What I wonder would make the Elan a more safe car to use on todays roads?
As I travel around on todays ‘heavy weight’ roads the fragility of a simple glass fibre body is somewhat frightening - take a fast moving Range Rover at around 2 tonnes? and it makes me wonder how much of a lotus Elan would be left let alone the driver after a coming together!
Very simplistic I know but how would a shell fair if it was constructed in carbon fibre? The F1 guys seem to escape serious damage these days…
Richard,
If you keep on thinking along these lines - you will never drive your Elan.
There are several aspects to this.
If someone T-bones you at the drivers door, well, the outcome is not going to be good.
But, especially if you are firmly belted in, head-on crashes are amazingly survivable. Often, even the car is rebuildable.
Fiberglass is one member of composit materials, along with carbon fiber. The material fails incrementally. This minimizes the G loads in a crash, and also minimizes the material damage.
A regular car in the same crash will cause more serious injuries and will be damaged beyond economic repair.
Of course, it is best to not get into an accident. In this regard, the small size of the Elan gives you a statistically better chance. In actuality, recent studies, if read properly, show large, heavy vehicles are muderous vehicles. They inflict more damage on vehicles smaller than they are. And, because they are larger, are more likely to be in an accident, for a given population of vehicles. So lobby your legislator to tax large vehicles for the incremental damage they stastically will cause just for being large and heavy.
David
1968 36/7988
I recall a post on here a few years back where the comment was “if you have a crash it is going to hurt!”
I drive mine daily and tend to remember the above and treat all other road users as idiots who will potentially run into me.
in a TEE BONE CRASH THE DUTY OF YOUR BODY IS TO PROTECT THE CHASSIS ----PERHAPS A Cadillac IS MORE IN LINE FOR YOU -----ED
I drive mine like I would ride my motor bike.
Assume everyone else on the road is an idiot.
Assume that they haven’t seen you
And all Volvo drivers are out to get you…
Same here but I find it is the BMW drivers that are after me.
I second the Volvo bit (plus the other sentiments), they are to be avoided even if you’re driving a truck; they are totally unpredictable!!
Definately the most dangerous drivers on the road. 
On the other hand you know that the BMW is just plain mad only to be exceeded by the Audi when it has a BMW in it’s sights; they just won’t give up the chase (scrap). 
Driving an Elan in todays traffic can be intimidating at times, I keep off Motorways as much as possible & keep the eyes in the back of my head switched on.
If I’m feeling a bit crappy the Elan stays in the garage I need to be 100% there before I go out into the throng.
An Elan as an every day drive well I’ll leave that to you younger ones. 
Cheers
John
Steve
You maybe have it all wrong with the BMW drivers - perhaps just fascinated and taking a look? Otherwise they drive very much like the lotus cortina drivers did in the 60’s? i.e. flat out everywhere.
Volvo driver differences between the 60’s and now? none detected!
Richard
I have to smile at the attack on BMW drivers.
Richard, who is a BMW ‘nut’ with a number of fast cars used to doing the Nordschleife, started this thread and must be wondering why its gone off subject so much.
As someone that rides motorbikes often i would say that most BMW drivers are arrogant with little or no regard for other road users…
Ian.
Ian
One must be respected for saying as one finds - such a critisim of BMW drivers in particular is often repeated so perhaps there is a truth. Or could it be down to sheer numbers - back 20/30 years ago the most common car on the roads would likely have been a Ford Cortina/Sierra and now its grandson the Mondeo is the more exclusive (than BMW).
I woud make no defense toward my desire to ‘get on’ with my journeys and why I run the more powerful end of the BMW range but in this quest I certainly try to show respect and not inflame another driver.
So I think it all depends on how the ‘arrogance’ is displayed? some people are p— -s regardless of whether they are in a (any) car.
Last week I was returning home from work during mid evening, clear, bright, dual carriageway with 5 miles and no junctions, the car in front is somewhat typical of the inattention that has me bristling - at 68 mph the car stays in the outside lane - inside lane clear and will not move over.
Are they ignoring the situation, have music too loud, inattention to mirror, having a quick snooze? I have a name for these they live in the land of the living dead!
Give me the driving roads in Germany any day of the week, month, year. Everyone gets on with things without impedance to others - want to drive flat out OK good bye, gentle cuising fine also - just do the business and allow others the same courtesy.
Ian,
with the greatest of respect, there’s an old saying that people who live in galss houses should not throw stones.
Many Bikers show no respect at all for other road users; their antics are scary & dangerous to say the least.
Seeing as how we are all generalising on the subject? Yes I’ve ridden bikes (out of necessity).
Cheers
John
Richard i appreciate your comments and hope that you noted that i said most,not all BMW drivers…id expect that as you appreciate the enjoyment driving brings ,that you also show respect to other road users.i meant no offence to yourself.
John i dont live in a galss house so i feel i can throw stones…
Ian.
OK, running for cover now 
As an ex-Lotus Cortina driver (of the 70s) who absolutely drove flat out everywhere I have one comment. The main reason I stopped driving the Lotus Cortina, and took up the Elan, was that I could drive flat out everywhere AND have more fun AND make more noise AND go faster.
Then big bikes became faster and went around corners so they supplimented the Elan fun.
But never saw the appeal of a Beema. They all look the same from the back as they’re overtaken, and pretty much the same in my rear view mirror as they get smaller and smaller until …gone.
Just as well I don’t drive a Range Rover,eh? They are 3 tons now Richard…my Jag is 2 tons!
Mark…boy racer plus a few years
Returning for a moment to the original question - I feel safer since I installed duplicate tail lights (and a center-mounted brake light) on the rollbar. That’s especially true at night or in murky conditions. Getting some lights up at SUV level and increasing the visual signature makes it less likely that I’ll be run over.
In true Lotus fashion, the rollbar serves multiple purposes in addition to its primary duty of keeping my head on my shoulders in the event of a rollover: It mounts the high tail lights, and provides excellent shoulder belt mount points. The car would look better without it, but I feel safer with it.
The key point noted earlier is defensive driving. I always try to have an out and I try not to put myself in a position where I have to rely on someone else’s reflexes. That is particularly important on the highway, where most drivers don’t bother to signal their lane changes and may not see me passing them.
I’ve been driving this car on all types of roads for 42 years now. When I was young, I didn’t worry much about safety. Now I do, but I’m still pretty comfortable in traffic. Recently, I’ve been commuting in the Elan every day (due to an extended visit by a family member who needs to use my normal daily driver). It has re-acquainted me with driving in less-than-ideal conditions (we’ve had lots of rain) and given me confidence that both the Elan and I are up to it.
Mark
I live not far from the Lotus/Cheshunt factory and got into a conversation in a local motor factors when buying some elan brake pads, the story went that an employee of the factory had to go over to the Lotus storage facility at Panshanger a distance of about 10 miles from the factory someone said I can take you over there and made it in 8.5 minutes - the someone being Jimmy Clark in a Lotus Cortina - nice story…
I would have to agree with you about most beemas but the engineering is good and will hardly be extended on the UK roads when the design brief is to withstand the Autobahn’s.
My love are the M cars and specifically those built between 1985 and 1995 before they came out with the nanny traction control etc. these include the E28 the E34 M5 and the E30 M3’s.
The E30 M3’s hold the record still for being the most successful race car ever something like 1650 races equal apparantly to the days they were in production…
They make you feel like a really good driver but the secret is in the engineering a superbly balanced car and great balance between power and weight they have to be woken up with driving at peak rev’s and a loose grip on the steering but real joy!
Have to ask which Jag? they fell off the radar did they not when Bill Lyons retired and became value for nothing until the very recent cars? the new saloon is getting very good reviews and nice to see the resurgence
Four days ago I was driving with my 11 y/o son and had to suddenly brake at 65 mph to avoid a deer that jumped in the road. I was able to brake and maneuver the car to avoid a very dangerous collision. I think the Elan +2 (as the Baby Elan ) have an amazing braking capability that combined with its sharp steering and suspension make it a very safe car to drive. If an idiot hits you on the side? that?s another completely different matter!
Carlos
Andrew
I’ve seen Brian Clarkes elan with a roll over bar and it looks very neat - I think I will be fitting one I would quite like to keep my head on my shoulders it seems like the best place for it to be…
The seat belt anchorage point is a sound one and will look into this.
I do have jitters about the vulnerability but also realise that if the driving experience is what I anticipate the miles will follow.
I suppose my original question was thinking outside the box to the fantasy of a carbon fibre shell that would have any would be assailants bouncing of and leaving me intact! I’m sure this would be ludicrously expensive but possibly not so difficult seeing as how the original bucks would lend themselves to fabricating the shell in CF.
The biggest danger I find these days are the buggers who insist on reading and sending text messages while on the move despite stringent laws this ridiculous habit seems to have taken an almost irreversible habit.
Only last Saturday such a driver cut straight across my bows on a roundabout in one of those lorry like Porsche Cayannes and that carries some weight!
These perpetrators need locking up!!!
