Lotus Elise
The Lotus Elise was first launched in 1996 and is arguably the best Lotus ever produced. In all variants – there are many – it’s fast, light, agile and handles superbly. The Elise is also practical (well sort of) and reliable – not something that can often be said about earlier cars made by Lotus!
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Many different versions of the Lotus Elise have been produced and it can all get rather confusing. Some are little more than styling exercises, whereas others offer real differences. What follows are brief notes and thoughts on the main models.
To start with there’s the Series 1 and Series 2.
Series 1 Lotus Elise
Produced from 1996 to 2000 and all have the Rover K series engine. In the standard version this produces 118bhp and although not huge amounts of horse-power, the very light weight of the car (725kg) means performance is excellent with 0 – 60mph being possible in 5.6 seconds.
For those craving extra power, which the superb chassis is well able to handle, the following derivatives are available:
Sport 135 – an extra 17bhp takes the power to 135bhp, and there’s stiffer suspension and a close ratio gearbox
111S – the most popular of the uprated Elises, this has the ‘VVC’ head offering variable valve timing, better breathing at high revs and 143bhp. There’s also a close ratio gearbox, revised springs and dampers and fatter rear tyres.
Sport 160 – thought by many to be the best Series 1 Elise, the engine puts out 158bhp and there’s uprated suspension, close ratio gearbox and a taller rear wing.
340R – the most radical Elise derivative on them all. No roof, no doors, cycle wings and minimal bodyshell. A weight of only 675kg and a 177bhp (or optional 190bhp) engine provides stunning performance (0 – 60mph in 4.6 seconds).
Exige – a fixed head car, designed for the track but still very at home on the road, and available with either a 177bhp engine or the 190bhp VHPD (very high performance derivative) engine. Front splitter and raised rear wing create significant extra downforce to allow this variant to corner harder and faster than any other.
Series 2 Lotus Elise
Launched in 2000 the Series 2 Lotus Elise has restyled body interior and hood, lower sills to allow easier access, revised suspension for even better handling, better brakes and an extensive list of other changes.
The standard Elise comes with basically the same K series engine as in the Series 1 albeit with a slightly different ECU. A little while after the launch of the Series 2 Elise, a 111S version was introduced, once again employing the VVC engine and this time producing 156bhp.
Two option packs are available, Sports Touring and Race Tech. Both feature cross-drilled brakes, different wheels, metallic paint and a number of other internal and external styling features. The Race Tech version uses Alancatara for interior trim items, whilst the Sports Touring version uses leather and also had a carpet set.
Other key models are:
135R – a limited edition model using the K series engine with reworked cylinder head ports, different throttle bodies and exhaust and re-programmed ECU provide 135bhp. Other changes include sports suspension, OZ Racing 16 spoke alloys, cross-drilled brakes.
111R – quite a change for Lotus as rather than the K series engine, this model uses a Toyota 1.8 litre engine with 6 speed gearbox. Power is a useful 189bhp and gives a 0 – 60 mph time of 4.9 seconds. There’s also revised suspension and track-tuned ABS brakes with servo assist.
Exige & Exige S – both of these employ the 1.8 litre Toyota engine as used in the 111R. In the Lotus Exige S however, the engine is supercharged, making it good for 218bhp and a 0 – 60 mph of just over 4 seconds. Body changes compared to the 111R include re-styled front and rear clamshells, fixed roof and strut mounted rear aerofoil.
Elise Upgrades
We often are asked about upgrades to increase the power of Lotus Elises with the K series engine.
The exhaust is probably the first item to change. A stainless steel sports systems has benefits of: not rusting, should sound better; some will produce power increases particularly when combined with other mods. Janspeed exhausts have a good reputation.
Some owners do away with the catalytic convertors. The problem is without a cat an Elise will fail an MOT. To keep things legal, a sports cat is a better route to go – the Janspeed one is meant to release an extra 5 – 6 bhp.
On the induction side, improvements to the air filter and induction box can bring worthwhile benefits. ITG is a manufacturer well thought of and their Maxogen system is reputedly worth an extra 8 bhp.
For Elises with the standard head (i.e. not a 111s with a VVC engine), there are benefits to be gained from making changes to the camshafts, fitting a larger (52mm) throttle body and a gas flowed inlet manifold and/or head.
For VVC engined cars, a Janspeed exhaust manifold, in addition to changes to the exhaust, cat and air induction system can bring good results.
ECU upgrades or re-mapping can produce good results. This is a potentially complex area, depending on the type of upgrade chosen and what’s been done to the rest of the engine, and may need rolling road sessions to set the car up correctly.
Our key criteria when recommending upgrades for Elises, or any other car, are: worthwhile power increases at sensible cost; reliability; proven packages that work first time. A company whose upgrade items and packages meet these criteria are PTP (Power Train Projects). This company has a long history of working with the Rover K series engine and they used to supply the engines to Lotus, developing along the way engine and gearbox packages for the 135 sport, Exige and 340.
We are happy to supply and fit any of the PTP products.
