Absolute Lotus magazine

Absolute Lotus magazine The bi-monthly magazine for Lotus owners and enthusiasts. Modern, classic, road and motorsport.

Issue 46 is in the shops for only one more week.Featuring... The Elite Type 14 owned by Honda (yes, that one) /// A tech...
10/10/2025

Issue 46 is in the shops for only one more week.

Featuring... The Elite Type 14 owned by Honda (yes, that one) /// A technical comparison between the Emira GT4 race car and the road going equivalent /// An Elan Plus 2 that has been daily driven and raced by one owner /// How to improve your steering technique /// The legendary Type 72 grand prix car /// ...and much more!

Pick your copy up from the shops or save yourself a trip and order it with free p&p here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

Not every classic Lotus needs to be polished to a sheen. This Elan Plus 2 is wearing its years as a competitive sprint c...
07/10/2025

Not every classic Lotus needs to be polished to a sheen. This Elan Plus 2 is wearing its years as a competitive sprint car with pride. It wasn't always this way, though. Before earning its patina in competition it was indeed a show car, and before that a daily driver – and all with the same owner since 1978.

It's a car with tales to tell, and those stories are in Issue 46 of Absolute Lotus, in the shops now or available with free p&p here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

How does a Lotus Emira GT4 compare to the car you can buy from your Lotus dealership? Mike Rysiecki has made a detailed ...
05/10/2025

How does a Lotus Emira GT4 compare to the car you can buy from your Lotus dealership? Mike Rysiecki has made a detailed technical comparison between the race-prepared version and his own road-going Emira V6 to find out what’s the same and what’s very different.

It's in Issue 46 of Absolute Lotus, in the shops now or available with free p&p here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

Issue 46 of Absolute Lotus has been flying off the shelves, but there's still a chance for you to get hold of your copy....
04/10/2025

Issue 46 of Absolute Lotus has been flying off the shelves, but there's still a chance for you to get hold of your copy.

It features an Elite Type 14 that was first owned by Sochiro Honda, founder of his eponymous car company. We speak to a man who was a junior designer when the Lotus was brought into the design studio when Honda was shaping its first ever car.

We also have the story of an Elan Plus 2 that has been used sequentially as a daily driver, a show car and a competition car by one owner since the 1970s. It's a car with three lives, and one of those tales the proves these are more than mere machines.

Richard Heseltine tells the story of the Lotus 72, centring in particular on the chassis number five that was most commonly driven by Emerson Fittipaldi. It's a story of mostly, but not exclusively, high points.

Have you ever wondered how similar an Emira GT4 racer is to the model you can buy from a showroom? Mike Rysiecki takes a deep dive into their differences (and similarities).

Plus: we meet a Lotus Elise racer, have guidance on improving your steering technique from Neil Furber, auction highlights, news, events... and much more!

You can pick up Issue 46 in the shops now, or order it with free p&p from our website here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

The Type 72 was a real high water point in Team Lotus's glittering Formula One career, but it didn't get off to the best...
03/10/2025

The Type 72 was a real high water point in Team Lotus's glittering Formula One career, but it didn't get off to the best starts. Despite that, it went on to be a formidable force in the sport. In Issue 46 of Absolute Lotus, Richard Heseltine outlines the ups and downs of 72/5, the chassis most usually driven by Emerson Fittipaldi.

Issue 47 is in the shops now or available with free p&p here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

Every two months, there's a new issue of Absolute Lotus packed with Lotus goodness... Have you seen Issue 46 on shop she...
15/09/2025

Every two months, there's a new issue of Absolute Lotus packed with Lotus goodness... Have you seen Issue 46 on shop shelves yet? If not, you can order it with free p&p via the website.

Inside is the story on Soricho Honda's own Elite, an Elan Plus 2 that has been with one owner and had three lives since 1978, the story of the legendary Type 72 Formula One car, a technical comparison between the the Emira V6 road car and its GT4 racing counterpart... and a whole load more.

Have it delivered to your door by ordering your copy here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

13/09/2025

We thought this was worth shearing. Or did we mean sharing?

This Lotus Elan Plus 2 has had three distinctly different chapters in its life since Andy Webber bought it in 1978. At f...
13/09/2025

This Lotus Elan Plus 2 has had three distinctly different chapters in its life since Andy Webber bought it in 1978. At first it was pressed into daily as the replacement for the Ford Capri he previously owned.

A engine bay fire brought that phase to an end. The subsequent rebuild saw brought it up to show standard, so it was saved for best for a few years.

That was until a chance sprint event saw him develop a taste for motorsport. It has now been developed into a highly competitive championship winning car, and it wears its scars with pride. But now it faces an uncertain future...

The full story is in Issue 46, in shops now or available with free p&p here –

It was 30 years today that the Lotus Elise was first revealed to the world, famously with Elisa Artioli after whom the c...
12/09/2025

It was 30 years today that the Lotus Elise was first revealed to the world, famously with Elisa Artioli after whom the car was named on board.

To mark the occasion, Analogue Automotive has chosen today to reveal its latest Elise S1 restomod, the VHPK. The most obvious change from Elise to VHPK is the single, centrally mounted seat. Taking its inspiration from the Motorsport Elise race car, it places the driver right in the centre of the action.

It has also been made as light as possible, with full carbonfibre bodywork allied to carbon ceramic brakes and carbonfibre wheels. The quoted weight is 600kg.

At its heart, the Rover K-series remains and is hinted at with the car's name. Now with an enlarged displacement with billet and forged internals it produces more than 250bhp. That equates to 400bhp per tonne.

Only 35 will be built with the order book opening in 2026. Following Analogue's Supersport and Terra restomods, the VHPK is the crowing glory in its Elise S1 restomod line-up.

When Honda was developing its first car, founder Soichiro Honda owned a Lotus Elite among a selection of other British c...
05/09/2025

When Honda was developing its first car, founder Soichiro Honda owned a Lotus Elite among a selection of other British cars. But there was only one of them he brought into the design studio to inspire his team... and it was the Lotus.

In our new issue, Miyachi Einosuka gives us insight from that time. He was a junior designer at Honda at the time, and had a 36-year career with the team that saw him eventually head the company's R&D department in Brazil.

It's a fascinating story of how the low-volume Lotus influenced Honda's mass-market cars right up the 1980s. The full story is in Issue 46, in the shops now or available with free p&p here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

📷 RM Sotheby's

Following our reel from the recent Lotus Carlton gathering (find it on our page if you haven't already seen it!), we rec...
04/09/2025

Following our reel from the recent Lotus Carlton gathering (find it on our page if you haven't already seen it!), we received the following from Brian Harvey.

"Not as many cars in this convoy, but this is where the Lotus collaboration with another manufacturer to build a fast saloon car started. I organised the convoy and we met up at the Junction 10 M40 services on 25 June 2023. The convoy was planned but the 'rolling road block' was totally spontaneous, my car is in the middle.

"The destination was the the BMM Gaydon for the Lotus Cortina Register 60th Celebration where, I think, it was 51 Lotus Cortina Mk1s gathered to celebrate our beloved cars. A wonderful day was had by all.
I will be eternally grateful to Graham Orchard for the dashcam video of the rolling road block, which is now part of my car's history.

"I have owned my car, CNO 510B, since 5 Jan 1978, which was the day of my 21st birthday. Long live the 'Consul Cortina Developed By Lotus'. Thank you Colin Chapman and everyone at Lotus Cheshunt in 1964. Now enjoy this video."

Here's a from a Lotus Cortina convoy from 2023...

The road run to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon with the Lotus Cortina Register celebrating the 60th birthday of the Lotus Cortina

How does your road-going Lotus Emira V6 compare to the GT4 spec racer? It's a question that intrigued Emira owner and Ab...
01/09/2025

How does your road-going Lotus Emira V6 compare to the GT4 spec racer? It's a question that intrigued Emira owner and Absolute Lotus contributor Mike Rysiecki, so he set about investigating. His technical comparison is in the new issue of the magazine.

It's in the shops now (look out for the Elite Type 14 on the cover) – or you can order it with free p&p here – https://www.performancepublishing.co.uk/AL46.html

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