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 Seven Twin Cam 1,600, as in the Lotus Elan, was used. There was also a model, sold in the US with a Coventry Climax engine and independent rear suspension. The Lotus Seven was designed with racing in mind, and lightness was of primary concern to Chapman. A front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels (a similar layout to most cars of the day) and a very lightweight steel spaceframe was covered with unstressed aluminium panel bodywork. The body panels were mainly flat to avoid the expense of more elaborate curved bodywork, and the simple cloth lined plastic doors were hinged from the