Lotus has just launched four new limited edition versions of the Elise Classic Heritage Edition, which pays tribute to the automaker’s racing history. As you can tell, they all feature familiar Lotus motorsport colour schemes, and production is limited to just 100 units globally.

All variants of the special edition are based on the Elise Sport 220, so it’s powered by the Toyota-sourced, Yamaha-designed 2ZZ-GE 1.8 litre supercharged four-cylinder petrol engine. It makes 220 PS at 6,800 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 4,600 rpm, which is good for a century sprint time of 4.2 seconds. Power is routed to the rear wheels through a six-speed close-ratio manual transmission.


The automaker left the mechanical bits pretty much untouched, although it does feature a set of two-piece disc brakes. Customers can specify a fibreglass hardtop roof, lightweight lithium-ion battery and lightweight titanium exhaust as well, but these will add to the cost.

So, for £ 46,250, what do you actually get? A raft of options as standard, starting with the DAB digital radio with four speakers, air-conditioning, cruise control, ultra-lightweight forged alloys with racing livery finish, black carpet with floor mats, matching interior trimmings, and additional detailing on the doors. The blue and white variant however, get red Alcantara seat centres.


Speaking of which, the four variants are differentiated by their exterior colour combinations – black and gold (references the livery of the Lotus Type 72D driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in the 1972 F1 season); red, white and gold (inspired by the Lotus Type 49B piloted by Graham Hill in 1968); blue, red and silver (Nigel Mansell’s Type 81 in 1980); and blue and white (Lotus Type 18 design from 1960, the first Lotus F1 car to achieve pole position and victory in Monaco at the hands of the late Sir Stirling Moss).

All of the aforementioned equipment and accessories, Lotus says, cost an astonishing £ 11,735 if customers were to specify them separately. With the Elise Classic Heritage Edition, these cost just £ 6,350 on top of the base Elise 220 Sport, which it says represents “outstanding value for money.”