Lotus is honoring the Bathurst 12 Hour
race at the Mount Panorama circuit and its long history Down Under that dates
back to Tasman Series of the 1960s with a special edition of the Elise.
Appropriately named the Elise Cup 250
Bathurst Edition, it is aimed exclusively for Australia, which was the
company’s sixth largest market globally last year, where it will be offered in
a yet-to-be-disclosed number of units, but we don’t expect a lot of them to be
on offer.
The sports car features some minor
updates, such as the ‘Bathurst Cup 250’ decals on the outside, as well as black
forged alloy wheels and a special numbered plaque that will further highlight
its special stance.
Everything else seems to have remained
untouched, including the 1.8-liter four-cylinder supercharged engine that
develops 246 PS and 250 Nm of torque. Tipping the
scales at just 931 kg, the regular Elise Cup 250 boasts an
impressive 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 4.3 seconds and can
max out at 248 km/h.
Pricing hasn’t been released yet, but the
standard Elise Cup 250 will set you back AU$ 107,990 (US$ 72,223) in Australia,
excluding on-road costs and other fees. The 20 PS Elise
Sport 220, which does the 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds and has a 233
km/h top speed, has a recommended retail price of AU$ 87,990
(US$ 58,874).
