| First Drive | Barcelona, Spain | Lotus Elise SC |
Amazingly, the second-generation Lotus Elise is entering its eighth year of production. The styling may have been tweaked along the way, but the differences between the 2008 model year Elise and the original car revealed at the British Motorshow in the year 2000 are few. Sitting waiting for me in the crisp air of a January morning in Spain is the new Elise Supercharged - SC for short - and the model at the core of Lotus's being has never looked better.
Not that the SC is notably different to its forebears. On the contrary; it will take a keen eye to notice that it features a new rear spoiler and single-exit oval exhaust, though it's difficult not to take in the achingly gorgeous new alloys. Apparently the rear items are half an inch wider than before too, in a bid to contain the engine's increased grunt.
Naturally, the majority of the changes making up the SC take place in the engine bay. That's significant. Note how the rear engine cover looks just like that on any other Elise, whereas, in the
Exige S there's a lumping great intercooler blocking your view out the rear window. The
2-Eleven is no better; it may have a flat rear deck, but that comes at the expense of the rear luggage compartment, a feature Lotus did not want to lose in the Elise SC. The result was a new supercharger installation, with the Roots-type blower integrated neatly with the inlet manifold, which apparently saves about 8kg in mass.
There's no intercooler though, which may affect the car's performance in hot weather, but the quoted power output is still 217bhp and it's supported by 155lb.ft of torque. The latter figure is a little misleading in particular, as the low weight of the Elise doesn't require a lot of shove to result in exhilarating performance. The claimed 0-62mph time of 4.6 seconds is only part of the story, as the charger endows the Elise with decent urge throughout the rev range. You can dawdle along without changing gear very often if you wish, such is this engine's tractability at low revs, though if you want to attack a favourite road and blow away a few cobwebs, drop a few cogs in the excellent gearbox and hold on tight as the revs soar and the supercharger whines like some demonic being taunting you to go faster and faster.
As you'd expect, bringing all this performance under control is as fuss-free as ever in the Elise. The brakes are simply peerless, making light work of the 900kg or so the SC weighs, but giving the driver enough feedback to rarely ever feel the telling pulse of the anti-lock braking system - even in the damp. This level of communication pervades all the driving controls, especially the steering, which is brimming over with feel; you always know how much grip is available at each of the corners.
On the dusty Spanish roads it was all too easy to overstep the limits of grip too, thanks mainly to the considerable torque on tap. As ever, the Elise conveys these messages to the driver in plenty of time and the slide can be contained before it goes too far. Traction control may be specified as an option or as part of the Sport Pack, and it's a worthwhile investment. Of course it can be switched off, but even left on it reacts quicker than most drivers will and allows power back to the wheels just as rapidly, its intervention heard in the popping of the exhaust.
Another option worth having is the Touring Pack fitted to our test car. Though a little pricey, it does trim the cabin in more comfort, including the most unique cupholder you'll ever see. Even without the Touring Pack, the cockpit is better than ever thanks to 2008 model year updates, though those that found the Elise too spartan for their liking in the past still will and there's no getting away from the fact that it's a little awkward to get in and out of.
The target audience doesn't care about such things though, and neither do we. Lotus came up with the right formula with the Elise all those years ago, and who's to say it won't be a hit for many more to come. The Supercharged Elise is the best yet.
