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You described it as an 'ancient design', yet it was face lifted just the once in 2001, just five years after its launch.
It was nothing to do with crash safety standards as the structure of the vehicle remains the same underneath the clamshells; it was an ill advised management decision, a new broom sweeping clean.
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The Series 1 could not be produced beyond the 2000 model production year due to new European crash sustainability regulations, so Lotus needed a development partner to meet the investment requirement for a Series 2 car. General Motors offered to fund the project, in return for a badged and GM-engined version of the car for their European brands, Opel and Vauxhall.
The Series 2 Elise, announced on 9 October 2000, was a redesigned Series 1 using a slightly modified version of the Series 1 chassis to meet the new regulations, and the same K-series engine with a brand new Lotus-developed ECU. The design of the body paid homage to the earlier M250 concept, and was the first Lotus to be designed on a computer.[18]
I admit Wikipedia is not 100% reliable but they seem to suggest it was modified to meet regs and that is why they needed money from GM and made the Vauxhall version.