Editing Lotus Elite (section)

===Motor sport===
[[File:Lotus Elite at Mallory Park.JPG|thumb|left|A Lotus Elite in racing trim]]

Like its siblings, the Elite was campaigned in numerous formulae, with particular success at Le Mans and the [[Nürburgring]]. The Elite won in its class six times at the 24 hour of [[Le Mans]] race as well as two ''Index of Thermal Efficiency'' wins. Les Leston, driving DAD10, and Graham Warner, driving LOV1, were noted UK Elite racers. In 1961, [[David Hobbs (racing driver)|David Hobbs]] fitted a Hobbs Mecha-Matic 4-speed automatic transmission to an Elite,<ref>[http://lotuseliteworldregister.com/elite-technical/127-hobbs-mecha-matic-automatic-transmission Hobbs' Mecha-Matic Automatic Transmission] Club Elite Newsletter, Vol 1, No. 1; Motor Sports, December 1962</ref> and became almost unbeatable in two years' racing – he won 15 times from 18 starts. [[New South Wales]] driver [[Leo Geoghegan]] won the [[1960 Australian GT Championship]] at the wheel of a Lotus Elite.<ref>[http://www.camsmanual.com.au/01_about.asp Australian Titles] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302135923/http://www.camsmanual.com.au/01_about.asp |date=2 March 2009 }} Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 16 April 2009</ref> After winning ''Index of Thermal Efficiency'' prize, Lotus decided to go for an outright win at Le Mans in 1960. They built a one-off Elite, called the LX, with a {{convert|1964|cc|L|1|abbr=on}} [[Coventry Climax#FPF|FPF]] engine, larger wheels, and other modifications. In testing, it proved capable of a top speed of {{convert|174|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}}. Unfortunately, the lead driver withdrew the night before the race, so the car did not have a chance to prove itself in competition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1998/44/lotus-should-have-won-le-mans|title=The Lotus that should have won Le Mans|last=Lawrence|first=Mike|date=December 1998|work=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]] magazine archive|access-date=7 October 2017|page=44}}</ref>
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