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 !

[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.

[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.