After more than ten years, the curtain will soon really fall for the current generations of Lotus Elise, Exige and Evora. Lotus waves the Elise and Exige with special Final Editions to give the pair a worthy farewell.
In recent years, Lotus has introduced a new variant of the Elise and Exige every now and then, and the small sports car manufacturer is now also lifting new versions of that lightweight pair to the podium. However, it will be the last. Lotus recently officially announced the arrival of completely new successors to Elise and Exige. The last special editions introduced by Lotus for those two cars are the Final Editions. Lotus describes the special editions as models that herald the end for the Elise and Exige, which may even indicate that its successors are getting new model names. Good news for those who don’t get excited about special editions with only special wheels and brightly colored carriages: the Final Editions of the Elise and Exige also bring an increase in power,
Lotus Elise
Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition
The Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition is the variant that replaces the Sport 220 version. The Elise Sport 240 Final Edition is thanks to a differently tuned version of the well-known Toyota 1.8 with supercharger good for 243 hp and 244 Nm. This makes it 23 hp more powerful than the Sport 220. A sprint from a standstill to a speed of 97 km / h (60 mph) is over in 4.1 seconds. That makes it 0.1 seconds faster than the original. The Elise 240 Final Edition is built on an alloy that is 0.5kg lighter than that of the Sport 220, but that’s not the only weight reduction. Lotus gives the Final Edition, among other things, a plastic rear window and a carbon fiber hood that covers the engine. With a vehicle weight of 898 kilos, the Sport 240 Final Edition remains just under 900 kilos, making it 24 kilos lighter than the Sport 220 it replaces.
Lotus Elise Cup 250 Final Edition
The Elise Final Edition is also available as the Cup 250, a 246 hp and 250 Nm powerful variant of which the power remains unchanged. Lotus puts this Elise equipped with aerodynamic spoiler work on special light metal and gives the car adjustable springs and special Bilstein dampers. The Cup 250 Final Edition, like the Sport 240 Final Edition, has a plastic rear window and a lightweight battery that bring the vehicle weight of the Cup 250 Final Edition to 931 kilos.
Lotus Elise interior
The Final Editions of the Elise are both available with two different digital clock stores. There is a copy that shows regular clocks and a version whose display more closely resembles that of a race car. Lotus also hangs, among other things, a new leather and Alcantara-covered steering wheel in the pair. Both the Elise Sport 240 and Elise Cup 250 are available in new colors, including the Racing Green color in which the primal Elise debuted at the 1995 IAA in Frankfurt.
Lotus Exige
Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition
New to the Exige range is the Exige Sport 390, a variant with a supercharged version of Toyota’s 3.5 V6 that has been boosted to 403 hp and 420 Nm, replacing the 355 hp Exige Sport 350. The 1,138 kilograms light Exige Sport 390 thunders to a speed of 97 km / h (60 mph) in 3.7 seconds and has a top speed of 277 km / h. The spoiler work of the Exige Sport 390 generates 115 kilos of downforce at top speed.
Lotus Exige Sport 420 Final Edition
The Exige Sport 410 also does not survive the arrival of the Final Editions. The Exige Sport 410 makes way for the 10 hp more powerful Exige Sport 420 Final Edition. This 426 hp and 427 Nm powerful version helps the 1,110 kg Lotus to reach a speed of 97 km / h in 3.3 seconds and gives the car a top speed of 290 km / h.
Lotus Exige Cup 430 Final Edition
The absolute top of the Exige family is and remains the Exige Cup 430, a 436 hp and 440 Nm powerful variant that now also gets a Final Edition. The specifications remain impressive. The 1,110 kg heavy Exige hits in 3.2 counts to a speed of 97 km / h and throws in the towel at 280 km / h. Its top speed is lower than that of the Exige Sport 410, partly thanks to more exuberant spoiler work that already delivers 171 kilos of downforce at a speed of 160 km / h. The Exite Sport 410 generates the same amount of downforce only at a speed of 274 km / h. The Exige Cup 430 is always equipped with a whole range of carbon fiber parts. Things like the roof, the front cover and the rear bonnet are made from the lightweight stuff, just like the adjustable rear spoiler. The Cup 430 has extra powerful AP Racing brakes and a titanium exhaust system.
The Final Editions of the Exige are available in new colors, just like the Elise, and will also be available with the new digital instrumentation. Undoubtedly, Lotus will release Final Editions of the Evora at a later date. The Elise, Exige and Evora have together accounted for some 55,000 cars sold, more than half of the number of cars produced by Lotus.