The most purist of all offerings by Lotus, the new Elise Sprint weighs a mere 1759 lbs thanks to a whole range of efforts to reduce mass. The lithium ion battery saves 20 lbs, while the carbon race seats save 13 lbs, and the lightweight alloy wheels save 11 lbs. Other weight saving items are the two-piece disc brakes, polycarbonate rear screen, and carbon fiber used on the access panel, roll hoop cover, and engine cover.
The base Sprint comes in at the aforementioned weight while utilizing a naturally-aspirated 1.6 liter alloy engine producing 134 hp @ 6800 rpm and 118 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm. There is also a supercharged variant, the Elise Sprint 220, that produces a much more substantial 217 hp @ 6800 rpm and 184 lb-ft @ 4600 rpm.
The demands of the extra power does mean more weight, with the Sprint 220 coming in at 1876 lbs, but the performance increase is really substantial. The Sprint has a 0-60 mph of 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 127 mph, whereas the Sprint 220 does a much quicker 0-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds and tops out at 145 mph.
Both have excellent fuel efficiency, another advantage of the lightweight Lotus approach, with the Sprint doing 44.8 mpg, and the Sprint 220 37.7 mpg.
The most purist of all offerings by Lotus, the new Elise Sprint weighs a mere 1759 lbs thanks to a whole range of efforts to reduce mass. The lithium ion battery saves 20 lbs, while the carbon race seats save 13 lbs, and the lightweight alloy wheels save 11 lbs. Other weight saving items are the two-piece disc brakes, polycarbonate rear screen, and carbon fiber used on the access panel, roll hoop cover, and engine cover.
The base Sprint comes in at the aforementioned weight while utilizing a naturally-aspirated 1.6 liter alloy engine producing 134 hp @ 6800 rpm and 118 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm. There is also a supercharged variant, the Elise Sprint 220, that produces a much more substantial 217 hp @ 6800 rpm and 184 lb-ft @ 4600 rpm.
The demands of the extra power does mean more weight, with the Sprint 220 coming in at 1876 lbs, but the performance increase is really substantial. The Sprint has a 0-60 mph of 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 127 mph, whereas the Sprint 220 does a much quicker 0-60 mph time of 4.1 seconds and tops out at 145 mph.
Both have excellent fuel efficiency, another advantage of the lightweight Lotus approach, with the Sprint doing 44.8 mpg, and the Sprint 220 37.7 mpg.
