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Lotus promised a trio of sports cars occupying their space at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and, next to the new generation Exige S and the Exige R-GT, that promise has been delivered with a new addition to the Elise lineup: the Elise S. This new model will replace the existing Elise SC which just displayed its final hoorah with the special edition Elise SC Final Edition. The Lotus Elise first appeared about 15 years ago and promised the performance of a supercar, but the fuel economy of a city car. That idea is still going on strong today with a new 1.8 liter super charged engine delivering a total of 217 HP and 184 lb-ft of torque. The great thing about the new Elise S is that it has a comparable power output to the Elise SC - it actually has a higher peak torque (184 lb-ft to the SC’s 156 lb-ft) - but it has answered the fuel economy and CO2 emissions issues brought on by the change of regulations. Want to know more? Hit the jump for details on the Lotus Elise S. Exterior Much like the new design of the Exige S, the Lotus Elise S gets smoother lines to clean up its look. The front grille has been modified to add a little aggression, while also providing an uninterrupted line across the front of the vehicle. Head towards the middle of the car and we’ll find a standard black soft-top roof going back towards the optional new rear diffuser with a silver anodized finish.
Interior For the interior, the new Elise S offers standard lightweight aluminum passenger footrest, a black plain/perforated leather steering wheel, a black leather gear lever gaiter, a polished aluminum gear knob and handbrake sleeve, and an engine start push button. In addition to the new features, there will also be three packages available: Touring Pack
Sport Pack
Black Style Pack
Engine The new Lotus Elise S delivers a similar power output to the outgoing Elise SC using a Lotus-designed supercharged 1.8 L I-4 engine mated to a 6-speed gearbox with constant mesh helical gears and an open differential. This engine puts out 217 HP at 6800 rpm and a peak torque of 184 lb-ft at 4600 rpm, the star of the show being the increased torque (up from the SC’s 156 lb-ft of torque). Unfortunately,the performance specs, fuel economy, and CO2 emissions are not available at this time, but we’ll provide an update as soon as this information becomes available. As of right now, Lotus has ensured that the fuel economy and CO2 emissions have been improved. The Elise S will be equipped with a fully independent suspension utilizing unequal length wishbones, a Bilstein mono-tube gas damper, Eibach coaxial coil springs at each corner, and a front anti-roll bar. Also, like with the Exige S, the new Elise S will be equipped with the Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management) switch which allows the driver to alternate between three driving modes: Touring, Sport, and DPM off. Dynamic Performance Management (DPM)
All apart from * can be completely switched off. PricesPrices for the new Elise S will be announced at a later date, but we imagine the price tag should read somewhere close to the $55,000 found on the outgoing Elise SC. Competition With the new updates, the Lotus Elise S has finally become a serious competitor for models like the Audi TTS. That being said, the Audi TTS boasts of a 2.0 L TFSI engine that can crank out 272 HP, which leaves the 217 HP from the Elise S in the dust, but the Elise S will probably weigh in close to 1931 lbs of the standard Elise which is significantly lighter than the 3219 lb Audi TTS. Bottomline: We’ll have to wait for Lotus to reveal performance numbers to properly compare the Elise S to the Audi TTS.  Looks great New engine Three different packages for the interior Competition is still more powerful No performance figures as of yet No fuel economy and emissions figures as of yet 32 comments: Lotus Elise S Well, I would still prefer to have an Audi TTS than with this Elise. Sure, it is really a good-looking and a very noticeable vehicle, there is no doubt on that, but I noticed that Audi TTS can offer a more efficient engine than with this one.
 Yeah! I have to agree with that. It is so sad to know that they didn’t justify the fact that it is a sports vehicle. Anyway, when will really be its market production?
 It is a sports car right? Well, I don’t think that its engine output will be good enough for it. It’s too weak on that. Obviously, they should really need to boost it more so it will be more impressive on this vehicle.
 The front design of this Elise is really looking so cute and even its side rim is very cool either! However, I’m not satisfied with its engine that can only deliver an output of 217 horsepower.
 Elise S is really looking so cool on its exterior detailing, but I would still prefer to have an Audi TTS than on this. Furthermore, I also noticed that its engine output is not really impressive at all.
 Elise is truly very attractive on its platform and styling and most specifically on its sleek body paint. I just only hope that its engine could really be good enough on it.
 Yeah! I have to agree that this is the best masterpiece of Lotus. It’s the most good-looking car that they produced and I will surely wait for the market production of this even its debut.
 Elise S is one of the most good looking convertible car that I saw today.  And it is already looking great on its sleek body paint. And with its Lotus-designed supercharged I-4 that delivers 217@6800 rpm is quite good enough for it.
 The platforms look so impressive and cute, and I agree that the front of this car is so fabulous  . I want to see this in person. I can’t wait for the market production of it. I love it more when I noticed that it also had a powerful engine.
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Posted on
12.6.2011 @ 21:07