Elan was founded in 1945 by Rudi Finžgar, a Slovenian ski jumper, carpenter, and innovator. The company began as a workshop for skis and sporting equipment, rooted in the rich Alpine woodworking traditions of the valley above Lake Bled.
Founded in 1945 in Begunje, Slovenia, Elan began as a producer of skis and sporting equipment, drawing on centuries of fine Alpine woodworking traditions in the valley above Lake Bled.
In 1962, Elan became one of the first European adopters of polyester/glass composite technology. Thousands of rowing, sailing, and outboard boats were produced in GRP, many exported to Italy, Scandinavia, and Germany. The bestseller was the Elan GT 495, sold in the thousands.
A year later, in 1978, the yard pioneered advanced composites using vacuum epoxy and post-curing, later upgrading to carbon epoxy. Hundreds of high-performance sailplanes, in collaboration with German glider specialist Glaser-Dirks, were produced.
In 1983, Elan teamed up with J&J Design, founded by Japec and Jernej Jakopin, creating cruiser–racers like the Elan 31, 33, 39, 43, and 35 Performance. The Elan 31R won the 1985 IOR ¾ Ton Worlds, and Elan’s yacht revenues grew tenfold by 1987.
In 1992, Elan introduced a new performance cruiser–racer line designed by Rob Humphreys, initiating a partnership, lasting decades and resulted in three European Yacht of the Year awards.
In the early 2000s, Elan adopted Vacuum Assisted Infusion Lamination (VAIL) in boatbuilding, second European shipyard, and first serial European shipyard to use this advanced composite process. The full shift from open-mould lamination was completed by 2003.
In 2006-2007, production reached over 300 boats per year. During this era, Elan entered a new phase of development marked by several new yacht models, including the Elan 333, Elan 340, and Impression 344; two of them receiving the European Yacht of the Year Award.
In 2011, the Elan 350 won the European Yacht of the Year award by a unanymous vote. Designed by Humphreys Yacht Design, it continued the tradition of implementing off-shore racing features into cruising yachts, specifically the twin helm configuration, and and chines.
Elan implements 3D VAIL, 3D vacuum infusion lamination, an advanced GRP technique, into it's new flagship, the Elan GT5. The GT5 was Elan's first mid-range fast cruiser, indicating the things to come.
Elan started evolving into a performance–luxury yachtbuilder. The Elan GT6 (2020) three design awards, the E6 (2021) won International Yachting and Aviation Award, and the GT6 Explorer (2023) marked Elan’s bluewater debut.