2019 Lotus Elise S3 Cup 250

Highlights

• Iconic S3 Cup 250

• Limited to 200 cars per year

• Striking Gulf Orange

• Five service stamps

•  Factory hardtop 

Overview

Quite rightly, the Lotus Elise is regarded as one of the best sports cars ever made – huge fun to drive and built to company founder Colin Chapman’s mantra of “Simplify, then add lightness”. For many people, it was more than enough. 

 But even the best can be made even better, and the Elise S3 Cup 250 is the proof of the pudding. Production was limited to 200 per year, but fewer than 200 were ever sold in the UK, suggesting that the production volumes may even have been lower – at the end of 2025, according to DVLA data, there were just 123 registered, so this is a very rare opportunity to buy an extremely special car.

 Launched in 2016 as the fastest Elise ever, the Cup 250 was developed with an emphasis on weight-saving and motorsport-inspired engineering – perfect for track days, or those who wanted to have the most thrilling derivative of the iconic sports car as it neared the end of its production run. 

At its heart lies a 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder Toyota engine, producing 243 bhp and 250 Nm of torque. Combined with a featherweight kerb weight of just 931kg, it gallops from 0 to 60mph in a mere 3.9 seconds – fast even by today’s standards. 

 In true Colin Chapman style, Lotus’s engineers focused on making the car as light as possible, saving weight from every single aspect of it. The weight savings extend from lightweight forged alloy wheels, carbon fibre panels, reduced-weight carbon seats, to even a lithium-ion battery.

 There was a focus on aero-efficiency, too, with a revised front splitter, rear wing, and rear diffuser, generating additional downforce to partly compensate for the reduced weight. 

 Inside, the cabin is stripped back for function over frills, featuring bucket seats, a simple instrument cluster, and Alcantara trim. There’s no excess – the experience is completely unfiltered and focused on the driver, and as a result it’s viewed reverentially among Pistonheads devotees. 

This one is particularly special. Being a 2019 car, it’s one of the very last examples made and has been enthusiast-owned, with less than 16,000 miles on the clock. If you’re after a collector-quality Elise, in what has to be one of the best colours, then it’s a superb example that’s bound to get your attention.

History and documentation 

• Three previous owners 

• First registered in the UK on 18 July 2019 and supplied by Lotus Silverstone 

• UK V5C in the current owner’s name 

• MOT until 12 Jan 2027 – passed with no advisory notices

• Two keys

• Lotus hardtop tool wallet

• Original Lotus book pack

• Cherished registration included

• Service book stamped as follows:2019 @ 1,232 miles (main dealer), 2021 @ 3,421 miles (main dealer), 2021 @ 5,375 miles (main dealer), 2022 @ 8,288 miles (main dealer), 2024 @ 11,470 miles (specialist) 

Interior

• Original Alcantara upholstery in very good overall condition

• Carbon-fibre seats, saving 6kg weight over standard items

• Alcantara dash top

• Matching orange trim and floor mats

• Sport button

• Upgraded multimedia stereo (original remains with car)

• Three-spoke leather steering wheel

• Four-point racing harness fitted to driver’s seat – but can also be tucked away and used with standard seatbelt for road use

Exterior

• Striking Gulf Orange paint in superb order

• Factory hardtop with removal kit tools

• Paint protection film fitted on the sides of the bumpers and rear wings

• The vendor reports the bodywork as being ‘unblemished’ and in superb condition throughout

• One small chip in paint protection film

• Car has had GTECHNIQ smart-surface science – a crystal serum applied with a nine-year guarantee when new

• More downforce than any other Elise models due to the standard aero kit, which delivers 155kg (342lbs) at top speed and 66kgs at 100mph

• Consists of front splitter, rear diffuser and rear wing

• Originally ultra-lightweight black forged alloys in excellent order with exception of rear passenger wheel , which has an approximately 8mm scuff mark that has been touched in and is said to be only noticeable with close up inspection

• Rear tyres are described as ‘like new’ and are Yokohama Advance A0052 225/45 R17s

• Front tyres are Yokohama A048 LTS 195/50 R16 and are part-worn but plenty legal

• Underside appears to be in good order 

• According to the vendor, the car has never been involved in an accident 

Mechanical 

• 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder Toyota engine with 2ZR-FE Magnuson TVS R900 supercharger 

• 245PS/243bhp

• 0-60 in 3.9 seconds

• Five-speed manual transmission

• 155mph electronically limited top speed

• Kerb weight 931kg (so 261bhp per tonne) 

• Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs 

• AP racing twin-piston front callipers 

• Brembo single-piston rear callipers

• The vendor describes the car as very fast, and that it drives without fault

Summary

This one is a very special car – a super-low mileage example of one of the most riveting and engaging sports cars ever made, at its most intense and hardcore best. It’s not one you’ll buy to use every day (or if you do, we salute you), but as a track day toy or something truly exciting to take out for a weekend blast, it’s a sensational machine, presented in collector-quality condition inside and out. 

 To arrange a viewing, click the 'Book Viewing' button located under the 'Place Bid' button. Viewings can be booked up until the day before the auction ends, after which the option will change to 'Contact Seller' for further enquiries. This seller is located in Prestatyn