Wednesday 8th May 2002

Elise Evolves

Testing continues in the USA and the UK isn't resting on its laurels either

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[Englishman in LA]

I can't wait... and now they are pushing back to 2004 possibly?

My dealer knows nothing... I don't have a brochure yet...

Oh well, gives me more time to save up....

[lotusbmw]

I am sure your dealer doesn't have the info to pass along if they are keeping the engine selection hush hush until launch. Must be worth the wait...

[hungryjim]

Lotus should keep the Elise in production till about 2012 because of the nature of the car it can be tuned and upgraded like what is happening now with A/C and supercharged engines.The elise still has a long way to go in life and requires development but i am confident that it will one day be designed to its full potential like its gearbox ,engine but not its looks!

[bikehorn]

2004?!?! god damn beaurocratic red tape. i want that yellow one in the photo. if they want an engine to make evryone happy, why not just take the 2.0 litre four-cylinder from the BMW 320i? add a new intake and exhaust system, maybe a little computer work and you've got 200HP!

[Nightmare]

er...cos it weighs about 300 kilos!

[FastSpider]

The Honda VTEC from the Integra Type R fits and works nicely. Total weight is only a few pounds more than the K-series. There are a few of them running around in the USA now....

[saitama]

I think the Lotus are developing a new engine with partnrs in house , they need to ensure compliance with federal FSS specifications and homolgation issues.testing accrediatin takes about 2-3 years.
final design shape is not an issue because crash testing is all about strength beneath the body.
put that in you tailpipe and smoke it !

[dejoux]

I just hope this isnt going to cause the Elise to turn into a modern day version of the MGB and Midget

Those cars were ruined for the whole world because of silly US legislation.

The Elise is going really well internationally but theres no sence in having different cars for the two markets so the rest of the world will suffer because a few americans want a real car

[d-signed]

sunspeed elise (only one legal in the states) comes w/ a V-tec of some sort. I wonder whether they will stop being sold when lotus comes to the market? the version in the car makes over 200 hp (sport compact car tested 195 to the wheels as i recall). for $55k you can destroy almost anything out there (stateside that is).