Lotus Elise 220 Cup arrives at $120K

Lotus Australia has landed its most track-focussed Elise yet, the 220 Cup, priced at $119,990 plus on-road costs.

That makes the most serious Elise road car $45,000 more expensive than the base Elise roadster and $35,000 pricier than the latest Elise S Club Racer.

However, Lotus says the 220 Cup is developed from the track-only Elise S Cup R racer, rather than the road-going Elise, adding just 19kg of weight to top out at only 924kg.

With power coming from a 162kW/250Nm Eaton-supercharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, the Elise 220 Cup has a power to weight ratio of more than 175kW/tonne.

In addition, Lotus claims the car's new aero package, which produces an additional 66kg of downforce at 160km/h and 125kg at its 225km/h top speed, enables the Elise 220 Cup to lap its UK test track three seconds faster than the Elise S.

Along with a fixed hard-top, the new bodywork includes a front splitter, rear diffuser, lateral barge boards, engine cover, rollover hoop cover, side vanes and rear wing -- all finished in black.

Matched with a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission, the blown petrol four continues to consume just 7.5L/100km and the same rigid extruded and bonded tub-chassis that underpins all Elises is aided by an electronic differential lock (EDL) and Dynamic Performance Management stability control system with Sport mode.

“The 220 Cup is derived from the racing car, not a development of the road car," says Lotus Australia and New Zealand COO, Glen Sealey. "This development track means the Lotus engineers took a racing car and made it road-legal, not taking a road car to make it ‘like a racing car’.

"The result is a car that has the steering response, suspension control, engine reaction and instantaneous braking power of a racing car along with the ability to be driven home after a superlative track day. Given its supercar performance and true race car ability, its price is exceptional, considering how much more would have to be spent with other car makers to even approach the driving experience offered by the Lotus Elise 220 Cup.”