The new Lotus Elise S Club Racer is one of the quieter debuts occurring at the 2013 Festival of Speed, appearing almost as a footnote on Lotus's pre-Goodwood press release.
New sticker set and black rear panel included
Club Racer version
of the normally aspirated 136hp 1.6-litre Elise, the 220hp Elise S Club Racer takes traditional 'add lightness' brand values and applies them in a very real way to the already far from porky
standard car
. The now - whisper it - Prius derived supercharged 1.8 isn't perhaps as zingy as the previous SC version but it's got more torque and flexibility and is significantly faster than the base 1.6.
There's a little playing about with the numbers here, Lotus saying there is a 'maximum' 20kg weight saving over the standard S's 924kg before qualifying that by saying "real enthusiasts can even manage to reduce the weight of the Elise S Club Racer a further 8kg by specifying track-use, dealer-fit options." These include a different exhaust and airbox but reading between the lines of the spec for the standard Club Racer on the Lotus website it says the headline 24kg saving "includes all weight reductions", the implication being that only 12kg of that weight saving comes as 'standard'.
Typical Elise in here, with added blue bits
Anyway, time to step away from the spec sheet and appreciate the idea of an Elise with a) a 220hp supercharged engine and b) a bit less weight, the list price of the Elise S Club Racer standing at £35,600 - £600 less than the standard Elise S. [Updated and corrected from our original published pricing! - Ed.]
To mark it out from the standard car the S Club Racer also gets matt black trim, comprising roll hoop, rear panel and mirror pods and four new colours including the vaguely alarming sounding Toxic Green. By the numbers performance remains unchanged, with 0-62mph coming up in 4.6 seconds and top speed at 145mph. However, that's still usefully quicker than the 1.6 Club Racer's 6.5 seconds and 127mph plus a symbolic step in the right direction for the dedicated Lotus fan.
For those concerned by the new-age rivals like the Alpine-Caterham and Alfa Romeo 4C going to dual-clutch autos only and Cayman chasing pricetags it suggests there could be life in the old Elise yet. The true purist's choice remains the 'roof optional' 1.6 of course, this 2010 1.6 Club Racer specced up with the sports exhaust and suspension tempting for just under £20K (and 852kg) if the idea of a 900kg-plus Elise isn't adding quite enough lightness for your tastes.