The Elise Mk1 is the first vehicle of this family - basically the original Elise - that convincingly implements the concept of the lightweight roadster.
In addition to its low weight and excellent driving characteristics, it is primarily its design, reminiscent of legendary sports cars from the 60s (compare Ferrari 250 LM, Dino 246, Ford GT40, Lamborghini Miura, Ginetta G12), that makes this vehicle so popular.

Production of the Elise was discontinued in 2021. It had been built since 1996 and sold a total of 35,124 units.