Britischer Streifenwagen: Lotus Elise Sports Racer
Limitierte Sonderedition bietet optisch und technisch mehr Sportlichkeit
Hethel (Großbritannien), 7. November 2005 – Der britische Sportwagenhersteller Lotus bietet ab sofort die Elise als limitiertes Sondermodell mit dem Zusatznamen Sports Racer an. Die auf 199 Fahrzeuge begrenzte Edition gibt es in zwei unterschiedlichen Designs: Angeboten wird das Sondermodell in Ardent-Rot mit drei über die gesamte Fahrzeuglänge verlaufenden Streifen in Weiß. Eine weitere Besonderheit des Sport Racers sind Elise-Logos auf den Kopfstützen und eine Plakette mit der Seriennummer im Innenraum der Sonderedition. Außerdem wurden die Außenspiegelgehäuse in Weiß lackiert. Mit roten Nähten verzierte Ledersportsitze runden den optischen Trimm ab. Alternativ gibt es die Elise als Sondermodell Sports Racer in Nachtblau mit zwei über die Fahrzeuglänge verlaufenden Streifen in Weiß. Ebenfalls sind die Außenspiegel in Weiß, die Nähte der Ledersitze hingegen in Blau.
Sport-Paket Serie
Die Ausstattung des Sports Racers entspricht der Elise mit Sport-Paket. Dieses beinhaltet besonders leichte Alufelgen im Siebenspeichendesign, ein Sportfahrwerk, einen zweifachen Ölkühler und die Lotus Traction Control LTC. Außerdem verfügt das Sondermodell über ein in Wagenfarbe lackiertes Hardtop, eine Zentralverriegelung, elektrische Fensterheber sowie Fußmatten. Spektakuläre Fahrleistungen
Angetrieben wird das Sondermodell Elise Sports Racer von einem 1,8-Liter-Benzinmotor aus dem Hause Toyota. Das drehfreudige Aggregat mobilisiert stattliche 192 PS. Das klingt in Zeiten eines 200 PS starken Golf GTI zwar nicht nach überragend viel Leistung. Doch dafür gibt es ja noch den besonderen Lotus-Effekt: Die 192 Pferde müssen nämlich nur 860 Kilogramm bewegen. Entsprechend antrittsstark ist das britische Leichtgewicht: Nach nur 5,2 Sekunden endet der Sprint auf Tempo 100. Die Höchstgeschwindigkeit der Elise liegt bei 241. Trotz sehr sportlicher Fahrleistungen liegt der Durchschnittsverbrauch laut Hersteller bei nur 8,8 Litern auf 100 Kilometer. (mh) |
Quelle: Heise.de
Streifen-Offerte
Lotus Elise Sports Racer
Die britische Sportwagenmanufaktur Lotus legt von der Elise ein Sondermodell mit dem Titel Sports Racer auf. Weltweit soll das Editionsmodell auf 199 Fahrzeuge limitiert werden.
Extraordinär machen den Sports Racer eine Lackierung in Arden Rot mit einem Streifenschema mit drei weißen Längsstreifen oder einer Lackierung in Nachtblau mit einem Streifenschema aus zwei weißen Streifen und jeweils ebenfalls in weiß gehaltenen Außenspiegeln. Je nach Lackierung werden zudem die Nähte der schwarzen Ledersitzbezüge in Wagenfarbe abgesetzt. Ein eingesticktes Sports Racer-Logo in den Kopfstützen, ein Plakette mit der exklusiven Seriennummer sowie ein Sports Racer-Schriftzug am Heck und Plaketten an den Kotflügeln runden den einzigartigen Auftritt ab. Technisch bietet das Sondermodell ein neu abgestimmtes Fahrwerk, eine neu entwickelte Pedalerie, extrem leichte Alufelgen, einen vergößerten Ölkühler und eine abschaltbare Traktionskontrolle. |
Quelle: Auto Motor & Sport
Lotus Elise Sports RacerLoaded Lotus raids the options list - and gets all stripey
Like the parka and meat pies, it seems that skunk-like, full-length body stripes are fashionable again. Whatever car they're stuck to they're 'LOOK AT ME!' loud, but somehow they seem more appropriate affixed to a low-slung sports car like the Elise than a hot hatch. Be-striped Elises are nothing new - we've already had the Type 25 (green with yellow stripes) and the Type 23 (white with green stripes) - but the limited edition model pictured here, the Sports Racer, is of particular interest because it is being launched simultaneously with the revised 2006 Elise 111R on which it is based. This means it features new seats and LED rear lights, revised instrument markings and pedal box, and Yokohama rather than Bridgestone rubber. Also, for the first time, the regular 111R is being offered with the option of LTC - Lotus Traction Control - which the Sports Racer model has as standard. This goes some small way towards justifying the Sports Racer's list price of £31,995, some £4000 more than the 111R. LTC costs £395 on the standard 111R, while the Sports Racer also comes with both the 'Sport' and 'Touring' packs (£1495 and £1995 options respectively), hardtop (£1295) and lightweight forged alloys (£1380, and a saving of 1.2kg per corner). That's £6560-worth of options, not including the stripes... How much of this you actually need to enjoy the Elise is questionable, but the Sports Racer (also available in blue with two fat stripes) gives us our first chance to try the revised car on its new tyres and with traction control. It seems curious that Lotus has chosen to develop a simple traction control, even though the Toyota-powered Elise has anti-lock brakes and therefore most of the sensors required to facilitate a full stability control system. LTC modulates the engine's output to rein-in wheelspin, which is partly why the new pedal box has been specified - the throttle is now an electronic drive-by-wire design. The new pedal arms are steel rather than aluminium (saving weight, against expectations), and their positioning and action has been modified for reduced travel, improved feel and to make heel-and-toe downshifts easier. The pads that your feet find are still aluminium, so as you slip into the driver's seat, little appears to have changed. Even the new 'ProBax' seats seem much like the old but are, in fact, designed to support the seated spine in a natural way, promoting long-distance comfort and alertness through better blood-flow. The Elise is the first car to use this new design and, after much testing, Lotus is so convinced of its value that it has specified the ProBax seat for all its models. A positive side effect is that the seat itself is lighter because the pump and bladder that adjusted the lumbar support on the previous seat are no longer necessary. Having the car for just 24 hours, during which we had to bag all our photographs, precluded an extended drive, but the Elise certainly felt comfortable. Look more closely at your surroundings and you'll notice that, race-car-style, the new tacho markings compress the first 3000rpm of the needle's sweep into the same-sized segment as each 1000rpm that follows, emphasising the upper reaches where the high-revving 1.8-litre Toyota engine does its best work. The Sport Pack that comes as part of the Sports Racer package brings uprated Bilstein dampers and stiffer Eibach springs, and their effect is certainly noticeable. The regular 111R is a notch firmer than the Rover K-series-powered version and the Sports Pack suspension adds a further degree of firmness. The Sports Racer feels taut right from the off, jiggling over the imperfections of typical A- and B-road asphalt and falling all-of-a-piece for cambers and dips. This feeling that all four wheels are firmly attached to a stiff platform never quite leaves you, but there is an athletic suppleness that's apparent once the pace is up, almost as if there's a pre-loading that's overcome by commitment. Any changes in characteristics and performance brought about by the new, snappily titled Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS tyres are subtle. There's perhaps a little more steering weight and feel at low speeds, but the same deft lightness at pace; an almost 911-like flavour with the nose light and tail heavier. During our limited time with the Sports Racer the roads were helpfully greasy and, later, plain icy. On surfaces slick with the sort of emulsion that coats winter roads after a few days without rain, the traction control is quite busy, and subtly effective, but you can't help thinking that the Elise coped pretty well without it. The high-revving 189bhp Toyota engine doesn't develop a troubling amount of low-down torque (although we felt that the engine was a fraction more energetic low-down than we recalled, even if Lotus claims no improvement) and any excess would simply bleed away as mild, easily managed wheelspin on the 111R. On a straight but cambered icy road, LTC prevents the back end slithering sideways by more than a few degrees - just enough to let you feel the conditions. And the conditions tell you that with little weight pinning the front tyres to the road, you don't really want to be able to gain too much speed. The Elise chassis is remarkably well balanced and it's an absorbing car to drive even moderately briskly. It's a compliment to say that pushing the rather cheap-looking LTC button to disable traction control doesn't feel like taking your fate in your own hands - you're already on the ball, sensitive to what's happening at each corner. Maybe at high speeds it offers a degree of protection in extreme situations, but we didn't have the time or facilities to investigate this. It's interesting to note that the optional torque-sensing limited slip differential (£995) cannot be specified without LTC. As mentioned, the 2006 111R gets the new ProBax seats, pedal box, instrument markings, LED tail-lights and Yokohama tyres. The limited edition Sports Racer, of which there will be just 199 (100 for the UK) is simply a higher-spec, more sportingly firm Elise with very neatly applied stripes and, for those who were considering some of the option packs, a not unattractive price. An Exige, with most of the 2006 upgrades, is £2K less, though. Fashion has its price. Date: December 2005 |
Quelle: evo car reviews
Lotus Elise Sports Racer'06 changes manage to update the icon without losing its soul. Still a masterpiece.
IT WAS SOMEWHERE in the middle of 2002 that I lost my way with the Lotus Elise. This was not a case of falling out of love with Norfolk’s famous bundle of aluminium and plastic. In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth. Instead I found myself incapable of keeping up with the evolving specification changes.
Using the generic label ‘an Elise’ to describe the car was no longer adequate. The simplicity of the original had been slightly corrupted by the need to expand the range with Sport 160s, track pack thingies and the upshot was a slightly confused gaggle of Elises. For 2006 this situation will change. The simplification process began in early 2004 with the switch to Toyota power, but even then there were specification avenues to explore. With the Elise now selling strongly in the States, the time has finally come to apply some common sense to the range and the upshot is this lightly revised car, called the Sports Racer. Does this mean we’re having the US Elise foisted on us? Not at all. There were some slight differences in damper specification between the two cars for 2005, but they were so minute that Lotus has moved to a single-specification car. This has been supplemented by a new standard-fit tyre. It’s now five years since the Mk2 car was launched with a bespoke Bridgestone RE040 tyre that helped bring about some remarkable chassis improvements over the original version. But just as the equipment packages and suspension variations became complicated over time, so did the tyre fittings. The RE040 was the base tyre, but there were a plethora of sticky Yokohama offerings available as well. Not only was this confusing for the buyer, but it was a complete nightmare for the production line. So the new standard tyre is a Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 LTS, but just to retain the element of confusion, the Bridgestone is still available as an aftermarket option. There is one aspect of the Sports Racer’s specification that doesn’t make quite such pleasant reading – traction control. And it wasn’t until I saw that phrase, then scanned a bit further and realised that anti-lock brakes were fitted and there’s the option of air-conditioning that it dawned on me how far the Elise has come since we witnessed those pictures of the original red press car back in 1996 – and read some of the most positive reviews ever lavished on a British sports car. Key to its success was the way it married innovative technologies with a more basic driving experience. That innovation is still pertinent in the extruded, bonded tub that forms the basis of this car, but as the Sport Racer ticks away at idle, it’s hard not to assume that the Elise has become something rather different to original intention. I mean, traction control on an Elise? I can remember taking delivery of mine in 1997 and boasting about it having no brake servo, let alone anti-lock brakes. But there it is, sitting rather like a discarded boiled sweet just to the right of the gearlever – a small black button that when depressed for three seconds disarms the electronic catching mitt and places control back with the right foot. I feel narrow-minded doing just this before moving away, but having a microprocessor dictate slip angle in a Lotus doesn’t seem right. For now it will remain inactive. Forged wheels may not sound too dramatic an option for 2006, but they shave a full 1.2kg per corner from this car, and that is a huge amount of unsprung mass. The kerbweight is still much higher than the original’s, though. Whereas a basic Mk1 Elise was just over 720kg, this car is now 840kg. But then in the meantime your average family hatchback has accumulated a few rolls of chub, so the same intrinsic differences still apply to the Elise driving experience in relation to just about every other car on sale. It appears tiny, endlessly agile and sprightly. And does it feel much different in 2006 form? To say that it doesn’t is a solid complement. The steering is more positive just off-centre and it still grips like a lunatic in the dry, although the Yokohamas’ more aggressive tread pattern reduces wet surface adhesion slightly. Otherwise it’s staple Elise: so supple and comfortable and yet so alert and roll-free you wonder if the Lotus chassis engineers had access to a different physics textbook to the others. But if there’s a reason to recommend this car above any other Toyota-engined variant I’ve driven before, it has nothing to do with the tyres, suspension or traction control. It’s the pedal box. The Elise 111R had an inch of dead travel in the brake pedal that was completely at odds with the whole driving experience. That has now been fixed with the introduction of an all-new extruded alloy set of pedals, along with a fly-by-wire throttle. The difference it makes has to be experienced at first hand because both throttle and brake now give the driver more confidence. In fact, they now have a consistency I last felt on the Mk1. After a few laps of Hethel it seems only fair to switch the traction control back on. After all, it was Lotus that finally made power steering work on a sports car, so it stands to reason it might be able to do something memorable with this aspect of modern electronics. This isn’t a stability programme with the ability to brake individual wheels; it’s a simple traction system. And wouldn’t you know it, the boys have worked their magic again. Not to the extent that it redefines the driving experience, but because they’ve been allowed to retard any kind of intervention until it is absolutely necessary. You will still be able to indulge in cute little slides, but the point at which the Elise has always become more aggressive is removed. Out on the road you just don’t know the system is there. It is what traction control was always intended to be: a safety device for extreme circumstances. If I drove an Elise regularly the temptation would be to leave it on permanently. Value is another original Elise commodity that will return next year. Throwing the toy shop at an Elise in 2005 resulted in a £38,000 car, too much money for a 189bhp four-cylinder sportster, however talented it might have been. But the Sport Racer is a much more palatable £31,995. And you can have it in red with some stripes. Progress might mean extra weight, but the Elise remains unique not only at the price, but in the entire marketplace. If mass is the penalty for being considered an everyday car and available for more people to enjoy then it’s worth the sacrifice. Nine years after it changed the way we all perceive sports cars, the Elise remains a singularly British, unconventional and desirable proposition. Even with traction control. |
Quelle: Chris Harris / Autocar