Meet Lotus's cheap thriller

13th June 2006

Now you can buy a Lotus Elise with your head as well as your heart! This is the firm’s new entry-level sports car: the Elise S. At £23,995, it’s £5,000 less than the Elise 111R, and aims to bring Lotus ownership into the realms of VW Golf GTI and Mazda MX-5 buyers.

Powered by a 134bhp 1.8-litre Toy-ota engine, the newcomer is the long-awaited replacement for the previous base Elise, which had the Rover K Series unit under its bonnet.

Despite the car’s entry-level status, owners won’t feel shortchanged by the performance: it covers 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds and has a 128mph top speed. And with variable valve timing, the engine will provide a real kick at high revs. There’s no skimping on kit, either; the S offers a drive-by-wire throttle, a bright red LED ‘change up’ light on the dashboard and AP Racing brakes. When the newcomer arrives this summer, the £28,995 Elise 111R will be renamed simply ‘R’ to fit in with Lotus’s new badging system