The fastest Lotus Elise to date is now available to buy from Hexagon's East Finchley and South Kensington branches, costing a rather hefty £53,500. That may seem cheap compared to, let's say a Jaguar F-Type but it's quite a bit more than the cars offered by next door neighbours Zenos. You do get a roof and doors though so swings and roundabouts I suppose...
I'm getting sidetracked though, so let's get back to the task in-hand - the Lotus Elise Race 250, a car that is "ready to race straight out of the box" according to the press release. Lotus has a rich history of making two-seater sportscars which are light and nimble and the Race 250 is no different.
Sitting underneath the Elise is a 1.8 litre four-cylinder engine that has been supercharged for good measure. The power output? 243bhp, which makes it the fastest Elise yet with 26bhp more than the standard 1.8 model. It's not all about brute force though - the Race 250 features adjustable dampers, uprated brake pads and an FIA-approved carbon-fibre seat with six-point racing harness.
The racing paraphernalia doesn't stop there though as you'll find a removable steering wheel in the cabin plus the rear window is made using polycarbonate. A full aero package is also on hand to ensure as much speed can be taken through each corner as possible. It's certainly paid off - the Race 250 set the fastest time of any Elise around Lotus' Hethel Circuit with a time of 1 minute and 33.5 seconds.
Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales, who opened Lotus’ new showroom at Hexagon’s East Finchley headquarters earlier this year, said: “Lotus was established to build race cars and with 68 years’ experience, no-one knows more about extracting the best performance possible. The Elise Race 250 is the fastest, most-focused Elise we’ve ever produced and, judging by what it’s capable of on track, it looks set to become a favourite with our racers around the world.”
