340R owner Andrew Smith reports:

Back in the early to mid nineties (remember them?) Lotus were building a new sports car. This was to be a return to their roots after the radical (front wheel drive!?) M100 Elan.

The M111 was to be lightweight with no doors (it was called the 'Step-In' car), with no roof and minimal creature comforts. Sadly, over the development period doors and a roof were added to preclude the car appealing solely to a small group of driving enthusiasts.

The M111 was renamed Elise and the rest is history. However, four years and four variations after the original model Lotus have returned to the original brief and created the 340R.

Dan Dare's Shopping Car

Originally shown in concept form at the 1998 Birmingham Motor Show, the 340R is basically an Elise Sport 190 with the bodywork thrown away and something that Dan Dare used to potter down to Tesco's in bolted on instead. Stylish it is not, eye-catching it most certainly is.

So what is it like to drive and live with ?  Principally, it is still an Elise. It is fundamentally the same aluminium box chassis (the door mounts have been removed) with the same 1.8 K-Series, gearbox and brakes. However, the weight reduction (about 70Kgs over a 111S), different suspension and new Yokohama tyres mean the limits have been raised.

Grip is nothing short of amazing and within the first 500 hundred miles I have yet to even approach the kind of speeds where understeer or oversteer enter the equation. Even some spirited driving around an unfamiliar Hethel test track (I think this corner goes left...whoops, right) didn't unsettle the 340R. The composure and the speed with which the car will change direction are the most vivid memories.

The turn in oversteer which afflicted the early cars does not seem to have returned with the lowered and stiffened suspension. The downside of the Yokohama tyres is standing water; the common warning from the Lotus engineers who developed the car is "watch out for puddles". Although, given that the vehicle comes with no weather protection at all as standard, a cursory scan of the forecast before setting out is a useful precaution.

The engine is a tuned 1.8K series (not the VVC version) producing 177bhp according to Lotus (an ECU, some new cam pulleys and a swift de-cat are meant to return it to 190bhp, depending on who you believe ).

Soundtrack Improved

It hunts at idle, sulks below 3000rpm, revs to 8000rpm with the chip and is a complete swine to run in. The engine is tractable though and seems happy to run in traffic without coking itself up too much. The soundtrack is excellent, especially when blipping the throttle on downshifts. Granted it is no 4.3BV pre-cat Griffith but the sewing machine/hair dryer references should now stop!

Practicality? The standard Elise is an S Class compared to the 340R. No doors, no heater, no roof, no radio, no windows, no carpets, no soundproofing, no storage space whatsoever (the front and rear compartments are full of radiator and engine respectively) apart from the passenger footwell. Where all the sprinting and track day paraphernalia is supposed to go is beyond me. Buffeting from the wind is, surprisingly, not a problem. At speeds up to 90mph there is very little turbulence and you don't need to wear a helmet, even on motorways. Some form of eye protection is a sensible precaution though.

Expensive

And it is expensive. The standard car costs £34,995 and you can spend a lot more if you feel the need (six speed sequential box? - that'll be £10K sir thank you ).  In truth you don't need to do a lot to it; the chip, pulleys and decat pipe should add up to around £500.

It is an absolute blast to drive though. Caterham and Ariel make quicker cars but if you liked the Elise, you will brave the cold, the rain, standing water and running in restrictions for the 340R.