Oh yes, here it is! There's still room for the Elise at Lotus but what a difference a decade or two makes. The Elise due for release in 2015 is a sexy, agile beast of a car. Finally the Elise comes of age.
Aesthetically it's definitely pleasing to the eye, it's bold directional body gives you subtle hints of the Elise of old so it still seems a touch familiar but at the same time, it couldn't be more different.
Perhaps a small example of how the car has changed would help. Aside from strong graphic styling, the practicality of the car has had a major overhaul too with sizeable improvements made to the ingress and egress - in simple terms, no more acrobatics but still all the fun you expect from the Elise.
Dany Bahar, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus, said: "We worked very hard on getting the Elise 2015 exactly right, it's our entry level car so it needs to give a proper introduction to the Lotus driving experience."
"The Elise you can buy now is still a fantastic car, make no mistake, Lotus remain very proud of it, but this is a natural progression for us moving forward. The Elise 2015 will also be class-leading in terms of performance and efficiency but it will do more than that it will take the Elise model to the forefront of its class across the board."
"The design of the Elise 2015 is perfect for the target market, it's young, strong, confident, verging on ruthless, it mirrors the engineering and technology. It's the next generation Elise for a new generation of Lotus drivers."
Fear not though, despite the dramatic upgrades the Elise 2015 has lost none of the cheeky charm that made the two-seater sports car famous, it still retains performance through lightweight and handles like a dream - albeit a quite aggressive and tension filled dream. With a 2.0 litre inline 4 pressure charged engine delivering up to 320 PS, the Elise 2015 should reach 0-100kph in under 4.5 seconds.
The Elise 2015, proving great things come to those who wait.
Company press release, last updated on October 06, 2010
It weighs around 1.1 tons, and for an elise, that's hundreds of kilos too heavy, sure, it's powerful, but the elise (and really everything made by lotus) is about having a not necessarily powerful, but extremely light car in a less is more approach. This is like an Esprit, but Japanese.
Doesn't lotus like the whole "less is more" thing
A Step in the Right Direction
Lemant 01-16-2011
I love the sleek contemporary style of the new Elise, a huge improvement over the current generation in my opinion. Some claim the new design is ugly but I say the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think the new design is VERY appealing to the intended target of younger generation of consumers. Design improvements, combined with relatively low price (for a supercar) is clearly a step in the right direction for Lotus company.
The only doubt I have is the huge increase in weight. The original philosophy of "better performance through lower weight" appears to have diminished with the new design. Perhaps the increase in weight is the inevitable result of structural changes to improve ingress/egress and in order to be in compliance with the soon forthcoming safety standards here in the U.S. ... I can always hope the Lotus engineers will find a way to shave off some additional weight before the initial production begins.
New designs are too similar to each other
Canam fan 10-07-2010
Exactly when was Lotus purchased by a Japanese toy company? The new designs are a step in the wrong direction.
Ultimatecarpage.com
> Cars by brand
> Great Britain
> Lotus
Elise
Oh yes, here it is! There's still room for the Elise at Lotus but what a difference a decade or two makes. The Elise due for release in 2015 is a sexy, agile beast of a car. Finally the Elise comes of age.
