Lotus

Fifteen years standing still in cash is two-fifths gone in real terms. Lotus Elan prices from 498 recorded auction sales, why the Sprint sells for a third more than the earlier two-seaters and the +2 for a third less, what a 26R racer and the Emma Peel car made, and where the front-drive M100 sits.

The one British classic here that has doubled in real terms since 2014. Lotus Esprit values from 507 recorded auction sales, why the S4 V8 leads the table and the Stevens-era X180 sits at the bottom, what a Giugiaro S1 makes against an S2 and an S3 Turbo, and what the JPS, the Final Edition and the Bond cars have done.

The Lotus Elite was the world's first glassfibre monocoque, a 660-kilogram coupe that cut through the air like nothing else in 1957 and won its class at Le Mans six years running. A guide to the Type 14, the Climax engine, the racing record, buying checks and values.

The Lotus Europa put a mid-mounted engine in a road car years before the supercar establishment, wrapped it in a shape mocked as a bread van and gave it handling nothing at the price approached. A guide to the S1, S2, Twin Cam and Special, buying checks and values.

The Lotus Elise put a glassfibre body on a bonded aluminium chassis that weighed 68 kilograms, gave it 118 bhp and 725 kilograms, and saved the company for twenty-five years. A guide to the S1, S2 and S3, the 111S and the Cup cars, what an Elise is like to live with, what to check, and what the sale rooms pay now that the first cars are classics.

The Lotus Cortina put Colin Chapman's twin-cam engine into Ford's family saloon and created the touring-car legend of the 1960s, Jim Clark cornering it on three wheels in every archive reel. A guide to Mk1 and Mk2, the racing record, originality traps and values.

The Lotus Carlton was a Vauxhall saloon rebuilt by Lotus around a twin-turbo straight-six, 377bhp, 176mph, faster than contemporary Ferraris with five seats, and so quick the press and Parliament called for it to be banned. A guide to how it was built, the ban campaign, the famous crime spree, what to check, and what one costs now.

The Lotus Elan paired a steel backbone chassis with a glassfibre body and the twin-cam engine, weighed barely 700 kilograms, and redefined sports-car handling for good. A guide to the S1 to Sprint, the +2 four-seater, the Emma Peel fame, what to check on chassis and twin-cam, and what an Elan costs today.

The Lotus Eleven was Colin Chapman's 1950s masterpiece, a featherweight, aerodynamic sports racer that took class honours at Le Mans and turned Lotus from a specials builder into a marque. A guide to the Eleven's engineering, its Le Mans record, Series 1 and 2, the replica question, and what genuine cars are worth.

The Lotus Esprit wore Giugiaro's sharpest wedge over a backbone chassis, drove underwater in The Spy Who Loved Me, and matured through turbocharging into a genuine supercar rival. A guide to the Giugiaro and Stevens eras, the Bond fame, the Turbo, what to check when buying, and what an Esprit costs today.

The Lotus Excel took the Elite and Eclat's wedge four-seater idea and rebuilt it with Toyota running gear into the most usable classic Lotus of all, then depreciated into the marque's great bargain. A guide to the Excel and the Eclat before it, the Toyota partnership, what to check when buying, and why it costs so little.

Lotus built Britain's cleverest sports cars from a philosophy Colin Chapman put in one line, simplify, then add lightness, and won seven Formula One constructors' titles while doing it. A guide to the classic Lotus road cars we cover, from the Eleven and Elan to the Esprit, Excel and the outrageous Lotus Carlton, what each is like to own and what they are worth.