Readers' Rides: Ollie's Lightweight Lotus Elise S2

Our Readers' Rides feature proves that we're a welcoming church. Our fans drive a variety of cars, such as M3s, 911s and classic Mustangs - even a stealth-spec Smart Roadster. The only problem is that we read these tales of dream car ownership and get jealous. Really jealous.

At least that's what happened to Car Throttle contributor Ollie, who decided he couldn't put it off any longer. He just had to have his dream car. We'll let the man himself tell you more...

I cracked. I broke. I read too many blogs about what it’s like to own a dream car, a machine that makes you count down the days of winter until you can hit the road in it again. And the result is: I’ve gone and replaced my old Ford Puma with another hairdresser’s car.

Yep, I’ve bought a Lotus Elise. On sale since 1996, it's still a handling benchmark, which is why I thought it worth a punt to discover what all the fuss was about.

Quick bit of spec, in case you fancy one yourself. This is an Elise Series Two, or S2 for short. You can spot it by the insect-eye front lights, larger engine air intakes behind the doors, and new alloys (these ones are aluminium and weigh less than 10kg each).

The rear buttresses sweep up into the rollover bar behind the cockpit, so from the rear-three quarter angle, it’s like a miniature supercar. Small wonder – back in the early Noughties, Lotus was planning a new supercar, codenamed ‘M250’. The Elise was supposed to hint at the looks of Norfolk’s Ferrari 360 rival, but, in typical Lotus fashion, the project never made showrooms.

Being a pre-2004 Elise, (when Toyota stepped in with new engines) my car has a Rover K-series motor. I've got to admit, I didn’t especially want to go down that route. The good news about the Rover K-series engine is that it likes to rev and there are lots of spare parts. The bad news is you’ll probably need them.

So, while the Rover-engined cars are much cheaper than bulletproof Toyota Elises, you need to have a damn good warranty just in case it goes pop. On the plus side, these engines are cheaper to repair than the techier Toyotas, and they're lighter too.

And, being a Lotus, lightness is key. This S2 Elise, with no air-con, no power-steering or assisted brakes, no ABS, no electric windows and minimal trim, weighs in at 710kg dry. Add fuel and a driver and you're still under 800kg. Contrast that to the lightest Elise you can buy in 2014, the 1.6-litre Club Racer weighing 852kg, and you have some perspective.

Performance figures? For this spec, you’re looking at 0-60mph in 5.6sec, 125mph flat out, and 38.5mpg if you’re careful. Not too shabby for a 10-year old Rover, right?

First impressions are of the best steering I’ve ever felt in a car, manly unassisted brakes that give calf-cramp in traffic, and a definite need to improve my heel-and-toe technique, given that the Elise’s teeny aluminium pedals are basically on top of each other.

I've got a few plans for my Elise, but I want to throw this out to you guys. What do you want to know about living with an Elise? What modifications should I consider first off? And if you’ve run a Lotus yourself, share the best (and worst) of your experiences in the comments. I'm off out for a play...

If you want your car featured on Readers' Rides, email darren.cassey@carthrottle.com with a pic and a few words explaining why you love it so much. If we like it, we'll feature it!