The Porsche 911, Mazda MX-5 and Alpine all vied for the title, but it wasn’t even close. The S1 takes the PH25 sports car crown with a landslide victory.

Amassing more than 10,000 votes and nearly double the amount of the 997 Carrera in second place just goes to show what an exceptional car the original Lotus Elise is. Following founder Colin Chapman’s mantra of “simply, then add lightness” to a tee, the S1 proved that driving nirvana could be achieved with a light-but-stiff aluminium chassis and just 120hp from a Rover-sourced 1.8-litre engine. Mesmerising performance in the corners, a rorty motor and a relatively affordable price cemented it as a legend among enthusiasts and a deserving winner of our best sports car of the last 25 years vote. We’re just scratching the surface on the Series 1 story; we’ll let John take it from here.

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