2017 Lotus Elise Cup 250 1.8L 6MT (250 HP)

Vehicle Overview

By 2016, the Elise was already a car that could cope well with daily traffic situations, but it started to fade in terms of performance, so Lotus went back to its roots, shaved some weight from the car, and gave it a more powerful engine.

With the Elise Cup 250, Lotus tried to create a real driver’s car to give the owners the satisfaction of having a capable sportscar. It didn’t have to behave excellently in daily driving situations just to do it well. On the other hand, it had to be supercar-fast in straight-line accelerations and still be well-planted to the road during high-speed cornering situations. And that’s exactly what the Elise Cup 250 was: a race car with number plates.

At first glance, it didn’t look that much different than the Series 3 Elise that Lotus introduced in 2011. It featured the same headlights with integrated daytime running lights, which doubled as turn signals, underlined them. At the same time, the grille from the lower part of the bumper was the same, but the automaker considered adding a carbon fiber spoiler underneath it, and it was not just for the look; it was functional. On the front panel, the automaker added black trims that emphasized the functional role of the exhaust vents.

The car’s profile revealed more elements that let the bystanders know that the Elise Cup 250 was not ordinary. Its carbon fiber side sills were the first to tell them that, and also the lightweight alloy wheels painted black were also part of the package. As expected, the cockpit didn’t get any exterior enhancements other than the black-painted upper side of the safety arches mounted behind the seats. Last but not least, the automaker added a carbon fiber wing on the deck that created downforce and made the car even more capable of high cornering speeds.

Since customers had to feel why they had to pay some more for this version of the Elise, the automaker installed standard carbon fiber sports seats in the cockpit with integrated headrests and cutaways for racing harnesses. Still, the dashboard was similar to the rest of the Elise range but adorned by carbon fiber trims. In addition, the aluminum pedals and gear stick were clear signs that the car was different than its regular, non-Cup version sibling. Like the rest of the Elise range, the Cup 250 version didn’t feature a power steering. At least the owners could order the car with air conditioning for those hot days on the race track.

Behind the cabin, the automaker installed an upgraded version of Toyota’s chargecooled supercharged 1.8-liter engine. Here, too, customers could shave some weight if they ordered the car with the titanium exhaust. But still, the 860 kilos (1,896 lbs) couldn’t be considered “heavy” by any standards of those times. The power went to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual, and Lotus considered that the Elise Cup 250 didn’t need a limited-slip differential.