Lotus 7

“Simplify, then add Lightness.” Whether fully attributed to Colin Chapman, or simply the lore that surrounds his engineering genius and design prowess, this philosophy is certainly embodied in the cars that have made Lotus a legendary performance company for more than half a century. And nowhere else is this more evident than in the ground-breaking Lotus 7.

Conceived as a low-priced road car suitable for racing and hillclimbs, the Lotus 7 first arrived, in 1957, as the Series 1. Although Lotus ceased production of the Lotus 7 in 1972 after numerous iterations and improvements, the basic car lives on today via tributes, replicas and outright knock-offs. Still considered one of the most iconic cars of the post-war era, the simple and clean design of the Lotus 7 remains an impressive design statement despite running against some of the most beautifully streamlined cars of the same era.