To clothe this mouth-watering proposition, Lotus had the roadster bodywork designed in-house. Led by Julian Thomson, the team responsible created a curvaceous and aerodynamically efficient machine that had a distinct retro feel to it. Front winglets and a full-width rear spoiler worked in conjunction with an underbody diffuser for downforce, cooling ducts being carved out from the nose and sides whilst at the back, two meshed vents were positioned either side of the centrally exiting twin pipe exhaust. Composite glassfibre was used to make the body panels, the front and rear clamshell sections being fully detachable for easy access. Bare alloy dominated the spartanly equipped cockpit but less weight and more speed was exactly what most buyers wanted. Only the sills, door inserts and seats were upholstered, the drivers seat being positioned closer to the centre than the passenger chair (which was fixed in the rearmost position) to give the driver the clearest possible peripheral vision.

Later, headlamp covers, wider 7.5-inch rear wheels and re-shaped 111S seats with their deeper foam cushions became available. Deliveries began in June 1996 and it wasn't long before a considerable waiting list had developed. A series of alterations were phased in over the next few years, the first coming in June 1998 when the Metal-Matrix brakes were dropped due to rising production costs and supply problems. As a result, Lotus were forced to adopt standard cast-iron discs and switch to new pads. April 1999 then saw the five twin-spoke AWI wheels changed to a new 12-spoke design by Rimstock. Finally, in November 1999 the first major structural change was made, forged steel hub carriers at the rear replacing the original extruded aluminium items. Production ended in mid 2001 with the arrival of the redesigned Series II Elise. Around 12,000 Series I's had been built in total.