Lotus Elise, Lightweight champion:

Lotus has an illustrious heritage, but it includes a couple of notable low points. In the nineties, for instance, Lotus was changing hands left, right and centre, having been sold by GM to Bugatti's Italian owner and then sold on again to Proton.

Still, the distinct feeling that Lotus's best days were behind it pervaded: the ageing Esprit was due a facelift and much of the maker's time was taken up with engineering work (largely un-credited) for other manufacturers. The front-wheel drive Elan was its only 'affordable' sportscar in the early nineties, but even that was criticised for being too expensive and lacklustre in the handling department. It was ditched in 1995, leaving Lotus without a reasonably priced car for enthusiasts to get, well, enthusiastic about.

Step in the Elise. Unveiled in 1996 and comprising a fibreglass body on an aluminium chassis, the rear-drive Elise was light, agile and exactly what Lotus needed. It weighed in at a mere 725kg (that's less than half the weight of a current Ford Mondeo), so it didn't need masses of power to feel lightning quick. Tried, tested and brilliant Rover K-Series engines powered it, and until the new Evora came along recently, it essentially underpinned every one of Lotus's cars - along with the Tesla Roadster electric supercar.