be built to the same specification as the ones initially designed to sit on the Le Mans grid in 1964.

What was even more extraordinary was that the Elan and its predecessor ... Chapman had designed what he named the Lotus Mk1, a modified Austin 7; in the U.K. the Austin 7 was as revolutionary ...

Lotus jumped in the fray in 1962 with its first Elan. At about $4,300, it was hardly inexpensive compared to the competition, especially if priced per-pound by its minimal 1,500-pound weight.