ELISE 2008

The 2008 Lotus Elise continues the tradition of refined motoring with a sublime sports car that handles and performs like a race car. The Elise has numerous improvements installed as standard equipment including a new Lotus Tire Pressure Monitoring System that provides instant warning if there is a puncture or if pressures fall below safe levels.

Specifications
· Lotus Designed Lightweight Structure of Epoxy Bonded Aluminum Extrusions

· Integral Steel Seatbelt Support Structure and Lightweight Steel Rear Sub-Frame

EXTERIOR

· RTM Composite Fiberglass Body

· Black Soft-Top with Stowage Bag

· LED Taillights with Integral Reflectors

· Daytime Running Lights

· Aerodynamic Rear Diffuser with Central Twin Exhaust

· Solid Paint - Ardent Red or British Racing Green

SUSPENSION
· Fully Independent Suspension with Unequal Length Wishbones

· Bilstein Mono-Tube Gas Damper, Eibach Coaxial Coil Spring

· Front Anti-Sway Bar

· Cast Alloy 8-Spoke Wheels in Silver Finish

· Front Wheels: 5.5J x 16 - 175/50R16

· Rear Wheels: 7.5J x 17 - 225/45R17

· Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS Sports Tires

· 4-Wheel Ventilated/Cross-Drilled Disc Brakes· Lotus/AP Racing & Brembo Calipers with Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)

INTERIOR

· Black Cloth Seats with ProBax™ Anatomical Padding

· Air Conditioning, Starter Button, Tinted Glass and Carpet Foot Mats

· Airbags - Driver and Passenger (Passenger Airbag Cannot Be Deactivated)

· Factory Anti-Theft Alarm System with Engine Immobilizer and Remote Locking

· Aluminum Trim - Gear Knob and Handbrake Sleeve· Leather-Trimmed Momo Steering Wheel

· Alpine 4-Speaker Stereo with In-Dash CD Player

· Intermittent Windshield Wiper

ENGINE
· 189 Horsepower 1.8 Liter, Mid-Mounted 4-Cylinder with DOHC and VVTL-I (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Intelligence)

· Multi-Point Fuel Injection System with Electronic Ignition and Throttle Control

· Capacity: 1796 cm3

· Bore/Stroke 82.0 mm/85.0 mm

· Maximum Power: 189 hp @7800 rpm

· Maximum Torque: 133 lb ft @6800 rpm

· Compression Ratio: 11.5:1

· Fuel Tank Capacity: 10.6 Gallons

TRANSMISSION
· 6-Speed Close Ratio

PERFORMANCE
· 0-60 mph 4.9 sec
· 0-100 mph 12.9 sec
· Top Speed 150 mph
· Fuel Consumption 21 City / 27 Highway
· Curb Weight 1984 lbs

2005 Lotus Elise

The good news is that it is a better car than the spartan original. It has 60 percent more power but is only 14 percent heavier than the existing European model. It has the airbags, the anti-lock brakes, and the air conditioning that the car has lacked until now. Perhaps not so good is its sticker of $39,000. It's a fair price for the nearest thing to a modern race car you can drive on the road but will discourage those who see it as a sexy little boulevard cruiser.

That's probably just as well because the Lotus Elise, as a closely focused driver's car, makes few compromises on behalf of the well-being of a passenger. You sit on a thinly padded seat in an aluminum tub (the Elise chassis is made from aluminum extrusions bonded together). There is hardly enough room for two, so the driver's seat is adjustable but the passenger's is fixed—and the cockpit space on the right-hand side is just two-thirds of that provided for the driver.

Elise enthusiasts—there are at least 60 owners of race-spec cars in the U.S. as of this writing—will accept that what it lacks in comfort is compensated for by the performance and handling. Lotus claims the federalized Elise will do 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and run to 141 mph; prototypes ran to nearly 150 mph. Not much this side of an exotic supercar will keep up with it on a racetrack.

The Elise was designed around the 1.8-liter Rover K-series engine found in the mid-engined MGF sports car, a good choice in 1996 but now getting on in years. Rover has never certified that engine for the U.S., and Lotus judged that a federal emissions program would be too expensive to undertake alone. It looked around for suitable alternatives, engines that were already in use in the U.S. Roger Becker, a veteran development engineer who started at Lotus under Colin Chapman, the company's founder, has been leading the U.S.-certification project. He picked up an old relationship with Toyota (which for three years in the 1980s owned 21 percent of Lotus) and secured a deal to use the 1.8-liter VVTL-i (variable valve timing and lift) engine from the Celica GT-S and its accompanying C64 six-speed gearbox.

Although the internals of the engine are standard Toyota (in fact made by Yamaha), Lotus fits different intake and exhaust systems and, significantly, has devised its own engine control electronics. The result is 190 horsepower (10 up on the Celica) at 7800 rpm and 133 pound-feet of torque at 6800 rpm.

We have our reservations about this engine and transmission in the Celica as it is difficult to keep the engine on the high-rpm cams as you accelerate through the gears. The performance is more accessible in the lightweight (2000 pound) Elise, due in part to Lotus's improvements to the electronics and gearshift. And for those accustomed to the Rover-engined Elise, the Toyota-powered car is noticeably quicker even before the cam phase change at 6200 rpm. Besides which, it sounds terrific, whereas the old K-series and its five-speed gearbox had a rough and rattly edge.

Installation of the Toyota engine required a new subframe and modifications to the rear of the aluminum chassis. The suspension—double control arms front and rear—needed only minor changes in spring and damping rates to cope with 154 additional pounds of weight. Becker and his associates were determined to maintain the Elise's pure responses and wonderfully balanced handling while making subtle changes to the dampers and bushings to cope with the worst of America's highways. U.S.-bound Elises will use a unique Yokohama tire.

Although its cousin, the Opel Speedster that Lotus makes in Europe for General Motors, has anti-lock brakes, Lotus has traditionally regarded both ABS and a brake booster as unnecessary frills for the Elise. But its engineers accept that pedal assistance is needed when vehicle weight rises above 1800 pounds, and that ABS is becoming a standard safety feature of most performance cars. Therefore, the challenge was to provide this latest Elise with ABS that would not intervene during intentional hard braking until the limit of front-tire grip. For the same reason, there is no electronic traction control nor is any planned. The steering does not have, or need, power assistance, although Lotus accepts that some customers may expect it.

Externally, there are few changes from the Elise that was launched in 2000. Identifiers include the twin tailpipes and the slightly raised grille on the front hood to clear the new brake booster. Inside, though, the car has had an upgrade with a new and more shapely instrument panel, injection molded rather than vacuum formed, which accommodates the passenger airbag. The radio is now at its center, and most of the ugly screw heads that were peppered around the earlier cockpit have been concealed. The convertible top is from the '00 car: easier to erect than the original but still a fairly primitive affair.

We drove a prototype U.S. Elise on the test track and on country roads around the Lotus factory in Norfolk, England. As we first wrote of a similar exercise with the original Elise, it's a hoot. For pure sports-car thrills, it's in the top five most-entertaining cars available. The same comments apply to the federalized Elise, which, although it is 450 pounds heavier than the original, is faster and better equipped but still has nearly perfect balance. It is the best Elise yet, and for Americans wanting a race car for the road, it's worth the six-year wait. Lotus Cars USA, which has been subsisting on the sale of a handful of Esprits a year, hopes to expand its annual sales to 2500.

2005 LOTUS ELISE

Vehicle type : mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door roadster

Estimated base price : $39,000

Engine type : DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection

Displacement : 110 cu in, 1796ccPower (SAE net): 190 bhp @ 7800 rpm

Torque (SAE net) : 133 lb-ft @ 6800 rpm

Transmission : 6-speed manual

Wheelbase : 90.6 in

Length/width/height : 149.0/67.7/44.0 in

Curb weight : 2000 lb

Manufacturer's performance ratings :

Zero to 60 mph : 4.9 sec

Zero to 100 mph : 12.6 sec

Top speed (drag limited) : 141 mph

History of Lotus Team

The Lotus Engineering company was founded by Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman on 1st January 1952, as a direct result of his success in building and racing trials cars. The company, based at Ketteringham Hall, Norfolk, has flourished over the years and is taking part in its 36th year of Grand Prix racing.

Although Team Lotus now competes solely in Formula One, there are few circuit formulae that the team has not dominated in past years. In the 1950s, Lotus sports cars dominated their class in the classic Le Mans 24-Hour race, while in the mid-1960s the USA's famous Indianapolis 500 race became another prize to fall to the team, along with three Grand Prix Constructor's World Championships. In the 1970s Team Lotus continued their winning ways, collecting another four Constructor's World Championships, the last with the revolutionary Type 79.

Colin Chapman had a profound influence in the design of the Grand Prix car in post war years, with Lotus initiating development programmes which led to innovative cars with features such as monocoque construction, four wheel drive, ground effect technology and Active Suspension. Lotus initiated the introduction of commercial sponsorship into Formula One in 1968 with its pioneering involvement wth Imperial Tobacco.

1958 Lotus entered first Grand Prix - Monaco
1960 First Formula One victory - Stirling Moss, Monaco
1961 2nd - World Manufacturer's ChampionshipFirst Team Lotus victory - Innes Ireland, US GP Watkins Glen
1962 2nd - World Manufacturer's Championship
1963 1st - World Driver's Championship - Jim Clark1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (first title)Jim Clark & Team Lotus came 2nd in the Indianapolis 500 at their first attempt in the race
1965 1st - World Driver's Championship - Jim Clark1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (second title)1st - Indianapolis 500 - Jim ClarkLotus Type 38 is first British car to win Indianapolis 500
1968 1st - World Driver's Championship - Graham Hill1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (third title)
1970 1st - World Driver's Championship - Jochen Rindt1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (fourth title)
1972 1st - World Driver's Championship - Emerson Fittipaldi1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (fifth title)
1973 1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (sixth title)
1978 1st - World Driver's Championship - Mario Andretti1st - World Manufacturer's Championship (seventh title)
1982 Tragic death of Colin Chapman coincides with Team Lotus' first test of its Active Suspension car. New management headed by Peter Warr takes over running of the team.
1983 Lotus races Active Suspension car.
1985 Ayrton Senna wins his first GP in Portugal, followed by a second win at Belgium.
1987 Lotus starts racing with the Active Suspension system and Senna wins two Grands Prix, in Monaco and the USA (the team's 79th GP victory).
1990 Peter Collins and Peter Wright take over the running of Team Lotus on 7th December. The team finish 9th in the FIA Constructors' World Championship.
1991 The reformed team uses a substantially modified version of the 1990 Type 102 - the Judd EV powered 102B. Debut of Mika Hakkinen, taking 5th place at San Marino.
1992 The team started the season with a new version of the Type 102B - the 102D with the Ford F1 V8 engine - in which Herbert and Hakkinen scored points early in the season.
The all new Type 107, designed by Chris Murphy, was announced in Spain and first raced at Imola. Lotus finished in a strong 5th place in the FIA Constructors' World Championship with 13 points.
1993 Johnny Herbert and Alessandro Zanardi took Team Lotus to 6th place in the FIA Constructors' World Championship, driving the Ford powered Type 107B. The injuries Alessandro sustained after his accident at Spa rendered him unable to compete in the last four Grands Prix, where he was replaced by Formula 3000 Championship runner-up, Portugal's Pedro Lamy.
1994 Johnny and Pedro start the season driving the Type 107C, which has been designed to incorporate the Mugen-Honda engine, prior to the debut of the Type 109. Alessandro Zanardi is retained as test and development driver.

Biography of Colin Chapman

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 - 16 December 1982) was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. He studied structural engineering at University College London where he joined the University Air Squadron and learned to fly. After graduating in 1948, he briefly joined the Royal Air Force. His knowledge of the latest aeronautical engineering techniques would prove vital towards achieving the major automotive technical advances he is remembered for. Under his direction, Team Lotus won seven Formula One World Championships, plus the Indianapolis 500 in the United States, between 1962 and 1978. The production side of Lotus Cars has built tens of thousands of relatively affordable, cutting edge sports cars. Lotus is one of but a handful of British performance car builders still in business after the industrial decline of the 1970s. Chapman suffered a heart attack in 1982 and died, aged 54.

In 1948 Chapman started with the Mk1, a modified Austin 7, which he entered privately into local racing events. He named the car "Lotus"; he never confirmed the reason but one (of several) theories is that it was after his then girlfriend (later wife) Hazel, who he nicknamed "Lotus blossom". With prize money won he developed the Lotus Mk2. With continuing success on through the Lotus 6, he began to sell kits of these cars. Over 100 of the Lotus 6 kits were sold through 1956. It was with the Lotus 7 in 1957 that things really took off, and indeed Caterham Cars still manufacture a version of that car today – the Caterham 7; there have been over 90 different Lotus 7 clones, replicas, and derivatives offered to the public by a variety of makers.

In the 1950s, Chapman progressed through the motor racing formulae, designing and building a series of racing cars, sometimes to the point of being in limited production they were so successful and highly sought after, until he arrived in Formula 1. Along with John Cooper, he revolutionised the premier motor sport. Their small, lightweight mid-engined vehicles gave away much in terms of power, but superior handling meant their competing cars often beat the all-conquering front engined Ferraris and Maseratis. Eventually, with legendary driver Jim Clark at the wheel of his race cars, Team Lotus came to appear as though they could win whenever they pleased. With Clark driving the legendary Lotus 25 Team Lotus won its first F1 World Championship in 1963. It was Clark, driving a Lotus 38 at the Indianapolis 500 in 1965, who drove the first ever mid-engined car to victory at the fabled "Brickyard." Certainly, Jim Clark would have won many more races were it not for his untimely death in 1968 while racing a Formula 2 car at Hockenheimring. (The accident was most likely caused by a rear tire failure, though the exact cause has never been known.) Clark and Chapman had become particularly close and Clark's death devastated Chapman, who publicly stated that he had lost his best friend.

Among a number of legendary automotive figures who have been Lotus employees over the years were Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, founders of Cosworth.

Chapman, who came from relatively humble roots, was also a businessman who introduced major advertising sponsorship into auto racing; beginning the process which changed Formula One from rich gentlemen's pastime, to multi-million pound high technology enterprise. It was Chapman who in 1966 persuaded the Ford Motor Company to sponsor Cosworth's development of what would become the legendary DFV race engine. Shortly before his death he became involved in John De Lorean's De Lorean Motor Company troubled venture to manufacture sports cars in Northern Ireland. The full extent of his involvement has never been proved, but it is believed he would have been investigated for possible complicity in the manipulation of government loans during the development of the De Lorean car. Fred Bushell, Chapman's colleague and close confidante, pleaded guilty in 1992 to "Conspiring with the late Colin Chapman and others to defraud the De Lorean Motor Company" and was sentenced to four years in prison. De Lorean himself was tried on drug-trafficking charges and acquitted.

History of Lotus (1950s)

Colin Chapman (1928 - 1981), started his business as a racing car tuner. When he was still studying engineering in university, he bought an old Austin 7 and tuned it to race. Perhaps he was a man born to win, his first attempt rewarded by winning a few small races. In 1951, while he had graduated, his third car, Mk 3, stormed the 750cc formula class. Unlike other cars in this class, it used spaceframe tubes in construction so that rigidity and lightness out-performed others. Many other teams queued to buy this car and the Lotus Engineering Company was established in 1952. Since then Chapman began his full time automotive engineering career.
Obviously, Chapman is a pure racing car engineer heart and bone. To fund his ambitious racing project, he started building road cars. In 1957, the Mk 6 race car was transformed to the first-ever Lotus road car - Mk 7. The car is renowned for lightness and good handling. It is still building by Caterham today under license. At the same year he unveiled the Elite which employed a revolutionary composite monocoque body.