Thursday 28th July 2016

Lotus Elise Race 250

Cup 250 not hardcore enough for you? Take to the track in the Race 250

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There's a great deal to like about the Lotus Elise Cup 250. Yes, it's quite a lot of money for the littlest Lotus, but its beguiling combination of poise, performance and involvement make it one of the most exciting ways to spend just under £50K.

If you want to take the Cup 250 up a notch and compete with it, there is now the Race 250. Fit to burst (but lighter than standard) with track optimised equipment and eligible for a host of race series, it's described by Lotus as "the most accomplished Elise racer yet."

Mechanically it's identical to the Cup, with 246hp from the supercharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder and 184lb ft too. As you can see, the aero package is very similar to the road car too - showing how aggressive that really is - and produces the same results: 66kg of downforce at 100mph, 155kg at 154mph.

Where the Race differs is under the skin, with plenty of fancy components to make it even quicker on a track (interestingly, its 1:33.5 Hethel lap is half a second faster than the road car and the old Cup 220 R). So there are Nitron adjustable dampers (as opposed to Bilstein items in the Cup), uprated pads, an FIA-approved carbon seat with six-point harnesses and a polycarbonate rear window. On top of those there's an A-frame harness bar, FIA approved front roll cage section, fire extinguisher, battery isolator and fixed towing eyes. Because race car, as the kids might say. The track mods mean this is also an Elise that dips under 900kg dry.

Jean-Marc Gales says the Race is "the fastest, most focused Elise we've ever produced and, judging by what it's capable of on track, it looks set to become a favourite with our racers around the world." And with 2016 marking 50 years of Lotus at Hethel, what better way to celebrate than with another Lotus out on track?

For UK customers, the Race will cost £53,500, a reasonable premium over the £45,600 asked for a Cup given the amount of extra equipment that's standard; the quick release wheel is £1,000, for example. Which leaves just one question: JPS colours, or Gold Leaf?

[Porsche911R]

that will piss a lot of CUP 250 people off who have not even received their cars yet !

Lotus are great at this and hence I never get back in, car after car after car !!!

saying that I do like this new RACE Elise, but I was so close to a CUP250 this would have been killer blow !

[SidewaysSi]

This is a race car only so shouldn't have any impact on 250 Cup road car customers.

[gm77]

Porsche911R said:

that will piss a lot of CUP 250 people off who have not even received their cars yet !

Lotus are great at this and hence I never get back in, car after car after car !!!

saying that I do like this new RACE Elise, but I was so close to a CUP250 this would have been killer blow !

Isn't this track only though? If you want to use the car on the road and track you get the 250 Cup and add what extras you want. If you want to race in a series you get the 250 Race?

[kambites]

Porsche911R said:

that will piss a lot of CUP 250 people off who have not even received their cars yet !

How many buyers of the Cup will be intending to race it?

Lotus have, as far as I know, had two distinct ranges for a while - EU type approved road cars and FIA approved racing cars. You'd be crazy to buy one of the road cars with the intention of racing it.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 28th July 11:56

[Arun_D]

Porsche911R said:

that will piss a lot of CUP 250 people off who have not even received their cars yet !

Lotus are great at this and hence I never get back in, car after car after car !!!

saying that I do like this new RACE Elise, but I was so close to a CUP250 this would have been killer blow !

It appears essentially to be an update to the previous 220 spec Cup R racer to bring it in-line with the 250 spec, so doesn't affect people buying the road car.

[Porsche911R]

looks like a road car to me, I must have missed some thing ;-( , but the "Nitron adjustable dampers " are the key thing I would want.

[suffolk009]

I do find the look of those skirts and little winglets very seductive.

Are they supposed to help the air stick to the car, or push it away?

[Crouchydc]

@Porsche911R seems to be misssing the point.
This is a race version so it won't affect cup250 buyers just as the 911 cup doesn't ps off GT3/RS owners.
I thought the missing headlights made it quite obvious this is just a race version.

[CABC]

basic Elise is a great steer for the public road and gives you a connection not remotely achieved in an uber-hatch.
but Lotus have to market these power-to-weight ratios to be heard amongst the noise.
Sure it's a stunning drive on track though.

[xRIEx]

Porsche911R said:

looks like a road car to me, I must have missed some thing ;-( , but the "Nitron adjustable dampers " are the key thing I would want.

Maybe you missed the black headlight covers.

And also, possibly:

article said:

is very similar to the road car

half a second faster than the road car

an FIA-approved carbon seat with six-point harnesses

FIA approved front roll cage section

Because race car, as the kids might say.

it looks set to become a favourite with our racers around the world.

The word 'Race' all over the place was a bit of a hint, too.

Edited by xRIEx on Thursday 28th July 13:09

[EnglishTony]

Presumably you can order/ retrofit the race bits on your Cup if you really want to.

[hughcam]

Porsche911R said:

that will piss a lot of CUP 250 people off who have not even received their cars yet !

Lotus are great at this and hence I never get back in, car after car after car !!!

saying that I do like this new RACE Elise, but I was so close to a CUP250 this would have been killer blow !

What a silly sausage. READ the bloody article prior to spreading your usual lotus hate drivel!

[Dave Hedgehog]

53k for an elise?? i would rather have a caymen for road use or a radical type for track use

[Europa1]

Crouchydc said:

@Porsche911R seems to be misssing the point.
This is a race version so it won't affect cup250 buyers just as the 911 cup doesn't ps off GT3/RS owners.
I thought the missing headlights made it quite obvious this is just a race version.

Don't worry about it; he has form for comments like that.

[ZX10R NIN]

Dave Hedgehog said:

53k for an elise?? i would rather have a caymen for road use or a radical type for track use

Wouldn't one of those cost more the 53K? Let alone both assuming you're buying both new.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Dave Hedgehog said:

53k for an elise?? i would rather have a caymen for road use or a radical type for track use

Why no mention of Exige S? That's about the same price.

[Porsche911R]

Lotus race car used to be cup cars, so it's easy to make a mistake ;-)

I do hope the race option can be had on a new build like the pads and shocks.

The top exige is also the Cup which you can race so it's not that simple to keep on top of it all IMO.

[JMo22]

When I've been on track days and it's started to rain the organisers have insisted on having headlights on.

Is this everyone else's experience?

If so this a you-know-it-will-be-dry-all-day track car. Very handy in the UK.

Unless there are headlights under those black covers? Assuming they're completely deleted for weight saving.

[Thorburn]

JMo22 said:

When I've been on track days and it's started to rain the organisers have insisted on having headlights on.

Is this everyone else's experience?

If so this a you-know-it-will-be-dry-all-day track car. Very handy in the UK.

Unless there are headlights under those black covers? Assuming they're completely deleted for weight saving.

It's a race car, for going racing in, probably in one of the Lotus Cup series.

If you want a road/track day version the the Cup 250 was launched in March and is basically the same thing but road legal and without the full cage, 6pt harness, etc.