Lotus Elise Sports Racer Special Edition
Brand management usually requires an incredibly subtle touch to get right. Lotus hasnt always enjoyed such a sensitive hand on the tiller but lately, the company has made some smarter decisions. Until the Circuit Racer, Europa and Esprit models come on stream, the company is effectively a one-line concern, churning out variants of the Elise/Exige in order to keep customers happy. The Elise Sports Racer is the latest version of this iconic lightweight car to roll out of the the Hethel gates.
The trouble is, if you want a car that looks good and presses all the right buttons when it comes to posing, you wont buy a Lotus Elise. Or maybe you did and then realised that the car asked all sorts of questions of you that you were quite unable to answer. Dilettantes wont see the payoff in terms of handling and performance as being worth the perceived impracticality. They wont want to haul themselves in and out of a car where stepping out of a Honada S2000 or a BMW Z4 is so much easier.
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Buyers get to choose form either a Nightfall Blue or Ardent Red colour scheme. The blue car gets twin Shelby-style white stripes running the length of the vehicle while the red version features a broad central white stripe with a parallel pin stripe on either side. Both cars feature white door mirrors and an interior which features leather trim and either red or blue stitching, an Elise logo on the headrests and Elise Sports Racer decals on the tail. Only 199 units will be built worldwide and each car gets a numbered plaque.
Special edition Elises arent anything new weve had Elise 49, Millennium and Type 72 versions amongst others, so dont get carried away with the exclusivity angle. Youll buy the Sports Racer if it appeals to the enthusiast, not the speculator in you.
"If youre looking for the ultimate Elise, look no further"
If you understand vehicle dynamics, you wont need me to tell you that unsprung weight is the enemy of the chassis engineer. Heavy wheels, tyres and hubs create momentum thats tricky to factor into the handling delicacy of a lightweight car like the Elise and the Sports Racer features ultra-light seven twin-spoke forged alloy wheels that save a massive 1.2kg of unsprung weight at each corner of the car. These wheels wear specially designed Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS tyres and the Elise Sports Racer also benefits from uprated Eibach springs and stiffer Bilstein dampers, twin oil coolers and switchable Lotus Traction Control (LTC).
Purists may be tut-tutting about electronic control systems appearing in the Elise, but the LTC system is well worth having. It activates above 5mph and works through the engine rather than the brakes, reducing power when required to maintain traction. This system is sharper to react than many more rudimentary traction control systems that rely on braking, often a sub-optimal solution when traction is at a premium in the first instance. A Torsen-type limited slip differential is available as an option designed for what Lotus calls "tight, low speed, high acceleration driving (such as auto tests)." It also makes the Elise a whole lot more controllable in a drift, but if sideways stuff is your thing, there are many better cars than the grippy, mid-engined Sports Racer. Standard equipment also includes a colour keyed hardtop, central door locking, electric windows, an interior stowage net, a sound insulation pack, a black soft top with sound and thermal insulation and a full black carpet set. LED rear lights are fitted which are 36 per cent brighter than tungsten bulbs and illuminate 0.2 seconds quicker (or one Elise car length at just 43mph).
The classy extruded aluminium pedlas have been ditched in favour of steel items that are lighter. The pedal box was always the weakest point of the Elise, and it was unforgivable that in such a focused drivers car, it was often virtually impossible to execute a heel and toe downchange. With an electronic throttle, a reduced brake pedal ratio and a change in pedal positioning, the pedal box is now better suited to expert drivers. Air conditioning is available as an option and weighs just 15kg.
Under the bonnet, the unit youll find is essentially the same 1.8-litre VVTL-i 189bhp Toyota powerplant youll find in that companys Celica T-Sport sports coupe, though with Lotus own T4 Electronic Control Module. Quite enough, given that it powers a car weighing just 862kg, to take this Elise to near supercar speeds: 0-60mph in 4.9s, 0-100mph in 13.0s on the way to 150mph and 0 to100mph and back to 0 again in just 17.5s.
This powerplants party piece is the way it switches cams at 6,200rpm, giving a glorious surge of extra power that you cant help wishing was available further down the rev Range. Still, its a treat when you get to experience it, offering a seamless stream of acceleration all the way up to the 8,200rpm red line. Torquey too, with 181Nm (133.5 lbs.
ft) of pulling power. It all equates to a useful power to weight ratio of 220bhp/tonne. Lotus founder Colin Chapman would have approved. Some will see £31,995 as too big an ask for not a great deal of metal.
Who cares? If you want metal for your money, your Proton dealer can manage that. What you buy with the Elise Sports Racer is capability and the benefit of expensively-gained expertise. Judged in that context it looks good value.
Facts At A Glance
CAR: Lotus Elise Sports Racer special edition
PRICES: £31,995 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 150mph / 0-60mph 4.9s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 23.3mpg / (extra urban) 41.5mpg
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Widthmm 3717 / 1740mm
