Power boost for Elise

LOTUS has given its open-top Elise a boost with a supercharger.

The small British brand is introducing its fastest Elise yet, which will arrive here around April next year.

Called the Elise SC, the new model uses a supercharged Toyota 1.8-litre 2-ZZ engine.

Lotus buffs could be confused for thinking the Elise SC would run the same powerplant as the supercharged Exige S, but they would be wrong.

The Elise SC uses a non-intercooled supercharger, mainly because the intercooler and associated tubing just wouldn’t fit.

Lotus says doing away with it saves 8kg and means the driver’s rear view is not obscured by the intercooler, as it is in the Exige S.

The Elise SC instead uses a smaller Eaton rotor pack that is joined to the intake manifold plenum.

The new set-up sees the Elise SC generate 164kW, which is actually 2kW more than the engine in the Exige S.

The Elise SC can blast from 0-100km in just 4.6 seconds, which is right up there in supercar territory.

For the record, it is 0.3 seconds slower that the Exige S, despite having a power and weight advantage.

Both cars have a top speed of around 240km/h, although Lotus is careful to point out that the Exige S would be faster around a track given its superior downforce.

Lotus said the fuel consumption of the Elise SC would still be quite acceptable for day to day driving, coming in at 9.2 litres per 100km.

The Elise SC has custom 17-inch alloy wheels, which are slightly wider at the rear.

Some other changes have been made to the interior of the Elise, including a new dashboard with new dials and an LCD message panel in the instrument cluster.

This panel also features a gearshift light to help drivers avoid hitting redline. Lotus has also introduced a new ‘soft-touch’ plastic for the new dashboard.

Read more:

First look: Lotus Exige gets race-ready

First drive: Exige S improves the Lotus breed