Lotus Elise GT1

Elise GT1
The lone Elise GT1 road car on display.
Overview
Manufacturer	Lotus
Also called	GT1
Production	1
Model years	1997
Powertrain
Engine	5.7 L Chevrolet LT5 V8 engine

The Lotus Elise GT1 (also known as the Lotus GT1 and known internally as Type-115) was a race car developed for grand tourer-style sports car racing starting in 1997.

Lotus Cars had previously been using the Lotus Esprit GT1 –a racing version of their Lotus Esprit road car– in the BPR Global GT Series since its foundation in 1994, competing in the premiere GT1 class against the likes of the McLaren F1 GTR, Venturi 600LM, Ferrari F40 GTE, and others. However, in 1997 the series became known as the FIA GT Championship, and manufacturer involvement was increased with the new international exposure. Porsche was the first to start a new breed of racing car in 1996, with their purpose-built homologation special known as the 911 GT1. This was quickly followed by announcement that Mercedes-Benz planned to do the same with their CLK-GTR for 1997.

Thus Lotus decided that in order to remain competitive in the GT1 class, let alone be victorious, they would be required to follow the route set forth by Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. However, aware that they lacked the resources available that Porsche and Mercedes had to create not only the race cars but also the production sports cars at a guaranteed loss of money for the company, Lotus decided to take an alternate route. Through interpretation of the rules for FIA GT, Lotus realized they would only need to build a single production car in order to meet homologation requirements. The car would not even need to be sold to a customer, it merely had to be built.

With this in mind, Lotus turned to designing their racing car. Lotus decided to abandon the aged Esprit chassis and instead turn to its new sportscar, the Elise. Mechanically, only the Elise's aluminum chassis was retained for the GT1, although it was heavily modified from its stock form. A new carbon fiber body that resembled the Elise was built, featuring a much longer length in order to increase the car's aerodynamic capabilities.