Following the launch of the Lotus Elise Sprint, the most hardcore road-legal Elise 250 Cup has also gotten an update, shedding more weight with some increase in performance.
Visually, the exterior changes include a redesigned front clam panel with larger radiator apertures, new front splitters, lightweight rear wing and rear diffuser. All these enhance the car’s aerodynamics, while the rear wing is capable of generating 125 kg of downforce at 225 km/h. The Elise 250 Cup rides on mixed wheel sizes – 16-inch at the front and 17-inch at the rear. A set of super sticky Yokohama Advan A048 LTS tyres come as standard (195/50 profile on the front and 225/45 profile on the rear wheels).
Inside, the cabin gets an exposed open-gate manual gearbox (first seen in the Exige Sport 350), Alcantara upholstery with red or yellow contrast stitching, carbon race seats, redesigned instrument cluster with new graphics and new infotainment system with better speakers.
Lotus engineers helped shave 14 kg, with the Elise now tipping the scales at 884 kg. That’s even lighter than the Perodua Bezza 1.0 Standard! This was achieved by using a lighter Lithium-ion battery, carbon race seats, ultra- lightweight motorsport forged alloy wheels and polycarbonate rear screen.
For the more discerning enthusiast, below is a list of items that will further trim the weight down to a scant 860 kg:
- Two-piece brake disc, -4 kg
- Full titanium exhaust system, -7 kg
- Carbon fibre interior pack, -1.2 kg
- Carbon fibre exterior pack, -3.7 kg
- Carbon hard top, -3 kg
- Carbon front access panel, -1.1 kg
- Carbon roll-over hoop cover, -0.7 kg
- Carbon engine cover, -3.3 kg
Under the hood, the same 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder engine remains untouched, generating 243 hp and 250 Nm of torque. Power is transferred to the rear-wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. The Elise Cup 250 boasts a 0 – 100 km/h sprint time of 4.3 seconds. Besides that, the damper rates have been uprated for better cornering stability.
Lotus Cars is really pushing the boundaries of “adding lightness” to its absolute limits with every revision. Just imagine what the next-generation of Lotus vehicles will bring to the table under its new owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group!
