The Sports Racer is based on the 189bhp Toyota-powered 111R, but its additional £4000 buys one of two special retro colour schemes: Ardent Red with a trio of white stripes over the bonnet, roof and rear or Nightfall Blue with twin white stripes.
Both feature matching white wing mirrors, Sports Racer badging and red or blue stitching and ‘Elise’ logo for their black leather seats, together with an individually numbered build plaque.
But Lotus buyers care more about looks, and of more interest is likely to be the track-biased options that come as standard with the Sports Racer. The handsome 7-twin spoke forged alloy wheels save 1.2kg of unsprung weight at each corner and are shod with Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS tyres.
Standard sports suspension brings uprated Eibach springs and stiffer Bilstein dampers, while the engine gets twin oil coolers and switchable traction control, which reduces power when wheel slip is detected to maintain traction.
The Elise’s famously elegant extruded aluminium pedal box has been replaced with forged steel pedal arms and extruded aluminium pads in the name of weight-saving, and a new electronic throttle and reduced brake ratio promise better pedal feel and response.
The rest of that extra cash buys a matching hardtop, central locking, electric windows, sound insulation pack, a black soft-top with sound/thermal insulation, LED tail lights and a carpet set. Track fans may want to add a Torsen-type limited-slip differential from the options list, while those who prefer to use their cars on the road may want to pay extra for lightweight (15kg) Lotus air-conditioning.
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