Limited to just 30-units globally.
Famed UK sports car manufacturer Lotus has recently unveiled its latest addition to the ever-growing Elise family of cars, that promises to be the most high-performance of the breed. Dubbed the Elise Cup 260, this latest model drops more weight (would you believe it) and adds on a little more power. Oh, and it brings to the fore the brilliant ‘Championship Gold’ hue you see here, which looks epic.
The Elise Cup 260 was built to celebrate 70-years since founder Colin Chapman built his first motor car, and serves as the purest example of Lotus’ brand commitment to making cars lighter and lighter. The Cup 260 saves some 15kg over the Cup 250 that preceded it, thanks to the generous use of carbon-fibre as well as a lithium-ion battery (itself saving 9kg), and two-piece brake discs among others, contributing to the wet weight rating of just 902kg.
More than just weight saving, the four-cylinder engine behind the rear seats have received a mild revision too, upping power and torque to 186kW and 255Nm (up 6kW and 5Nm over the Elise Cup 250), all of which is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox for maximum control and driver involvement. The Elise Cup 260 can do the entire sprint in just 4.2-seconds, and comes with a reworked air filter and exhaust system to ensure “the best-sounding forced-induction four-cylinder” on the market, which can be enhanced further by an optional titanium exhaust setup.
Forged alloys on all four corners (16” at the front and 17” at the rear) shod in Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R tyres that are some 10mm wider than the Elise Cup 250, along with 24-way adjustable dampers and Nitron-sourced suspension components. The cabin sees a few changes too, like the inclusion of special body colour-coded inserts on the seats and centre console, as well as a lightweight carbon-fibre cowl for the instrument binnacle. Interestingly, the gearbox-shifter in the Cup 260 is an open-gate design, which is not only fully-functional but also serves as a testament to the borderline-obsessive attention to detail that is demanded in such a focused weapon like this.
Presently, there are no concrete plans to bring the Elise 260 Cup to Australia, though Lotus’ local office is working with the team in Norfolk to bring in at least one to our market.
Whatever it is, please let it be in gold.
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