Lotus Elise Club Racer

Special Cars 5 Sep 2009

At the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show Lotus will unveil the Elise Club Racer, a special edition based on the 134hp Lotus Elise S and characterized by the adoption of four color schemes used by Lotus in the 1960s.

Making its debut at the I.A.A. in Frankfurt 2009, the Special Edition Lotus Elise Club Racer introduces new and exclusive colour schemes, bespoke interior and lightweight components all in a world class, high performance and low emission sportscar.

Lotus has taken four of the classic colour schemes used by Lotus in the 1960s (Elite Yellow, Carbon Grey, Sky Blue and Old English White) and combined them with exclusive Club Racer interior design features.

Inside, the seats are clad with lightweight microfibre comfort pads perfectly positioned to give the right amount of support with the minimal amount of weight, but still keeping the body coloured seat shell partly exposed.

The exterior body colour theme is carried over to the transmission tunnel and combined with silver and black paint highlights, bisecting the cockpit and tying together the whole sporty theme unique to the Club Racer.

Other new interior design features of the Club Racer are the anthracite anodised gear knob and handbrake sleeve, the Club Racer (CR) logo hand embroidered on the seat headrest and the unique anodized aluminium flooring in the driver’s and passenger’s footwell.

The small 320 mm diameter leather rimmed steering wheel has an on-center marker, enabling the more spirited driver to quickly and safely identify the straight ahead position of the front wheels.

The lightweight six spoke alloy wheels, shod in bespoke Yokohama AD07 LTS tyres are also anthracite anodised, complementing the key interior components.

Luke Bennett, Director of Lotus Cars said, “We have taken colour schemes from our past, used on the Elite and Elan in the 1960s and brought them up to date with a modern feel to the interior.

"The whole design package is modern with a classic twist, which of course matches the peerless ride and handling of a Lotus and the convertible experience of the Elise perfectly.”

The Lotus Elise Club Racer is based upon the 134 hp Elise S and goes on sale on 15th September 2009.

Prices will start from about €34,000.