What's all this about?
Lotus is replacing its Elise and Elise S models with two variants carrying the Sport nameplate last seen on the Esprit Sport 350 of 1999. Both are 10kg lighter than their predecessors.
Excellent, what are the key specs?
There's a 1.6-litre, normally aspirated Elise Sport for starters, which weighs a mere 866kg and has 136hp at 6,800rpm, backed up by 160Nm at 4,400rpm. With 157hp-per-tonne, that means 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds, a top speed of 127mph and reasonable green stats: try 45mpg and 149g/km of CO2 for size.
And the other car?
That's the Elise Sport 220, which gets a supercharged 1.8-litre engine boasting 220hp (the clue's in the name) at the same 6,800rpm, but with a much healthier 250Nm of torque at 4,600rpm in reserve. Power-to-weight is 241hp-per-tonne, as the 220 weighs just 914kg, so performance is blistering - 0-62mph takes just 4.6 seconds and top speed is 145mph. The Sport 220 emits 175g/km CO2 and returns 37.5mpg.
Is there any shared stuff between them?
Yes indeed. Outside is a choice of ten colours (including bright hues like yellow, green and orange) and a set of lightweight silver or black cast wheels, which are 16 inches in diameter at the front and 17 inches at the rear. Opt for forged alloys and another 5kg comes off the kerb weights. Both Elises also get lightweight sports seats inside (which can be finished in leather, Alcantara or tartan), a six-speed manual gearbox, Bilstein dampers, a Bosch electronic differential lock and a Sport mode - this sharpens the throttle and slackens off the traction control's grip on the chassis.
Have the prices been revealed yet?
Yup, the Elise Sport starts at £29,900, while another £6,600 will see you sat in the driver's chair of the £36,500 Elise Sport 220. The cars go on sale in December and if you want to register your interest in either of them, visit www.lotuscars.com/lotus-elise-range.
Matt Robinson - 16 Nov 2015