Finally, production of the long-lasting Lotus trio, i.e. Elise, Exige and Evora, has come to the end yesterday. Their assembly line at Hethel will be modernized for the production of Emira, followed by a new range of electric sports cars.

The Elise, Exige and Evora were born in 1996, 2000 and 2009, respectively, all derived from the same bonded aluminum chassis technology. Over the years, some 35,124 Elises, 10,497 Exiges and 6,117 Evoras had been built, including the very last ones shown in the picture that will be kept by Lotus. Besides, its aluminum platform also gave birth to another 4,880 Lotus sports cars, including Europa, 340R, 2-Eleven and 3-Eleven, plus another 7,200 Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220s and 2,515 Tesla Roadsters.

Following their demise, Lotus will enter a new era, an era no longer guided by the lightweight philosophy of Colin Chapman. It is almost certain that Hethel will not build cars as light again. The first Elise weighed just 723 kg.