Racing through the streets.
Lotus is known for their ultra-lightweight, driver-focused sports cars and the new Lotus Elise S Cup takes the track-spec performance of the Elise S Cup R to the streets. In 2013, Lotus unveiled the Elise S Cup R and the car was put through its paces for a full season of racing in 2014. Now, the British automaker has shifted their focus on the Elise S Cup road-legal variant and just wrapped up testing with some promising results.
Maximum street-legal performance that can be taken to track days with ease and offer a pure driver’s experience was what Lotus was able to achieve with their new model. The Lotus Elise S Cup has the same unique aerodynamic package as its ‘R’ sibling and generates 145 lbs. of downforce at 100 mph and a whopping 275 lbs. at its top speed of 140 mph. These figures are achieved by the front splitter and winglets, barge boards, rear diffuser, rear wing, and a fixed roof. The Lotus Test and Development team put the new car through vigorous testing on the Nürburgring and Lotus test track. Thanks to the downforce, the new Lotus Elise S Cup was able to beat the Elise S by a full three seconds at the Lotus test track.
“The Lotus Elise S Cup is all about the pure driving experience with the Lotus attributes of high performance, light weight and excellent ride and handling. It is perfect for the driver who desires a quick, authentic, desirable and competitive sports car,” said Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc.
Powering the Lotus Elise S Cup is a 1.8-liter inline-four cylinder engine fed by a chargecooled Magnuson R900 supercharger with Eaton TVS technology, pumping out a 217 horsepower at 6,800 RPM and 184 lb-ft. at 4,600 RPM. This enables the sports car to reach 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 140 mph while the driver rows through all six sport ratio gears in the manual transmission. A total unladen weight of 2,055 lbs. and honed suspension add to the overall driving experience.
The Lotus Elise S Cup has been designed so that customers can choose to upgrade their vehicle with a number of OEM road and track options. Items such as a spec roll hoop comes standard and while upgrades such as a fire extinguisher system, electrical kill switch, air bag delete, FIA-approved racing seats, lightweight 12V battery, and more can be retrofitted.
The new Lotus Elise S Cup will sit as the top dog of the road-going Elise range and be available for approximately £43,500 including VAT through the Lotus dealer network.
Lotus Elise S Cup Specifications
Engine: 1.8 liter DOHC VVT-I 16 valve with chargecooled Magnuson
R900 supercharger utilizing Eaton TVSTM technology
Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox with sports ratios
Max Power: 217 hp at 6800 RPM (220 PS)
Max Torque: 184 lb-ft. at 4600 RPM (250 Nm)
0-60 mph: 4.2 seconds
0-100 km/h: 4.6 seconds
Max Speed; 140 mph (225 km/h)
Unladen vehicle mass: 932 kg / 2,055 lbs.
Drag Coefficient: 0.45
Power to weight ration: 233 hp per ton
Aerodynamic Downforce:
@ 100 mph (160 km/h): 66 kg / 145 lbs.
@ 124 mph (200 km/h): 104 kg / 229 lbs.
@ 140 mph (225 km/h): 125 kg / 275 lbs.
Specification:
-Slate grey cloth and SuedeTex® interior scheme and sport seats with white contrast stitching, “Cup” logos to back rest and Lotus roundel to headrest.
-Heater, electric windows, immobilizer and remote alarm, driver and passenger airbags
-Front splitter, front access panels, fixed hard top roof, barge boards, rear transom panel, roll hoop cover, rear wing and rear diffuser all in matt black.
-Matt silver mirror backs.
-“Elise S Cup” decal to rear.
-Union Flag decals to rear wing end plates.
-Satin black Y-type lightweight cast alloy wheels, six spoke 16” front and 17” rear.
-Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS Tires, front 175/55 ZR16, rear 225/45 ZR17.
-Standard color options; Solar Yellow, Aspen White, Chrome Orange, Daytona Blue, Formula Red, Toxic Green.
-Individually numbered Lotus Motorsport build plate.
-Competition spec roll hoop.
-Sports suspension with adjustable front anti roll bar.
-Double shear rear track control arms.
-Sport mode Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) system.
-Extended wiring harness to accommodate retrofit of FIA approved fire extinguisher and electrical kill switch systems.
-Single exhaust pipe with chrome finisher.
Options:
-Comfort Pack; CD/MP3/WMA receiver with speakers, “Cup” logo carpet mats, sound insulation, passenger footrest, auxiliary driving lamps, central door locking.
Stand Alone Options:
-Air conditioning.
-Satin black 14-spoke forged “Sport” alloy wheels, 16” front and 17” rear.
-Yokohama Advan A048 LTS tires with satin black Motorsport Elise Cup R forged alloy wheels, front 195/50 R16, rear 225/45 R17.
-Air bag delete.
-FIA approved race seats.
-Paint to sample.
-Tow eye kit.
-Harness bar and four point safety harnesses.
-Lightweight 12V battery.
-FIA approved fire extinguisher system and electrical kill switches.
-Performance induction kit and sports exhaust system.
Lotus Elise S Cup Gallery
Source: Lotus
Is the Lotus Elise S Cup the ultimate strett-legal track car?
