Lotus Elise Sprint
Raft of new measures gets the Elise back under 800kg (dry) and looking rather sharp too!
The headline news for this Elise is a 41kg mass reduction, taking the dry weight to 798kg, although that does come with certain caveats. The standard Sprint equipment takes out 26kg and includes a lithium-ion battery (minus 9kg), carbon seats removing 6kg, forged wheels saving 5kg and a 6kg reduction through a polycarbonate rear screen as well as carbon for the access panel, roll hoop cover and engine cover.
Contributing another 10kg though are tweaks being rolled out across the Elise range, with a new design front and rear (note the two light clusters at the back now, rather than four) saving 9kg. The other 1,000g comes from the lovely exposed manual shift first seen on the Exige Sport 350.
That takes us to 36kg, with the remaining weight coming from optional lightweight brake discs (another 4kg eliminated) and the optional carbon sill covers, taking out 0.8kg which makes for a total 40.8kg. Or 41kg, if you're feeling generous.
Before this becomes too cynical though, a lighter Elise is surely a better Elise: 'Less mass means more Lotus', apparently. Available with both the 1.6 and supercharged 1.8-litre engines, the Sprint is - appropriately enough - more accelerative than the regular versions, boasting 0-60mph times of 5.9 and 4.1 seconds respectively.
Marking out a Sprint from other Elises are black paint for those forged wheels, Sprint side stripes and badges, plus colour coded inserts inside; 'Electric Light Blue' is a new colour for the entire Elise range.
Jean-Marc Gales said of the new Sprint: "An agile, lightweight sports car does not weigh just over a tonne. It should weigh substantially less and it is a fantastic achievement from Lotus in ensuring that the fully type approved new Elise now dips below the 800 kg barrier." Could that be a swipe at the new Alpine perhaps?
Whatever, should you be seduced by a Sprint, it's available to order now ahead of first deliveries in April. It carries a £5,000 premium over the regular Sport models, meaning £37,300 for the 1.6 Sprint and £44,300 for the 1.8 Sprint.
The s1 was £18k in 1996. 20 years of CPI inflation takes that to about £27k. At £30k this would be a lot more attractive than it is at £37k.
Sure, faster or lighter versions are more, possibly too, expensive, but it seems the most basic Elise you can buy is much the same cost as it was 20 years ago once inflation has been taken into account, possibly a little cheaper.
- Sublime steering, unassisted, small non-fussy wheel and a telepathic front end
- S/C engine in such a light car makes it hilariously quick to 100
- Tub means you hear absolutely everything hit the underside, so winter driving is loud
- Lack of LSD makes wet weather silly stuff a bit less accessible - my MX5 was better
I have this as my only car and to sum it up in one word I'd say the best word is visceral. S/C cars hold their value very well, so although relatively expensive as a three year ownership proposition it's not too bad.
22mpg on mine though...
Sure, faster or lighter versions are more, possibly too, expensive, but it seems the most basic Elise you can buy is much the same cost as it was 20 years ago once inflation has been taken into account, possibly a little cheaper.
- Exposed gear-leaver [Tick]
- Carbon fiber bits [Tick]
- Lighter weight [Tick]
Amazing, I hope Lotus has huge success with the direction their going, because it's definitely ticking all the right boxes. The recent Exige 380 and Evora 410 are also amazing cars.
GO LOTUS!!
IIRC the ‘s’ in the 111s also stood for Sprint; it was originally called the Elise Sprint but Mercedes objected due to their Sprinter vans in the late 90’s.
Could just be Hethel BS though!
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