Just 10 lucky buyers will get to lay hands on the Lotus Elise Club Racer in this country. That's the total allocation of the Elise S-based track car for Australia -- 10 units.
Powered by the same 1.8-litre 100kW four-cylinder powerplant and weighing 860kg, the Club Racer will peel off a sprint to 100km/h from a standing start in 6.1 seconds. And when not being asked to fly down a straight, it will use as little as 7.6L/100km of fuel, pumping 179g/km of CO2 into the atmosphere.
To distinguish the Club Racer from other Elise variants, the car will be finished in a choice of four Lotus heritage colours, Elite Yellow, Carbon Grey, Sky Blue and Old English White. 'CR' ('Club Racer') badges combine with six-spoke anodised ('anthracite' colour) alloy wheels and Yokohama AD07 LTS tyres for a bespoke, sporty look.
Complementing the exterior finish and fixtures, the Club Racer features an "exclusive" interior. Aggressively contoured seats are finished in body colour and trimmed with microfibre 'comfort pads' to provide the optimum balance between support for the occupant and light weight.
In addition to the coordinated (body-coloured) finish for the transmission tunnel, the interior is decked out in silver and black painted highlights with the foot wells boasting an anodised aluminium style. Anthracite anodised metal finish is a feature of the gearknob and handbrake lever sleeve, with the CR logo embroidered on the seats and a small-diameter, leather-bound steering wheel providing the driver with an 'on-centre' marker.
"Special editions of the award winning Elise have always proved popular with our customers around the world, and I expect the Elise Club Racer to be no different," Luke Bennett, Director of Lotus Cars, was quoted as saying.
"We have taken colour schemes from our past, used on the Elite and Elan in the 1960s, and cleverly brought them up to date with a modern feel to the interior. The whole design package is contemporary with a classic feel, which of course matches the peerless ride and handling of a Lotus and the convertible experience of the Elise perfectly."
The limited edition Elise Club Racer is available for sale now, priced at $72,990 (manufacturer's list price, not including on-road costs and pre-delivery charge).
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