[QuadCamSix]

A thought occurred to me the other day when recycling an aluminum can. Since nearly 90% of Aluminum is recycled, a large percentage of the Elise is made from recycled materials (Wheels, chassis, engine block....). Has anyone actually figured up the percent of recycled materials by mass the Elise is made from?

 

[...m...]

...i know that lotus did some environmental lifecycle studies when working on the eco elise, but i don't know how comprehensively they followed all the material chains...steel's largely recycled and recyclable, too - excepting loss to oxidation i don't know that an aluminum chassis offers much advantage over steel, and certainly a glass fiber composite body loses out to conventional steel unibody construction in terms of recyclability...

...of course the best lifecycle is one which keeps the cars on the road, and i think that today lotus wins over most mass manufacturers in that regard due to collectibility if nothing else...