The Lotus Elise S Cup is the latest incarnation of a car whose concept turns 20 this year. There is a generation of car enthusiasts (and buyers) who have only known life with a Lotus Elise in it.
Perhaps you’re one of them. If so, there was a time when a lightweight car with an extruded and bonded aluminium chassis clothed with a composite skin was not on the shortlist of every sports car buyer. And there was a time when Lotus didn’t need to keep refreshing the range, as with this car, to keep piquing your interest.
This variant sounds like a good one. It’s the Elise S Cup, which is a road-going version of a race car. You’ve probably heard that before, but this time it’s true.
There’s a racing car called the Elise Cup R, which is a 217bhp, lightly supercharged Elise variant, and it competes in various Lotus and amateur GT series around the world.
Well, this is such a car, without air-con and comfort pack and so on but with some of the elements that would have prevented it from being road registered put back in. It has airbags, for example. The FIA roll cage and seats have been replaced, too.
Sounds an odd mix, but go with it. The suspension is the same as the race car (firmer than standard Elise, with an adjustable front anti-roll bar), the aero pack is the same as the race car, and the additional wiring loom, for the ignition cut-out and plumbed-in fire system, remains in place.
