Lotus Elan

The story

Colin Chapman hung a glassfibre body on a steel backbone chassis and kept the weight under 700kg. The result out-handled cars costing three times as much. You could buy it in pieces and build it at home, which avoided purchase tax.

Inside

A snug two-seater with a flat wood-veneer dash and electric windows, which were rare on a small car then. The headlamps pop up by engine vacuum.

In period colours

Tap a colour to respray the drawing.

On screen

Meanwhile, in 1962

The Beatles released Love Me Do, and the first James Bond film, Dr No, reached cinemas.

Best-selling single of 1962: I Remember You by Frank Ifield

Before you buy a 1960s car

• Check the sills, floorpans, wheel arches and the bottom of the doors for rust.
• Ask for any old MOT certificates, service records and bills.
• Parts for popular cars are often available from specialists, but trim and body panels can be hard to find.

General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.

Rivals of its day

Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.

See the real thing

These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.