Lotus Elise Cup 250 – fastest four-cylinder model yet

Lotus Elise Cup 250 – fastest four-cylinder model yet

The Lotus Elise is the latest refinement of the ‘for speed, add lightness’ ideology, and to that end employs lightweight materials including carbon-fibre, titanium and aluminium to help it attain a dry weight of 884 kg (or 860 kg with all lightweight options).

The new Elise Cup 250 employs the latest Elise look first seen on the Elise Sport and Elise Sprint, while changes to the exterior include a new lightweight front clam panel with wider radiator apertures and mesh pattern grille, and a new exterior panel with two light clusters instead of four.

Motive force for the Elise Cup 250 is provided by a 1.8 litre, charge-cooled and supercharged four-cylinder engine, producing 243 hp at 7,200 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 3,500 to 5,500 rpm, propelling it from a standstill to 96 km/h in 3.9 seconds, and onwards to a top speed of 247 km/h.

According to Lotus, the Elise Cup 250 tips the scales at 14 kg lighter than its predecessor, a weight loss contributed by standard equipment including a lithium-ion battery, carbon-fibre race seats, ultra-lightweight motorsport forged alloy wheels and a polycarbonate rear screen.

Further weight reduction still can be specified – a carbon aero pack comprising a front splitter, rear wing and side boards in carbon-fibre save 3.7 kg. Other carbon-fibre parts can be selected as well – the hard top saves 3 kg, 1.1 kg for the access panel, 3.3 kg for the engine cover, 0.7 kg for the roll-hoop cover, 0.8 kg for the sill covers, 0.3 kg for the face-level vents, and 0.1 kg for the HVAC surround. The optional titanium exhaust saves 7 kg.

Suspension duties are handled by double wishbones front and rear with a front anti-roll bar, Eibach coaxial coil springs and Bilstein dampers, the latter with damping rates increased over the Elise Sport and Elise Sprint by 12% and nine percent front and rear respectively for compression, and 20% and 30% front and rear respectively for rebound.

Brakes are two-piston AP Racing front calipers and single-piston Brembo rear calipers on 288 mm cross-drilled and ventilated discs front and rear, while optional, lightweight two-piece brake discs can help save a further 4 kg. Other options include driver and passenger airbag deletion, harness cross bar and four-point harness (must be specified with airbag deletion), fire extinguisher and battery isolator, plus towing eyes front and rear.

Rolling stock is comprised of lightweight forged aluminium wheels, 16 inches in front and 17 inches at the back, mounted with Yokohama Advan A048 LTS tyres measuring 195/50R16 at the front and 225/45R17 at the rear.

Other cost options include air-conditioning, Bluetooth-enabled audio, a leather trim pack, tartan trim pack, Alcantara-trimmed sill covers and steering wheel, interior colour pack, floor mats and full carpet. The Lotus Elise Cup 250 starts from £47,400 (RM261,800) including VAT in its native United Kingdom.

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Mick Chan

Open roads and closed circuits hold great allure for Mick Chan. Driving heaven to him is exercising a playful chassis on twisty paths; prizes ergonomics and involvement over gadgetry. Spent three years at a motoring newspaper and short stint with a magazine prior to joining this website.

 

Comments

  • nazee on Jun 01, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    Reliable 1.8 Altis engine.

    Buy Lotus now b4 price jump !

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0
    • Nice Lotus on Jun 02, 2017 at 1:35 am

      Suddenly, Lotus looks so much nicer. Is it becoz of the change of ownership recently?

      P.S. I think that wing mirror is not from P1 ;)

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • tokmoh. on Jun 01, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    In the future, plonk in Volvo’s Drive-E powertrain for even more power.

    Lotus > all
    Volvo > all

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Mikey on Jun 01, 2017 at 5:02 pm

      tokmoh, are U promoting P1 new badge that have the Panda inside the badge?! It’s suppose to be cute not grumpy.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • tokmoh. on Jun 01, 2017 at 5:42 pm

        I went on the internet and i found this.

        How fitting. In celebration of proton ditongsankan hewhewhew

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
        • I can hear john foaming in his mouth

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
        • Hows the switch in loyalty going for u?

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
          • tokmoh. on Jun 01, 2017 at 10:23 pm

            Very great, I just noticed Proton turunkan harga service for Iriz and Suprima, servicing CVT and timing reduced by a good sum.

            Cukur Geely turunkan harga servis proton, pujilah Geely, pujilah kerajaan, terima kasih Geely, terima kasih kerajaan.

            Proton > all
            Geely > all

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Mesin rumput on Jun 01, 2017 at 7:34 pm

    Untung la dapat boss baru.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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