NEW LIGHTWEIGHT ROADSTERS WON’T BE SOLD HERE
It was a big week for Lotus. The Hethel-based company introduced the Elise S 20th Anniversary Special Edition and the Exige S Club Racer. In true Lotus fashion, the Elise lost about 20 pounds and the Exige dropped 30.
The Elise S Anniversary is based on—and replaces—the Elise S Club Racer, which was the most powerful evolution of the 20-year-old marque. This new Elise is powered by a 1.8-liter supercharged four and gets to 62 mph in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 145 mph. Gas mileage is suitably high at 47.6 mpg on the European cycle.
The Anniversary Elise comes with lightweight wheels, lightweight center console and lightweight seats in Alcantara. Four classic colors are offered: blue, green, yellow and silver. Fog lights and 20th Anniversary decals are standard; a hardtop, air conditioning and an upgraded radio are optional.
The Elise comes in at 37,200 British pounds, which would convert to about $55,000 if the car was actually available here.
PHOTO BY LOTUS
The Exige S Club Racer—also not sold here—gets a 3.5-liter supercharged V6 making 345 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, which allows it to hit 62 mph from rest in just 4 seconds flat. Top speed is 170 mph. Three traction control settings are selectable, including drive, sport and race.
The Exige S CR weighs in at 2,560 pounds with weight reductions in the battery, center console, doors and seats. It comes in metallic white, Exige orange, metallic yellow and matte black. That black would probably look great considering the front splitter, rear wing, front access panel, roof panel and wing mirrors are all in matte too.
Air conditioning, an upgraded radio, the aforementioned matte black paint and two-piece brakes are all optional.
The Exige S CR is on sale now and costs 56,900 British pounds, which converts to about $84,648. But like the Elise, you can’t get a new one here. You can always get the bigger Evora, or even better, the Evora 400, which Lotus says is the start of its U.S. return.
0 коментарі:
Post a Comment