This Stretched, V10-Powered Lotus Elise Build Will Blow Your Mind

Check out this astonishing three-year build, placing an E60 BMW M5's V10 engine into a thoroughly re-engineered chassis, by someone who clearly knows what they're doing
Posted by Dustin Anthony on Monday, May 28, 2018

Some car guys dream bigger than others. You’re looking at a stretched Lotus Elise powered by the F1-derived 5.0-litre V10 engine from the E60-era BMW M5. We’re going to need a minute, over here, and possibly some fresh underwear.

This incredible build is the brainchild and work of Dustin Anthony, owner of custom supercar-builder Monivetti Automotive. Called the Monivetti Era, it’s effectively a prototype for a whole series of builds aiming to envisage Dustin’s perfect future. If it contains angry V10s stuffed into lightweight chassis, sign us up.

This Stretched, V10-Powered Lotus Elise Build Will Blow Your Mind

The story of the build is far too long and detailed for us to cover in a single news story, but the gist is that a red Lotus Elise was chopped out from the bulkhead backwards and lengthened. The whole rear of the car is now centred around a custom tubular space frame and a Porsche transaxle, not to mention the small matter of that whacking great V10 and a gorgeous Pagani-style high-level four-exit exhaust.

This Stretched, V10-Powered Lotus Elise Build Will Blow Your Mind

The build has lasted almost three years and involved a huge amount of engineering and re-engineering, both for the custom parts and making sure that the overall concept would function as intended. It already sounds stunning, as you’d expect - hit the video at the top if you haven’t already.

This Stretched, V10-Powered Lotus Elise Build Will Blow Your Mind

To give the platform the rigidity it needs, Dustin, who also owns an original Honda NSX, extended the tubular frame over the open cabin and gave the car a roof. Massive rear tyres handle the traction as part of a much wider rear track, and it looks to us like the front track is also wider, with fatter, larger tyres.

This Stretched, V10-Powered Lotus Elise Build Will Blow Your Mind

In case you’re wondering whether the whole thing will just disassemble itself the first time it’s driven in anger, fear not. Dustin says that everything designed and built for the car has passed Finite Element Analysis tests with Solidworks, a virtual laboratory for testing designs in real world-accurate ways.

This Stretched, V10-Powered Lotus Elise Build Will Blow Your Mind

The wider bodywork is all bespoke for this car. All-in, there’s over $70,000 in parts spend and around $200,000 worth of his time, Dustin says. The detail seems to be incredible, like the headlights he built from scratch along with the wiring and harnesses to mount and operate them.

Brakes: size XXXL
Brakes: size XXXL

There’s no forum build thread, as such, but you can follow the latest updates on the Monivetti Automotive Facebook page. Dustin tells us that there’s a proper promo video coming in the next month or two, and we can’t wait.

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Comments

Anonymous

Lotus’s new special edition leaked?

05/29/2018 - 13:36 |
14 | 2
DL🏁

Hennessey, is that you?

05/29/2018 - 13:37 |
258 | 2

No, i’m just his special cousin

05/29/2018 - 13:40 |
92 | 4

Baby Hennessey

05/29/2018 - 14:11 |
12 | 0

Similar, undoubtedly, but a different flavour. I don’t recall the Venom ever having a high-revving V10, for starters, and there’s something a bit special about the fact that this guy has done all this himself. You’re absolutely right, the shape is something we’ve seen before, but it shouldn’t diminish the scale of the achievement. If you did this in your garage, man, I would buy you a drink.

05/29/2018 - 17:36 |
84 | 0
Duggan (koalafan) (koalafan7) (Esprit Team) (Z32 Group) (Lot

Stretched Elises look sexy I want one so bad.

05/29/2018 - 13:43 |
8 | 2
Chewbacca_buddy (McLaren squad)(VW GTI Clubsport)(McLaren 60

Hennessey Venom intensifies

05/29/2018 - 13:53 |
34 | 4
ᴶᵘˢᵗᴬᴿᵃⁿᵈᵒá

I’d wanna see this against the Hennesy Venom

05/29/2018 - 13:56 |
10 | 0
Sudip Suresh

isn’t this the same thing Hennessy did?

05/29/2018 - 14:06 |
4 | 0

It isn’t. Venom GT has turbo LS motor, not NA V10.

05/29/2018 - 17:43 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Uhmmmmm

05/29/2018 - 14:09 |
84 | 2
Sammy Loehnis

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

They are both based on Lotuses

05/30/2018 - 07:37 |
0 | 0
NotARealRoadTest

By far the best way to use the FEA system on SolidWorks

05/29/2018 - 14:32 |
0 | 0
TheMindGarage

Any chance of sticking a LFA V10 in there? Smaller, lighter, more powerful and sounds even more insane. If you can find one that is…

05/29/2018 - 15:06 |
28 | 0

So expensive tho :(

05/29/2018 - 15:09 |
12 | 0
Griffin Mackenzie

That would be awesome!

05/29/2018 - 15:09 |
0 | 0