2015 Lotus Elise

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It seems that Lotus was pretty busy this year before the Paris Auto Show. Next to the new generation Esprit , Lotus will also bring the new Elise that will go on sale in 2015 at a price of £35,000 ($55,000 at the current exchange rates).

The 2015 Elise was rumored to be powered by a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine delivering a total of 320 HP and 330 NM of torque. However, since the company’s announcement of an in-house developed V8 engine, more rumors are circulating about what will be found under the hood of the next gen Elise. These whispers are hinting that the V8 engine is serving as inspiration for a new 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that will be used for the Elise replacement set to be launched in 2014. Whichever engine makes its way under the Elise’s hood, it will probably be mated to the new start-stop technology. The goal is to make the Elise hit the 0 to 60 mph mark in 4.3 seconds with a top speed of 167 mph.

"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..

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.

Specifications

• Layout  2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive
• Engine Petrol with start/stop option
• Hybrid technology Mild hybrid, i.e. start/stop technology
• Cylinder 4
• Capacity 2.0 litre
• Power/Torque 320 PS / 330 Nm
• Rev limit 7,800 rpm
• 0-100 km/h 4.3 seconds
• Top speed 270 km/h
• CO2 approx (CO2/km) 150 g/km**
• Weight 1,095 kg
• Seats 2
• Transmission 6 Speed Manual, DCT optional
• Drive RWD
• Start of production Early 2015
• Enters the market Spring 2015
• Price indication Circa £35,000