Lotus Elise Race 250
The latest car from Lotus, the new Elise Race 250, is a track-oriented one to showcase the engineering and racing heritage. Fit for many race series around the world, this new Elise was built to withstand the high demands of the track.
Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc, commented, “Lotus was established to build race cars and with 68 years’ experience, no one knows more about extracting the best performance possible. The Elise Race 250 is the fastest, most focused Elise we’ve ever produced and, judging by what it‟s capable of on track, it looks set to become a favourite with our racers around the world.”
The Elise Race 250 is equipped with a 1.8-litre 4-cylinder supercharged engine mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The car gets 243 hp and 250 Nm of torque to help it slash lap times. As a matter of fact, the Elise Race 250 recorded a 1 minute 33.5 seconds lap time at the company’s test track in Hethel. This puts the car squarely 0.5 seconds quicker than the previous Elise Cup 220 R and represents the fastest-recorded lap time for a Lotus-developed race variant of the Elise.
Its speediness is a result of optimization work by the Lotus engineers. This includes the famous Lotus aluminum chassis which incorporates strong and stiff lightweight extrusions joined by epoxy adhesive to gain strength and torsional rigidity while weighing just 68kg.
Specifically developed by Lotus’ famous Motorsport division, the Elise Race 250 shaved off more weight by replacing the standard battery with a Lithium-ion battery, and saving 10kg. More weight reduction came from carbon fibre race seats (6kg lighter than equivalent composite seats) and ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels.
There is an extreme diet option to cut weight further by choosing the Carbon Aero Pack which replaces the standard front splitter, rear wing, rear diffuser and side floor-extensions with lightweight carbon components and reduces mass by a further 10kg. With these lightweight options, the Elise Race 250 weighs less than 900 kg. As any racer knows, every gram and every millisecond counts.
Other standard track-oriented features of the car include Nitron one-way adjustable dampers, Eibach coaxial coil springs and double wishbone suspension, AP Racing twin-piston front calipers, Brembo single-piston rear calipers, ABS, uprated brake pads, ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels (16″ front, 17″ rear), Yokohama AO48 tires, adjustable front anti-roll bar, FIA-approved carbon fibre race seat with six-point racing harness, A-frame harness bar, FIA-compliant front roll cage, removable steering wheel, polycarbonate rear windscreen, fire extinguisher, battery isolator and front and rear towing eyes. And yes, those are fake headlamps made from a lightweight composite.
The aero package which consists of a front splitter, rear diffuser, floor extensions and a rear wing is designed to generate substantial downforce equal to 66kg at 100mph (161km/h) and 155kg at maximum speed of 154mph (248km/h).
The Elise Race 250 sells for £ 53,500 (inclusive of 20% VAT; £ 44,583 if without) and $ 76,200 in the US (excluding local taxes).
This race care marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lotus factory in Hethel, Norfolk. The purpose-built factory is home to the famous test track on which many of its famous Grand Prix racers ran, and remains today a continuation of founder Colin Chapman’s, legacy to motorsports.
