The American arm of the lightweight English sports car builder, Lotus USA, has announced that they will be offering a new Supercharger Kit for both naturally aspirated Lotus Elise and Exige models. The kit includes the same supercharger and cast intake manifold as the production Elise SC and allows owners who have decided that they rely did want that extra power after all by boosting their Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine.

The kit includes a new intake manifold, high-flow fuel injectors and a re-programmed engine management system that work together to increase the engine's power up to 218 HP from the stock 189 HP rating. It may not seem like all that much, but the 2ZZ is tuned to work as efficiently as possible as it comes from the factory. The main advantage of the kit is much more power down low in the RPM band and because the supercharger is always spinning, instantaneous throttle response.

Press release after the jump.

Press release

Lotus Cars USA, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of a new Lotus factory engineered, warranted and 50-state legal complete Supercharger Kit for naturally aspirated Elise and Exige models.

These Lotus Supercharger Kits use the same supercharger and integrated intake manifold unit as fitted to a production Elise SC and can be installed on any naturally aspirated Elise or Exige powered by a Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine. The compact supercharger and integrated intake manifold, working in concert with new high-flow fuel injectors and a re-programmed engine management control unit, increases horsepower from 189 HP up to approximately 218 HP and torque jumps from 133 ft.-lbs. up to approximately 155 ft.-lbs.

Perhaps even more important, the increased maximum torque is available at a lower 5,000 rpm instead of the naturally aspirated 6,800 rpm providing the Lotus driver with a much broader and more flexible power band to work with when carving their favorite twisty roads.

“Lotus Elise and Exige owners are genuine driving enthusiasts and that’s what has attracted them to Lotus cars in the first place,” said Lotus Cars USA, Inc. Director of Operations Arnie Johnson. “They will fully appreciate the dramatically enhanced driving character these Lotus Supercharger Kits will bring their vehicles and the peace of mind from a fully warranted, factory engineered kit.”

The Lotus Supercharger Kit is available for purchase and installation at all authorized Lotus dealers in the U.S. and Canada.