I’ve always liked the Elite. I considered buying one when they came out. The Lotus distributor in New Orleans offered an interesting leasing arrangement. As I remember, the Elite was going for $16,000. The lease payments for a three year lease were about 1/36th of the price. At the end of the three years, you could buy the car for $1. The monthly payments were double my rent so I passed.
It was a pretty cool car. For such a small car, it had a back seat that was comfortable for me at 6’2”.