20000th Lotus Elise Drives Off The Production Line

Desirability of the multi-award winning Elise is proving to be phenomenal, with Lotus' production facilities working hard to satisfy demand for the most successful model in the marque's history.

The 20,000th Lotus Elise is a UK specification 111R in Saffron Yellow, which has already been delivered to the UK Lotus dealer network prior to being passed to the customer.

The Elise was launched to great critical acclaim in September 1995 and has continued to evolve throughout its life picking up awards with remarkable frequency. The uncompromising Lotus brand philosophy has given the Elise strong attributes: performance through lightweight, fun to drive, great ride and handling, and innovation, all of which have made the Lotus Elise a winning formula.
The key Lotus philosophy is performance through lightweight. The Lotus Elise weighs roughly half that of a family saloon car* which contributes to the phenomenal driving experience that has been honed over decades of road and racecar development.
The Elise has been available in many guises since its launch, from the 120 bhp base model to the latest 111R. The 111R with a 189 bhp engine offers serious performance with a 4.9 seconds 0-60 mph time (0-100km/h in
5.2 seconds) and a top speed of 150 mph (241km/h). As with all Lotus cars, the Elise offers precision handling and beautiful balance ensuring that the supercar performance can be exploited to the full.

Throughout its history, Lotus has produced over 70,000 cars and the Elise production contributes 20,000 to this figure, illustrating the significance of the car to the brand. Annual production at Lotus' manufacturing facility in Norfolk is running at 4,500 units and the Elise is sold in about 40 countries around the world.
Production Manager, Luke Bennett said, "Looking to the future, many more production landmarks are likely to be exceeded with the continued popularity of the Elise".
Manufacturing Director, Clive Dopson said "The hand built Elise has grown from strength to strength with rates of production of the car increasing, coinciding with increases in quality and efficiency. The advances in production are very pleasing and are due to the magnificent culture and modern facilities at Lotus". Adding "credit for the achievements of the Elise has to rest with the engineers and technicians in Lotus Engineering and Manufacturing, their determination and hard work have made
the Elise the success it is today".

Notes:
*Lotus Elise with 1796cc 120hp engine; unladen weight with no options 785 kg

About Group Lotus plc:
The main operating subsidiary of Group Lotus plc is Lotus Cars Ltd which has two operating divisions - Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering:
Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering a full engineering service from initial concept and project design through development to full production prototype build.
Lotus Cars builds and commercialises Lotus sports cars, Elise and Exige; builds sportscars for General Motors and manufactures the advanced composite front and rear crash structures for Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

Lotus Products:
The latest addition to the Elise family is the 111R featuring a 1.8 litre VVTL-i engine (Variable Valve Timing & Lift intelligent) producing a maximum power output of 192PS (189hp, 141kw). Performance figures for the Elise 111R are of supercar class with a 0-100km/h sprint in 5.2 seconds (0-60mph in 4.9 seconds) before reaching a maximum speed of 241km/h (150mph). This phenomenal performance is also attributed to the Elise 111R's light weight of just 860kg, making the British built sportscar not just one of the lightest sportscars on the market but one of the lightest cars on sale of any type! Coupled with a very strong and stiff aluminium chassis the Elise 111R continues to set standards by which all other sportscars are judged. The Lotus Elise 111R joins the Elise and the Elise 111S in the range.
The Lotus Exige, unveiled at the Geneva Motorshow in March also has with the 1.8 litre VVTL-i engine has class leading aerodynamic downforce (which gives 41.2 kg of downforce at 160 km/h - 19.3 kg: front and 21.9 kg: rear) and light weight. This gives phenomenal cornering power and handling as well as safe braking and acceleration.