When Lotus announced the mid-engine Elise with Rover K-series power in 1995, the sports car market already had the MGF, the Mazda MX-5 and the Toyota MR2, so customers were only too eager to have a taste of something a little less refined, but with more performance. Even though the same 118bhp 1796cc engine from the MGF was installed in the Elise, the Lotus’s lower overall mass (sub- 750kg in comparison to an MGF at almost 1100kg) resulted in a 0-60mph sprint time of less than six seconds (official figures vary between 5.5 and 6.2 seconds).
The Elise was marketed as a no-frills sports car with windup windows, a basic hood and limited luggage space, but when compared to a Caterham Seven or an Ariel Atom, it qualifies as a daily run-around. Driving an Elise is where the qualities of a lightweight sports car outshine the competition of the time.
Town speeds (20-30mph) can be tiring over speed bumps and potholes, but open up the throttle on a twisty country road and a well-maintained Elise will come to life and reward you with pin-sharp handling and steering combined with a freerevving engine that will change your opinion of Rover forever.
Known as the Series 1 (S1) Elise, production ran from 1996 to 2001, when it was replaced with the Series 2 that included updates to the bodywork, but initially retained the K-series engine. Overall production of the Elise lasted until 2021 with an estimated total sales of around 35,000.
We’re looking at the firstgeneration Elise today, which evolved with more power and a range of limited-edition models during its five years of manufacture. If the base model from 1996 isn’t enough, then there are some faster options. In 1999, Lotus launched the Elise 111S, which was powered by the VVC (variable valve control) version of the Rover K-series, producing 143bhp at the flywheel. There was also the Sport 135 from 1998 and the 160 from 2000, which offered more performance (their numbers denoted the power output of the engine). And there was a track-only Sport 190 with a reduced kerb weight of 670kg and 187bhp from its K-series engine that resulted in a 0-60mph time of 4.4 seconds. If open-top
