New Year launch for Europa S

Lotus fans will have something other than the start of 2007 to celebrate on January 1.  That's the day the British sportscar marque officially launches its newest model Down Under.

Dubbed the Europa S, the new car is based on the lithe Elise sportster but delivers more room and a dose of creature comfort. Sporting prowess is still at the pointy end of sharp; Lotus claims, however, the new model delivers "significantly enhanced levels of touring and cruising capability as well as higher levels of practicality and refinement".

The Europa retains the Elise's extruded and bonded aluminium chassis and composite body panels but is powered by a turbocharged GM-sourced  2.0-litre fuel-injected four-cylinder engine. Peak power is 147kW at 5400rpm with maximum torque of 272Nm delivered across a 3000rpm band from as low as 2000rpm.

The Europa is available with a six-speed manual gearbox only.

A claimed mass of under 1000kg should give the car an impressive power to weight ratio. Accordingly Lotus claims a 0-100km/h time of around 5.8sec and the 'old' ton comes up in around 14sec. Top speed, though somewhat academic, is 230km/h.

Compared to the pared-down Elise, the Europa S has a larger boot/luggage compartment and revised cabin access with lower chassis sides and a higher roof line.

Befitting its $109,990 price tag, the interior is fully trimmed (in leather) and the equipment list includes Lotus/AP racing brake set-up with ABS, driver and passenger airbags and full carpeting. Air-conditioning, a full audio suite and power windows are also standard.

The introduction of a Lotus model more focused on touring capabilities represents an important addition to the company's product range, says managing director of Lotus Cars Australia, John Startari.

"The launch of the Europa S allows Lotus to extend its product appeal beyond our traditional customer base, and provides yet another demonstration of the key Lotus brand attributes and high levels of quality for which we are particularly proud," Startari said on launching the car at last month's Australian International Motor Show.

The new Europa S arrives 40 years after the first Lotus Europa. By the time the original Europa went out of production in 1975 a total of 9887 had been built.

In other Lotus news, the company has reintroduced a new entry level model to its range. Priced from $69,990, the new Elise S is powered by a 1.8-litre 100kW VVTi Toyota engine and can accelerate from 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.1sec.

Lotus Cars Australia sales and marketing manager, Jonathan Stretton, says the arrival of the new Elise S is "good news for lovers of pure sports cars".

"The value for money proposition is second to none and takes the Lotus Elise range back into the heart of the mainstream sports car market," said Stretton.

The Elise S features a close-ratio five-speed manual gearbox and weighs in at just 860kg. Braking features ABS and is via a combination of AP Racing and Brembo componentry.

The latest specification for the entry-level Lotus includes driver and passenger airbags, central locking, electric windows and ProBax seats.

An additional $8000 buys the Touring Plus option pack which includes leather or suede-effect trimmed seats, carpets and uprated trim, extra noise insulation and a high specification Alpine CD/MP3 audio system.