The BLACK ECLAT : The Car that nearly KILLED LOTUS

Great cars and practical too. The Excel that superseded it is also a good bet with a lot of Toyota components due to their part ownership of Lotus at that time. Irrespective, as sports cars go their values are still a bit low and might be a good long term bet given how few they made.

Great video John.
You can see the family resemblance to the Esprit around the front end but the Elite, Eclat and Excel just didn't manage to captivate me in the same way as the Esprit. Perhaps it's due to the Esprit being a sexy mid engined car or perhaps it's strong relationships with the bond films.
The Esprit was a luxury sports car that was cheeper that a Ferrari yet still capable of keeping pace with its four cylinder turbo engine.
The front engined cars though have more of a GT feel to them and I can't help but think that would have been more successful with a V8 under the bonnet which would have made the car into a much cheaper alternative to a Lamborghini Espada.
It's great that Lotus were bolt enough to try though and I'm sure that for the classic car enthusiast wanting something different these will be a winner.
Especially I'm that iconic JPS style black and gold.

What a cool car! And the John Players colour scheme is so cool!

Gorgeous car.

Nice car, reminds me of a young Susan Sarandon.

Rare car that, used to see one around Dublin around 30 years ago

Looks excellent and kudos to the owner using it as a daily driver.

Thank you really enjoyed

The Elite was gorgeous in my book - the most successful shooting-break conception I’ve ever seen.

Loved this video

I had one .. and LOVED bein late for work ! .. gave one the excuse to be an absolute hooligan ! .. while imagining I was 007! . It was £1000 a lotus race car with four seats and a boot..whatz not to love !? Classic insurance too.
Handled like a mosquito in a kettle ..and WHAT an engine note ! . Could get good mpg as needed just NO throttle in normal circs as paper light and low . 🥰

I have a Sunbeam Lotus but I like this car too...

What a lovely car. I have always wanted to own one. I know I never will be able too. But I can still love these cars. And that car is lovely

It's pronounced Ecla, the 't' is silent.

super car for peanuts... Rebuilt mine and used for many years without much to worry about. Changed to an M100 Elan with soft top but only two seats.
Both fast and roadholding is outstanding.

Just looked at a 1979 Eclat with 30,000 Miles on it. Purchasing in January for a full refresh although I must say the paint is in fantastic shape for having sat in a barn for 20 years.