The New Lotus Elise Cup 250 Has 279bhp Per Tonne
It’s been at least a few weeks since Lotus fiddled with one of its cars, so it should come as no surprise that Hethel now has a new-ish, tweaked Elise to show off.
It’s called the Elise Cup 250, and it’s being dubbed the “fastest, most focused four-cylinder Lotus sports car ever,” a distinction it will probably hold for a month or so. You know, until the next fastest and most focused one comes out.
The familiar 1.8-litre inline-four now puts out 240bhp. With just 860kg to shift about (dry weight, if you tick all the right options), this dinky sports car now has 279bhp per tonne to play with. 0-60mph happens in just 3.9 seconds, and it’ll top out at 154mph.
As ever, Lotus has worked hard to tweak the aero and drop the weight of the Elise. This time around, a new rear wing, front splitter, bargeboards and diffuser help the Cup 250 generate 125kg of downforce at 140mph.
It’s 14kg lighter than the car it replaces, thanks in part to the fitting of carbonfibre bucket seats, forged wheels, a polycarbonate rear windscreen and a lithium-ion battery. If you’re happy splashing a little extra cash, there are further weight-reducing options including a £4000 titanium exhaust (-7kg) and a ‘Carbon Aero Pack’ that costs £3400 (-3.4kg).
Before ticking any of these boxes, the base car will set you back £47,000. It’s available to order now.
Comments
Is that colour called ‘shade of squidward’?
If it isn’t, it should be.
Every car in this colour should come with a clarinet and a brown T-shirt.
I was going to say Leyton House but sure lmao
TCOW right there
Is this car called “Lotus Elise Squidward Edition”? XD
Only 38x the price!!! Great deal!!!
I was expecting an Elise powered by an engine from Volvo
Is it still equipped with the mighty Toyota 1.8 VVTL-i 2ZZ-GE engine?
If that is the case, then you only get that “huge”power from 6000 rpm to 8300, rest of the rpm = 150 hp .
Alright so here’s a list of I think all Elise S3 editions so far. Bear in mind this is not only just Elise editions, but just 1 of 3 generations of Elise! And this isn’t even trim levels (touring, comfort and sport)
Lotus management be like: oh crap, that’s clearly not enough
Next week: Lotus Elise Cup 260 Great Britian Edition with a Union Jack on the hood and wings, and a 10HP power increase along with 10KG less weight, for £6500 more
Imagine Porsche 911…
A N O T H E R O N E
“Fastest version of the Elise ever” At least for this week. The Elise Cup 250 was about all they could come up with for today but don’t worry, there will be a faster Elise sometime next week
I know you came here for this
Didnt we say the fastest lotus was revealed last week or somethintM
The next Elise will come with a Paperweight as a £50 added extra. You put it in the car when you get out so that it doesn’t blow away…
Trying really hard not to be an Exige !!!