Lightweight Lotus Zips to 60 in Less Than 5 Seconds
Lotus, the famed British racing green adorned brand that instilled fear in the hearts of the majority of its on-track competitors in the '60s and '70s, doesn't sell many cars in North America.
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| The much-anticipated Lotus Elise will be available on this side of the Atlantic by late May, 2004. (Photo: Lotus) |
Its Esprit V8, while wonderfully agile in the corners and rakishly exotic to see on the street is decades old architecturally. What's more, its purveyors are often independent garages with little brand identity adorning their establishments.
The upgraded version of its Elise sports car that previewed at the 2004 Los Angeles Auto Show last week, will certainly do much to enhance the brand's image. The much-anticipated model will be available on this side of the Atlantic by late May, 2004.
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.
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| The Elise features a 190-horsepower 16-valve DOHC Toyota 4-cylinder engine. (Photo: Lotus) |
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.
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.