Just a few weeks back, we had a chance to take a closer look at the new Lotus Exige Cup 380 dubbed as “King of the Road and Race” power by a 3.5-litre 355HP V6 engine. It did not take too long for Lotus to fiddled with one of its cars, so it should come as no surprise that Hethel now has a new tweaked Elise to show off.
The new Lotus Elise Cup 250 is dubbed “fastest, most focused four-cylinder Lotus sports car ever”. Supercharged, lightweight and distilled from Lotus’ extensive motorsport knowhow surely bridge the gap between road and track to offer racecar capabilities in a package that can be used every day.
Focused on cutting weight and boosting performance, the familiar 1.8-litre inline-four in the new Elise Cup 250 now puts out 240bhp. With just 860kg to shift about and integrating advanced lightweight materials including carbon fibre, titanium and aluminum has helped trim the weight leading to a 0-60 mph in 3.9 secs and a power to weight of 283HP per tonne.
At the front the new Elise gets wider front apertures that we first saw on the new Sport and Sprint models. Also, has a less prominent splitter than the old Cup 250, new lightweight rear wing, bargeboards and rear diffuser contributing to 125 kg of downforce at 140 mph. Unique to this model, a hand full of high-performance additions include revised Bilstein dampers and ultra-lightweight forged wheels with Yokohama Advan A048 LTS tires – 225/45 ZR17 at the rear and 195/50 ZR16 at the front.
Inside, the main difference is the exposed gear linkage that has gradually made its way onto all Elise and Exige models over the past year. Carbon race seats clad in black Alcantara with contrast red or yellow stitching; the trim design is carried through to the door panels, steering wheel and face-level vents, complementing the exposed aluminum and carbon fibre elements. The Elise’s instrument panel features easier to read new graphics and a new in-car entertainment system.
Cementing its reputation as a purebred driver’s car, the new Elise Cup 250 sets the standard for two-seater sports cars thanks to its winning combination of efficient engineering, agility, grip and speed. Available to order now, the new Elise Cup 250 costs from $47,000 – $53,000 USD.