Lotus Elan F1 supercar, reportedly said that his only disappointment with the McLaren F1 was that he could not give it the perfect steering of the Lotus Elan. In 2004, "Sports Car International" named the Elan number six on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. The original version of the car was designed by Ron Hickman who also designed the first Lotus Europa as part of Lotus' GT40 project bid and made his fortune having designed the Black & Decker Workmate. Because of its successful design and rigorous attention to cost control on the body, chassis, engine and the
Lotus Elan none'. Unlike the naturally aspirated version, the turbocharged SE received power steering as standard, as well as tyres with a higher ZR speed rating. The M100 Elan used a 1,588 cc double overhead camshaft (DOHC) I4 16-valve engine, sourced from the Isuzu Gemini and extensively modified by Lotus (a third generation of this engine was later used in the Isuzu Impulse), which produced . 0–60 acceleration time was measured by Autocar and Motor magazine at 6.5 seconds, and a top speed of was recorded. Significant differences in the Isuzu-Lotus engine from the original include a new exhaust system, re-routed intake