By Drew Johnson
Tuesday, Mar 1st, 2011 @ 6:00 am

A whole new lineup is on the way for Lotus within the next few years, but before the British sports car maker goes big time, it debuted a special edition of its Elise two-door at the upcoming Motor Show.

Dubbed the Lotus 1.6 Elise Club Racer, the new model is intended for the driving purist. Lotus engineers managed to shave about 53 lbs. from the Elise’s near 2,000 lbs. curb weight, ensuring an even higher level of overall performance. Most of the weight savings came from the use of a lighter battery and elimination of sound deadening materials.

The Club Racer also comes equipped with a Sport setting on its DPM (Dynamic Performance Management). Lotus says the Sport feature allows “even the less experienced sports car drivers to feel at the top of their game.†For drivers with a little more skill, the electronic nanny can be completely shut off.

For over 15 years the Lotus Elise has become an icon in the sports car market, carving out a niche market with a dedicated following of lightweight fans,†Wolf Zimmermann, Chief Technical Officer Lotus Cars, said. “The new Club Racer will definitely give these people something extra to get their teeth stuck into. This car epitomizes everything that’s cool about the Elise – it’s fast, raw, responsive and a huge amount of fun to drive.”

The Club Racer is currently available for order in six paint schemes — Sky Blue, Saffron Yellow, Ardent Red, Aspen White, Matt Black and Carbon Grey. The 1.6 Elise Club Racer carries a base price of €34,450.

  

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