When the Elise was released by the British car manufacturer Lotus back in 1996, it quickly became a very popular sports car. It was light weight, relatively affordable, it looked good, and it performed shockingly well. The Elise was extremely well liked and was used by many on tracks all around the world. Well as we approach the vehicles 20-year anniversary, Lotus has announced a special edition Elise to commemorate the event and it may be the best one yet.
Keeping the tradition of the Elise alive, Lotus has done everything they can to ensure the vehicle is extremely lightweight. The chassis is super light, lightweight wheels are used, and they have trimmed the fat wherever possible. Still despite its weight of only 2,015-pounds, Lotus hasn’t made any sacrifices. The interior is filled with the modern amenities you’d expect and its also very luxurious with Alcantara leather sport seats. The original Elises sacrificed a lot to be extremely lightweight, but this version has virtually none. It is actually lighter that the current Elise S, so this version can go even faster.
This special edition Elise is powered by a 1.8 liter supercharged four-cylinder engine that offers 217hp and 185lb-ft of torque. Now while that may not seem extremely powerful on its own, since the car is so light, it is more than enough. Zero to 60mph is achieved in 4.2 seconds and the car has a top speed of 145mph. Sure it’s no Ferrari, but it’s no supposed to be. Essentially this Elise is almost a supercar that is priced as a low-end sports car. When you consider what this Elsie will compete with, this new model is an easy buy.
The 20th Anniversary Elise will be available in yellow, green, silver, and blue and there will also be a few added options that consumers can pick from. In total this car is priced around $59,400 dollars which, all things considered, is a great deal. You get a whole lot of car with this new Elise and it is fairly affordable given what it is. The anniversary model will only be available with a manual transmission, and we should expect to see it hit dealerships quite soon. Lotus has always done a great job of producing lightweight sports cars that are relatively affordable, and this new Elise is certainly no exception.
Photo from gtspirit.com
