With Lotus saying that it’ll have a very new lineup, we might be given one remaining hurrah with the outgoing Elise and Exige. Manufacturing of the Lotus Elise and the Exige is coming to an finish after 25 and 21 years, respectively. Who is aware of what the longer term will maintain for the enduring carmakers from Hethel, however for proper now, we get the sharpest variations of two of the perfect sports activities automobiles ever made.
Though we’re speaking about two fashions right here, Lotus will break down the ultimate manufacturing run into 5 completely different variations, two Elise and three Exige fashions. The 5 new Closing Version automobiles will all have extra energy, larger commonplace specs, and – isn’t this a shock – will all be lighter in weight.
Lotus Elise Closing Editions
Let’s begin with the Elise twins, the Sport 240 Closing Version, and the Lotus Elise Cup 250 Closing Version.
Lotus Elise Sport 240 Closing Version
The Sport 240 will get a wholesome 23 horsepower bump within the engine room, now placing 240 bhp and 180 lb-ft. of torque to the tarmac. That’ll add as much as a zero to 60 mph dash of 4.1 seconds. The Sport 240 comes with 10-spoke Anthracite cast alloy wheels wrapped in Yokohama V105 tires (195/50 R16 entrance and 225/45 R17 rear). They’re 0.5kg (a bit over one lbs.) lighter than the wheels on the Elise Sport 220.
There are much more weight financial savings because of a variety of non-compulsory carbon fiber panels, together with sill covers and an engine cowl, together with the lithium-ion battery and the polycarbonate rear window. This drops the general weight of the Elise Sport 240 right down to proper round 2,000 lbs.
Lotus Elise Cup 250 Closing Version
What units the Elise Cup 250 aside from the 240 is the 250’s consideration to aerodynamics. Lotus has additional optimized the entrance splitter, rear wing, rear diffuser, and facet flooring extensions. Because of this, the Elise Cup 250 now produces 145 lbs. of downforce at 100 mph and 342 lbs. of downforce at its most pace of 154 mph. The 250 additionally will get particular rims on its manner out the manufacturing facility door; this time, it’s new 10-spoke Diamond Reduce M Sport cast wheels with Yokohama A052 tires (195/50 R16 entrance and 225/45 R17 rear).
There’s an extended checklist of ordinary gear, together with Bilstein sport dampers, adjustable anti-roll bars, a light-weight lithium-ion battery, and a polycarbonate rear window. Sure, there are a lot of light-weight carbon fiber choices that may drop the all-up weight to a shade over 2,052 lbs.
Lotus Exige Closing Version Lineup
Every part the Elise twins have, the Exige triplets appear to have extra of (and by way of weight, much less of). The ultimate editions embrace the Lotus Exige Sport 390, the Exige Sport 420, and the Exige Cup 430.
Exige Sport 390 Closing Version
Changing the outgoing Exige Sport 350, the brand new Exige Sport 390 will get an influence improve of 47 bhp because of revised calibrations of the charge-cooled Edelbrock supercharger. The underside line is 397 bhp and 310 lb-ft. of torque, which, when bolted to the two,500-lbs. Exige Sport 390 equates to a zero to 60 mph time of three.7 seconds and a high pace of 172 mph.
Aerodynamic tweaks embrace a further 155 lbs. of downforce on the rear and 100 lbs. up entrance. Rims and skins are 10-spoke silver cast alloy wheels (7.5J x 17” entrance and 10J x 18” rear) and Michelin PS4 tires (205/45 ZR17 entrance and 265/35 ZR18 rear).
Lotus Exige Sport 420 Closing Version
The Exige Sport 420 positive factors 10 bhp and is the quickest Exige accessible, maxing out at 180 mph. 60 mph comes up in a fast 3.3 seconds. All up weight is 2,400 lbs., and with 420 bhp and 315 lb-ft. of torque on faucet from the supercharged and charge-cooled V6, it’s straightforward to see the place these efficiency numbers come from.
Customary gear is spectacular: adjustable entrance and rear Eibach anti-roll bars, three-way adjustable Nitron dampers for various excessive and low-speed compression settings, 10-spoke Anthracite cast alloy wheels (7.5J x 17″ entrance, 10J x 18″ rear) with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires (215/45 ZR17 entrance and 285/30 ZR18 rear), AP Racing brakes with cast, four-piston calipers, and two-piece J-hook brake discs.
Lotus Exige Cup 430 Closing Version
And at last, we come to the range-topping Lotus Exige Cup 430. The checklist of goodies bolted onto the 430-bph platform is in depth and mouthwatering. The novel aero package deal generates as a lot downforce at 100 mph because the Exige Sport 390 does at 170 mph. Downforce is 168 lbs. on the entrance and an extra 210 lbs. on the rear, for a complete of 377 lbs. The all-up weight is beneath 2,500 lbs. Zero to 60 mph ticks off in 3.2 seconds, and the highest pace is 174 mph, because of a torque score of 325 lb-ft.
Each Exige Cup 430 comes with a Motorsport-grade carbon fiber entrance splitter, entrance entry panel, roof, and diffuser encompass, together with enlarged air-intake facet pods. Drivers can alter the dealing with traits through the Nitron three-way adjustable dampers (excessive and low-speed compression plus rebound adjustment) and the Eibach adjustable entrance and rear anti-roll bars.
Tires are beefy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s (215/45 ZR17 entrance and 285/30 ZR18 rear) fitted to 10-spoke cast alloy wheels (7.5J x 17” entrance, 10J x 18” rear). Wanna cease? You’ll be able to, and you’ll on a dime because of the solid, four-piston AP Racing brake calipers and better thermal capability two-piece J-hook brake discs. There’s additionally a high-flow titanium exhaust system and a six-position variable traction management linked on to the ECU.
When manufacturing of the Lotus Elise, Exige, and Evora finish later this yr, the ultimate mixed manufacturing complete might be round 55,000 automobiles. Collectively they account for greater than half of Lotus’ complete highway automobile manufacturing for the reason that first Lotus in 1948.
Tony Borroz has spent his complete life racing vintage and sports activities automobiles. He’s the creator of Bricks & Bones: The Endearing Legacy and Nitty-Gritty Phenomenon of The Indy 500, accessible in paperback or Kindle format. Observe his work on Twitter: @TonyBorroz.
Photographs & Supply: Group Lotus.
