Proving that less is more, Lotus’ high-performance Cup version of the famous Elise has shed 21kg and gained 26bhp. Weighing in at 931kg, and capable of 0-100km/h in 4.3 seconds, the Elise Cup 250 is the fastest Elise ever.
Replacing the acclaimed Elise Cup 220, the newly launched Elise Cup 250 perfectly demonstrates the Lotus “light is right” mantra, with all vehicle components optimised to add lightness and speed.
Delivered to the marque’s Lightweight Laboratory, the roadster emerged with a range of features, including a lithium-ion battery (which slashes 10kg of the weight), carbon fibre seats (which cut the weight by 6kg) and ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels (which save a further 1.5kg).
Designed to suit all hardcore sports car fans, the Elise Cup 250 is available as a roadster by default, with a hard-top available as an option. For those wanting to cut the car’s weight still further and boost performance, a Carbon Aero Pack is available, which cuts an extra 10kg, reducing the mass to just 921kg.
With the new car lapping the company’s Hethel test track in 1 minute 34 seconds, the changes and engineering adaptions to the Elise Cup 250 have taken an impressive four seconds off the best time of the previous Elise Cup 220 and represent the fastest recorded lap time for a production Elise.
This is Lotus’ idea of “light speed” for the road.
