The pace car in the FIA GT Sportscar championship isn't going to be a hot Merc or Jaguar, but a Lotus Elise. Two Lotus Elise 111s have been supplied by Lotus Cars to lead the starting grid of sports prototype cars, such as Ferraris, Domes, Pilbeams, and Lolas.
The Elises are standard road cars except for the regulatory addition of a roll cage, and the obligatory Pace Car warning and signal lights.
Whilst the 160bhp Elise may not be the most powerful of cars it will be more than capable of holding its own when it comes to controlling the field during rolling starts, and during the race when track conditions or competition conditions require. The cars queueing up behind will have up to 600bhp each!
Steve Lydon, Chief Operating Officer of the FIA Sportscar Championship commented: "We are looking forward to having the Lotus Elise leading the grid in the Championship as the Pace Car. Lotus is such a legend in the motor sport world and there is no better marque for leading the grid in this official capacity."