Having lost 41 kg over its predecessor, the Sprint edition of the car weighs in at a cool 798 kg. What other features does it come loaded with? Let’s take a look.
Gamers and car-lovers perk up in unison at the mention of ‘Need for Speed’, and for those hardcore fans, the orange Lotus Elise GT 1, first featured in ‘Need for Speed 2: SE’ is truly an unforgettable machine. After churning out nearly 33,000 hand-built cars Lotus have unveiled the latest version of the Elise; the Sprint edition.
The icing on the cake is that all the interior options and the lightweight components in the Sprint edition is available for the standard Elise Sport and Elise Sport 220 variants as well. In addition to new aesthetics the Sprint edition also features a lightweight open-gate gear select mechanism that was first seen on the Lotus Exige Sport 350; this one however has been optimised for the Sprint edition.
The new Elise Sport and Sprint are available in two engine options: the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre or the supercharged 1.8-litre. The Sport produces a peak power of 134 PS and a maximum torque of 160 Nm. The new Sprint edition can easily outrun its younger sibling thanks to the whopping 217 PS and a maximum torque of 250 Nm. The low weight of the car also provides a meaty power-to-weight ratio; 168 PS/tonne for the Elise Sprint and 257 PS/tonne for the Elise Sprint 220. This translates into incredibly short times for the 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) sprint; 5.9 seconds and 4.1 seconds for the Elise Sprint and Elise Sprint 220 respectively.
In the UK, the Elise Sprint is priced around Rs 30 lakh while the Elise Sprint 220 is priced close to Rs 37 lakh. Elise Cup 250, the most popular Elise is available for customers to order at an estimated Rs 39 lakh. More details about the car will be revealed close to its May 2017 launch.
Story: Joshua Varghese
