Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Getting the balance right
As cars get bigger and heavier, the lightweight Elise Cup 250 is an appealing prospect. Darren Cassey puts it to the test.
If you’re after a purist driving experience, the Lotus Elise is one of the go-to names. The model’s been around since 1996 and has become renowned as a lightweight sports car that’s utterly fantastic to drive. In the years since its inception, the principles have remained the same, and the car doesn’t look much different either. It’s still small and very lightweight, preferring to be agile in the corners than fast in a straight line, and as mainstream cars get bigger and bigger, this Lotus arguably gets even more appealing.
WHAT’S NEW?
This is not just any Elise, this is the Cup 250. In fact, the Norfolk-based firm boasts that the car could be raced competitively ‘by adding little more than a roll cage’. With weight the brand’s key focus, the Cup 250 is 14kg lighter than its predecessor thanks to the use of carbon-fibre, titanium and aluminium. The manual gear shifter has been optimised, and now has a beautiful open-gate design that lets you see its inner workings.
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?
It’s immediately obvious that straight-line performance is not its USP. On a country road, the immediacy of response from every turn of the wheel is a delight, and takes some getting used to. It’s so responsive that you’ll find yourself turning in too early, but once you’re dialled in it’s a joy to thread along a country lane. The car feels light and nimble beneath you, and you can see why Lotus fans have eulogised its cars for decades. It’s also an engineering marvel. Whether it’s the smooth as silk clutch, the snickety gear shift or buttery smooth suspension, there’s nothing sloppy here.
WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?
Much like the outside, the inside has a less is more approach, but here it’s taken to the extreme. There’s really little here that isn’t related to actually driving, with a small stereo headunit and soft Alcantara upholstery about as close as you’re getting to creature comforts. The highlight is the gear shifter, which has a beautiful open design that allows you to see the linkages at work. It’s all about the driving position, though. At first, it’s tricky to climb inside, but it’s surprising how it doesn’t feel too claustrophobic inside once you’ve got into the seat. As a six-foot-plus driver I struggled for leg room, with my knees barely fitting beneath the steering column, but even that didn’t do much to take away from the driving experience.
THE VERDICT
The Lotus Elise is a breath of fresh air. It’s been around more than two decades, but at a time when cars are getting heavier, this car is a reminder what a pure driving experience really is. While the Cup 250 is theoretically the more hardcore version of the Elise, it actually hits a sweet spot for a road-going performance car, offering more than enough power for a car this light as well as an instant response to your inputs.