TMR News and Features
There are views – supported by countless motoring press articles worldwide - that the Lotus Elise and Exige family are the best handling sports cars in the world. Some even going so far as to compare them to the handling of a Ferrari. A bold statement, but I could possibly be starting to agree.
The Elise R model, which was released in 2007, is essentially the re-badged re-optioned Elise 111R, and although much hasn’t changed, it’s apparent it has been on a refinement trip at Lotus HQ.
The ‘Turnip farmers’ (as Jeremy Clarkson lovingly refers to Lotus) of Hethel, Norfolk, have gone so far as making items such as air-con and other modern luxuries as standard for the Australian models for the first time.
So let’s get stuck in and see the results of this refinement.
The first thing you notice compared to previous Elise models is that Lotus has really tried to fit the interior out with some nicer materials. Perhaps this is to broaden the appeal of the Elise to the buyer who would happily use their car for both track and day-to-day driving, and create some distance from Westfield or Caterham and other purely track day cars.
This particular Elise (under review) is fitted with the optional Touring Plus Pack which adds sound-deadening panelling and roof lining, leather seats and highlights, embroidered carpets, auxiliary front driving lamps and an up-rated flashy Alpine stereo with iPOD connectivity. (Not that you’ll hear much in the way of your favourite Britney Spears MP3s with the roof off.)
It also comes with the optional Sports Pack which adds, for the first time, the switchable Lotus Traction Control System via an electronically-controlled limited slip differential. It also comes with Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs, twin oil coolers (specifically an addition for the Australian climate) and some rather sexy looking 18″ seven-spoke ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels in Black - borrowed from the range topping Exige S.
Weight has gone up a little from the old model a little more so when the optional Touring Plus pack is fitted, but with a power-to-weight ratio packing 164 kW/t, the little Elise R is still a featherweight that can punch with the big boys. In fact, when compared to a member of the Porsche family with simular performance, the Porsche 911 S (997), the power advantage of the 911 is only 10 kW/t. Overall weight is a whole different story: 860kg for the little Elise versus 1,820kg for the Porsche.
The interior
Lotus has invested real money in seat design of late, using an external consultancy company to design the new ‘Pro-bax’ seats. Compared to the hard alcantara pews in the older Elise, they are a dream to sit in.
Other practical additions to the Elise’s interior include a stowage net just behind the rear seats (handy for maps and CDs), a drinks’ holder just in front of the gear lever and some trinket tray dividers to stop items sliding around on the dashboard during tight corning antics.
Everything inside the snug cockpit looks and feels like it was designed for lightweight strength – from the well-formed leather bucket seats, to the extruded aluminium pedals, and even the passenger footrest (which has holes cut into it to save that little bit of extra weight). It almost makes you feel guilty for eating that big lunch.
Filed under 
TMR Poll
Loading ...Columns
Mates
- Automobiles De Luxe
Luxury, Classic and Performance cars covered passionately - Japanese Nostalgic Car
For fans of classic Japanese cars. - Japanese Performance Car News
The latest Japanese Performance Car News. - OzMazda
Australia’s premier Mazda community. - Trollhättan Saab
For the true Saab enthusiast.
There Are 7 Responses So Far.
Click here to jump to the Add Comment box
Get a Gravatar. Click here to find out more!
Comment by Charlie
28 October 2008
One of my favourite cars ever.
One day I will own one.
[Reply to this comment]
Comment by Sarge
28 October 2008
Great write up and true to form. As I was given the great pleasure taken around a track
With a professional driver. Who said that good things come in a small package.
Its f1 minus the power and gimmicks!!
[Reply to this comment]
Comment by Daniel McCoey
28 October 2008
A few months back I had a stint in one of these little beauties, and one thing that impressed on me being 195cm tall, was just how damn hard it was to pull my carcass from the seats, I quite literally had to open the door and put my hand on the ground to level myself out of the car. Not great if you think about it. Imagine this scenario: You roll up to your favorite restaurant in your new Lotus Elise, you look and feel a Million Dollars but then having to open the door and reach for the curb with your hand just to lever yourself out of the car. Classy!
Getting back into the car with the roof on presents more problems for tall blokes too. If the Lotus is simply a ‘must have’ then ownership of this car will require at least a half dozen yoga classes just so you can bend your frame to fit under the low slung roof. I know for me if I was to seriously consider the Lotus, it would be as a 2nd car proposition only, and I wouldn’t be parking out front of any fancy restaurants, saving myself the embarrassment.
Now I confess the Lotus struck a chord with me, as it’s the only car I have ever driven where I have come back to the car to find a lipstick proposition on the windscreen complete with phone number. Obviously the writer of the proposition had only seen the car and not the driver, otherwise there never would have been a note left, (I’m not oil painting, that’s for sure!) but nonetheless I was rather chuffed of the idea thinking that while driving the Elise I was at least 20% better looking.
Another thing I took note of was taking the roof off or putting it back on, as it’s more of a chore than anything else. Considering that in recent times, everything in the way of soft tops is going in the trendy direction of retractable hardtops, the little Elise still requires its owner to fuss over it, not a bad thing really, as a car like the Elise is all about proper ‘sports car ownership’ which should mean getting your hands dirty, and having to become intimate with all the workings of the car, that’s just part and parcel of it all. Although a retractable hardtop would attract unwanted extra weight which is dead against Colin Chapman’s cores values, it would be a nice touch if it could be done in a weight saving manner. So there is a tip for the Lotus product planners and dev team.
I loved it when I drove it, but could I live with it? That’s the 1 Million dollar question I asked myself after handing back the keys, and after several months of pondering I still don’t have an answer to that.
[Reply to this comment]
Comment by snakeskin
28 October 2008
Fantastic, just fantastic. Still too pricey IMO but with Lotuses you always pay for what you dont get
I would have thought the LSD would have been standard though. Definitely the first checkbox I’d tick!!
[Reply to this comment]
Comment by Craig
29 October 2008
You might want to check your weight for the 997S - no 911 ever made was 1800kg.
The correct weight is 1530kg - the 1835kg you used is the max permissible weight (ie fully laden).
That makes the pwr/wt more like 185kW/t
[Reply to this comment]
Comment by Gunnar
29 October 2008
Lucky devil. Nice review. Though, I must write that a Lotus can be a little soft - the fabled Esprit was kitted out in contrast piped leather seats for years.
[Reply to this comment]
Comment by Action Jackson
27 November 2008
this is one of the sweetest looking sports cars ever
i really want one!
[Reply to this comment]
Leave your own comment