Nine months before the Lotus Elise goes on sale in the U.S., Lotus Cars Ltd. has finally made the announcement we've all been waiting for. The US version of the car will come with a Toyota Motor.
The 2ZZ-GE 1.8 litre 4 cylinder 16-valve engine with Variable Valve Timing and Lift-Intelligent (VVTL-i) will pump out 190bhp.
Manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation - and tuned by Lotus - the VVTL-i engine was selected after much investigation and negotiation.
Complete specifications and price for the U.S. Elise will be published in the next few months with the first cars expected to hit the streets next year.
In the meantime there will now be a furore amongst British buyers who want 190bhp Elises!