2011 MY Lotus Elise debuts in Geneva

The Geneva Motor Show has been the stage chosen by Lotus to present its 2011 model year Elise. The brand has announced that the new Elise, although maintaining its core values of performance will have the lowest CO2 emissions of any gasoline high performance sportscar in the world.

The 2011 Elise will be available in three versions: the Elise, equipped with the new 1.6 litre engine, the Elise R, with a 1.8 litre engine and finally the Elise SC with a 1.8 litre supercharge engine. According to Lotus the whole range will have CO2 emissions bellow 200 g/km.

The new Elise maintains the character and style of the model’s design, but gets a new contemporary look that connects it to the Evora. The new bumper, front clam and access panel are some of the most significant changes in the model’s design. Together with the new rear bumper and “twin-spine” engine cover, the Elise aerodynamics get an improvement that results in a reduction of the coefficient of drag by 4% and the consequent rise in fuel efficiency.

According to Dany Bahar, Chief Executive of Group Lotus “The Lotus Elise revolutionised the sportscar when it was launched 14 years ago and now the Lotus Elise has become greener, giving drivers access to class leading performance with less guilt.”

The 2011 Elise features the new 1.6 litre Valvematic engine meeting EURO 5 regulations. With a maximum power of 136 PS at 6800 rpm and a maximum torque of 160 Nm at 4400 rpm this engine adds, according to Lotus, an improvement in fuel economy of 23%, to 6.14 litres/100 km and less CO2 emissions (155 g of CO2 /km). The entry level Elise reaches a maximum speed of 200, speeding from 0 to 100  km/h in 6.7 seconds.