Mods & Consequences: How to make Lotus’ Elise even better
The Lotus Elise is arguably the greatest ever sports car, but there’s still room for improvement
’It feels more nimble than the later Series 2 Toyota-engined cars’
To some, if ever there was a car that represented four-wheeled perfection, it’d be the original Lotus Elise – a car that made all others appear inert, with its amazing handling, performance and brakes. So the idea of trying to improve any aspect of the Elise may seem fanciful. However, some owners have found that there are ways of making the Elise even better.
Club Lotus chairman, Alan Morgan, says: ‘The Elise Series 1 is such a delightfully sorted car in standard 118bhp form that it’s fabulous to drive without any changes at all from the factory spec. You can carry so much speed through corners, and weighing in at only 725kg it feels significantly more nimble than the later Series 2 Toyota-engined cars. That’s arguably the greatest thing about the Series 1 – its agility. If you want more speed, try to find a 135/160/190 Sport or a 111S VVC version, but be warned – they’re quite rare.’
Relatively few Elise Series 1s were built – and some of those are now in relatively poor condition through use, neglect or accident damage – so if you’re lucky enough to find a really good original car, you’re better off keeping it that way, unless you resort to fitting a few reversible mods. What you’re more likely to buy is a decent car that will benefit from a few sympathetic upgrades to the brakes, suspension or tyres. A cared-for car shouldn’t need any upgrades to the cooling system, however.
But as Alan Morgan notes, while most of the best Elise mods are subtle, you can go much further if you want to. He says: ‘Some of our members have fitted Audi 1.8T, Honda VTEC or Ford Duratec engines, which completely change the driving experience, so there’s much more grunt and less delicacy. It’s not something that would suit everyone, but it is a different approach that works for some.’