In this episode, automotive journalist Jason Cammisa walks us through the difficult birth and runaway success of the Lotus Elise, both Series 1 and Series 2. The Lotus Elise isn't just lightweight — it weighed HALF as much as some contemporary "lightweight" sports cars (like the Porsche Boxster). That's because it was constructed like no other car ever. To hit its outrageous weight target — the same as the original Lotus Seven — the Elise was never meant to have doors or a roof. However, safety regulations made a "step-in car" challenging, and so Lotus' lightweight mid-engine sports car grew doors. Gullwing doors at first — in theory. In practice, the Elise is a marvel of simplicity. It's the first car ever whose chassis is constructed of bonded, extruded aluminum — a practice that's still not common today. Combined with fiberglass clamshells, the lightest Elises weigh as much as today's Formula 1 cars. And the heaviest barely touches 2000 lb. The Elise and its derivatives (the