Lotus: The Complete Story

From the Spy Who Loved Me to the last S4 V8, all Esprit's are acknowledged in this all embracing book. For one who's only hope of owning one is the Lottery, this is the next best thing.

A very nice read indeed a nice start for a new elise owner that want to get an appreciation of history

Nice book for enthusiasts

Ordered the car, bought the book.Nice, easy to read, wealth of inside detail, great pics. Staggering that it even includes early artwork design sketches which look like the NEW Elise-II (aka Elise 2000).Surely, time for an updated NEW Edition, John, get your skates on mate.. include the Exige, and the new shape.Very well worth the money, buy it if you intend to buy the car or just love it anyway.

This book is an OK "view from 40,000 feet." The content is "big picture" and thus lacks the detail, especially technical detail, production facts and figures, and comprehensive race results wanted by real Lotus enthusiasts. Author Johnny Tipler writes well -- easy to read, flows logically. Certainly Tipler is far better than most who write for Crowood, especially given that Crowood do not seem to do any real editing themselves. The photos are largely stock shots from Goodwood, and reproduction is often mediocre. Crowood books are done to a formula that minimizes the number of pages and thus forces a lot of smallish pictures. But, as I say, if you only want the view from 40,000 feet, this book serves.

Having just purchased an Elise, this book gave me an insight into the engineering and technology behind this fantastic car. Colour photos compliment the content. The only drawback is the lack of technical diagrams. Overall, a good book

The book is comprehensive in itself. It covers the concept and the story of this interesting car. I especially appreciated about the visit to the factory because a owner or not a owner may not have the chance to visit the factory production line of their beloved car. If you are interested in this lovely car Lotus Elise you should not miss the chance to read this book. I want to own the Elise and have some research on this car, this book has already done a good job. The only drawbacks I can mention are two things. 1) This car should deserve more colour photos although it has some already. This car can be in any colours. 2) There should be some technical drawings to be included to make as a "complete story".Anyway, this book is good and worth to own.

Starts well with good chapters on history, the factory tour, chassis, bodywork and engine. Not so good on testing, as it is mainly a repeat of the video, which covers it better. His test drive is a bit of a filler. Generally good though.