Lotus Excel

At a glance: Lotus Excel

The Excel shared its engine with the Lotus Esprit of the period. Other Lotus models are in the Lotus catalogue.

History and the Toyota connection

The Excel was designed by Oliver Winterbottom as a development of the Lotus Éclat, which was itself based on the Type 75 Elite. In the early 1980s Toyota hired Lotus for engineering work on its Supra and became a major shareholder in the British company. The new car benefited directly: the first Éclat Excel used the Toyota W58 five-speed gearbox, driveshafts, rear differential, 14 × 7-inch alloy wheels and even the door handles of the A60 Supra.

The car was presented in October 1982 as the Éclat Excel; from 1984 it was simply the Excel. Later General Motors bought Lotus, and Toyota gave up its shareholding. The Excel remained in production until 1992.

Design and chassis

The body is made of vacuum-injected resin in an upper and a lower half, joined along the sides behind a trim strip. It sits on a galvanised steel backbone chassis. The front suspension uses a transverse lower arm with an anti-roll bar and an upper wishbone; at the rear there is a wishbone below transverse links, with coil springs and dampers all round.

The styling was updated several times. In 1984 the Excel received body-coloured bumpers, a louvred bonnet and a boot spoiler. In 1989 came a revised bonnet and spoilers, door mirrors from the Citroën CX and 15-inch OZ wheels.

Engine and performance

The engine is the Lotus 912, a 2.2-litre all-aluminium four-cylinder with two overhead camshafts, mounted at an angle in the engine bay and also used in the Esprit S3. In standard form it produces 119 kW (160 hp).

The high-compression engine of the S.E. has a compression ratio of 10.9:1, two 45 mm Dellorto carburettors and red cam covers. In 1988 the engine received a lighter crankshaft along with other changes under the body.

Versions: Excel, S.E. and S.A.

The Excel S.E. was introduced in October 1985 for the 1986 model year. Besides the stronger engine it had revised bumpers, a new rear wing and a new interior and dashboard. Its weight is given as 1,135 kg.

The Excel S.A. followed for the 1987 model year with a four-speed ZF automatic gearbox.

For the 25th anniversary of the Hethel factory Lotus built 40 Celebration cars: 35 in Celebration Green Metallic and five in Calypso Red, with tan leather, Wilton wool carpets and a Clarion audio system.

On television

The Excel found a second career on British television. In 2010 James May of Top Gear converted a 1987 Excel S.E. into a motorhome with sleeping quarters in a roof box. In 2012, for the programme's special on 50 years of Bond cars, a 1983 Excel was turned into a working submarine in the style of the Lotus Esprit "Wet Nellie" from The Spy Who Loved Me; Richard Hammond drove it both on the road and under water.

Legacy

Lotus had planned a coupé version of the Elan as a successor, but the project was shelved and the Elan itself was cancelled, so the Excel ended in 1992 without a direct replacement. Many cars survive: about 413 Excels were still registered in the United Kingdom in 2024, although 304 of them were declared off the road (SORN). For more on the company, read our history of Lotus.

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