The quintessential Elise will always be the original 118bhp K-series car shorn of frippery such as carpets, radio and anything else that didn’t have a damn good reason for being there. But recently Lotus has uncovered an equally powerful group of potential buyers whose sports car ideals lie along a rather different plane. Unlike the hardcore enthusiasts who embrace the pared-to-the-bone standard car, these customers see the Elise’s lack of safety and convenience features not as something to be celebrated, but as a genuine barrier to entry.
Enter the £27,995 111R, a flagship Elise that sits above the softer, slower 111S (which falls in price to £25,995 to match its new position in the line-up).
Central to the R’s character shift is Lotus’s decision to substitute a high-revving four-cylinder Toyota engine for the 1.8-litre K-series engine that has powered every factory Elise since day one and continues in the other versions of the range. The 1796cc all-alloy lump, already used in the Celica VVTL-i, received the nod for its lightweight construction and the fact that, unlike the K-series, it was already certified for use in the USA, allowing Lotus to launch a federal-spec Elise.
Hethel’s own T4 engine management system tailors the power and torque curves to suit the application. The resulting 189bhp at 7800rpm and 134lb ft at a lofty 6800rpm finds its way to the rear wheels through a six-speed Toyota gearbox fitted with the closest set of cogs available. Engine changes, however, do not tell the whole story: Lotus has equipped the Elise with servo-assisted anti-lock brakes for the first time, while air conditioning, a cutting-edge hi-fi and full carpeting are all on the options list.