Make mine a skinny latte...
Lotus has revealed that its new 2011 Elise has been certified with an emissions figure of 149g of CO2/km - a reduction of 16% over the previous Lotus Elise S, meaning the Elise has the lowest CO2 for its performance level for any petrol-fuelled sportscar in the world.
Lotus maintains that not only does this low emissions figure give a greener drive with less guilt (Less what? Ed.) but it also relates directly to fuel consumption with the new Elise turning in an impressive figure of 56.1mpg (extra urban). That means the Lotus Elise can theoretically travel 500 miles on one tank of fuel - the equivalent of London to Aberdeen.
Are there any doughnuts left?
"World leading emissions and economy figures are a direct result of our commitment to core values of performance through light weight and efficiency," Lotus says. "The Elise weighs just 876kg and to put this weight into perspective, a nameless convertible sportscar from Stuttgart (Germany) weighs in at 1335kg."
"Aerodynamics have been improved by 4% and a new super efficient, 1.6 litre 4 cylinder VVT-I engine has been installed which is 200cc smaller than the engine in the outgoing Lotus Elise S and produces the same power. And the performance figures speak for themselves: 0-60 mph in 6.0 seconds and 0-100 km/h in 6.5 seconds."
Well done chaps, we're all very proud!
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