The new Elise should help sales pick up dramatically if priced as low as the rumor mill is reporting. It previewed at the 2004 Los Angeles Auto Show last month, and will certainly do much to enhance the brand's image as well.
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| Helping boost the early demand for the Elise is the rumoured low sticker price. (Photo: Lotus Cars Canada) |
Lotus, now owned by Malaysian national carmaker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton), will continue to manufacture the Elise, long since available in European markets, in the brand's Norfolk, England assembly facility.
Hardly supercar specifications, the Elise features a 190-horsepower 16-valve DOHC Toyota 4-cylinder engine. While a lightweight compared to the 350-hp Esprit, the North American spec Elise will be more powerful than the international version of the car. What's more, Lotus is smart to associate itself with what many consider to be the world's most reliable automaker, breaking the age-old British sports car image of unreliable daily usability.
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| The Elise features a 190-horsepower 16-valve DOHC Toyota 4-cylinder engine. (Photo: Lotus Cars Canada) |
Lotus announced a goal to sell approximately 2,000 new Elises per year in the United States, without mention of just how many would be available in Canada. Over the space of seven years (it became available in the summer of 1996); the European spec Elise has found more than 17,000 buyers.
Of course, a limited number of these European Elises have found their way to North America, but not officially. It has been nearly 14 years since the company has introduced a new model in North America, that being the 1990 debut of the short-lived Elan roadster.