If you live in Europe, you can place your order for a Lotus Elise S Cup today.
The S Cup is essentially a road-going version of the track-only Elise S Cup R, and car is accordingly fitted with a myriad of circuit-ready gadgetry.
A supercharged 1.8-liter four-banger provides the Elise with 217 horsepower, which is sufficient enough to push the 2055-pound sports car to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. Like the Cup R, the insect-like Elise wears a slew of aerodynamic enhancements to keep it planted on the tarmac, only this time the featherweight Brit sticks both on and off the track.
The front splitter is new to the S Cup, as are the end winglets, lateral bargeboards, rear diffuser, T45-spec roll-hoop, and patriotically embroidered tail wing. Team Lotus has a storied history in racing, and this car looks to continue that success with bug-eyed track day glory.
“This engaging new model accentuates the pure driving competence elicited by Lotus,” said Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Lotus. Light, agile and significantly faster on-track than the standard Elise S, it will appeal to competition-minded enthusiasts.”
How much faster is it? Lotus claims it’s 3.0 seconds quicker than the Elise S around the brand’s 2.2-mile Hethel test track. Compared to the hardcore S Cup R, it’s only about 1.0 second slower.
The S Cup is only sold in Europe though, so if you’re American and want to drive one, either buddy up with a Brit or pack up your things and get used to driving on the left.
The sports car starts at £43,500 in the U.K. and €56,525 in Germany, which equates to about $65,000 U.S.
