The British made Lotus Elise debuted back in 1996, sporting a fiberglass body and a bonded aluminum chassis that helped the car set the market standard for efficiency, handling, and driving experience. The car helped launch Lotus back into the lightweight sports car market and was actually named after the granddaughter of Romano Artioli’s – Lotus’ chairperson at the time. At its birth, the Elise put out 118 horsepower and 122 pound-feet of torque. It tipped the scale at 1,521 pounds, hit 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, and had a top speed of 126 mph.
