The Lotus Elise roadster is produced by Lotus Cars and assembled in Hethel, Norfolk, England. This sports car is known for its fast speed and light-weight design, capable of reaching a speed of 150 miles per hour. The chassis is made of aluminum and is covered by an eye-catching fiberglass body. This car is built for speed and racing. Many of the luxury and comfort features found in other sports cars have been left out to eliminate excess weight and allow for maximum handling.
This rear-wheel drive vehicle seats two people and has a mid-engine layout. The Lotus Elise, with an 11.5 gallon fuel tank, is rated 20 to 21 mpg in the city and 26 to 27 mpg on the highway, capable of accelerating from 0 to 60... View more miles per hour in as little as 4.3 seconds.
The original Elise was designed by Julian Thomson and Richard Rackham, with the Series 1 Lotus Elise released in 1996. The low weight of the vehicle gave it improved braking and handling capabilities as well as low fuel consumption compared to many of its competitors. Series 1 produced many improvements to the speed and performance in its 111S, 340R, and Exige models. In 2000, the Series 2 Lotus Elise went into production, largely due to Europe's new crash sustainability regulations. The Series 2 models met the regulations while, in addition, some changes to the design of the car were made.
The Lotus Elise has a six-speed manual transmission with current models ranging in power from 134 to 217 horse power. It is available with either a hard-top or removable soft-top. The 2010 Elise has four trim levels; the base-model Elise, the Elise CR, Elise R, and Elise SC. Only the base model and the Elise SC are currently available in United States. The difference between these two models is the supercharged engine in the Lotus Elise SC.
In 2001, the Lotus Elise was named Best Driver's Car" by Autocar. UK Horizons TV named it "Car of the Year 2003" and BBC Top Gear Magazine named it "Best Sports Car" in 2004. Although sometimes criticized for its lack of comfort, the Lotus Elise is widely recognized for its high-performance. View less
