The Lotus Elise is a sports car that could alter the entire automotive scene, in the same way as did the Mustang, the 240 Z and the Mazda Miata. If any vehicle out there can counter the vapidness of the SUV, it is the Elise. It is like Spring to the bleak Winter of these ponderous, looming ‘Sport’ Utes of the present. There are were ( and still are ) so many design yawns out there, and some of the most boring ( e.g. the Toyota Titan comes to mind ) receive the gaudy fireworks from the manufacturer that this is the car ( or truck ) to beat all others. But here was one that could live up to its billing. And then some.
I still have the August 1996 copy of CAR Magazine, with a bright red Elise on the cover. That cover and the article inside featured a road scene* in which the Elise appeared to echo ‘The Prisoner’ title sequence, although that Lotus was of course, a green and yellow-nosed Super Seven Series II.
But with the Elise, it was as if the company had somehow distilled the essence of the Seven and it’s illustrious brethren and made the result even more Archtypical Sports Car. Though there was no mistaking it for a Ferrari, the new model did look somewhat like a successfully shrunken 246 Dino, the latter not being a large car itself. The automotive press immediately praised the car, as did the market. The Elise could be called the first unqualified home-run which the company had had in its storied history. The only lacking which the car had, was it’s unavailability to US buyers. And how we wanted the Elise.
I sure did. I bought the 1/18th Sunstar die-cast model in Azure blue. Bought all the magazines which had any info on the Elise, patiently studied the Lotus website, hoping for any promising news, and seeing only the continuing dreary statement that the company had no plans to bring the Elise to the States.
Fast forward to this year. When the Elise appeared at the NY Auto Show it was official, no more delays. For the Elise is the same type of special automotive moment that the original ( and new ) Mustang were and are, or when the 240 Z appeared or the Mazda Miata . How many other cars, hereto fore unavailable in the US, have several Web sites devoted to them?
And while Forty thousand isn’t cheap, but for one of best performing cars on the planet? The Elise has another benefit. Where as a new Ferrari or Porsche isn’t a possibility for we average mortals, this car is. Moreover, though the Lotus doesn’t have the creature comforts of the others, it does have the performance numbers. The Elise has now become the achievable dream. Perhaps this is why you see a lot more sites devoted to the Elise than, say, the 360 Modena. The Elise has thus created its own niche: the ( somewhat ) affordable exotic.
Will it be a success? In the light of the Elan II ? Actually, the Elise has much going for it. The MSRP on both cars is/was about $40,000. Of course, taking that the Elan sold back in 1991, the Elise is priced some $4,000 less. And while the sequel Elan had more creature comforts, none were track worthy.
The Elise? Few cars since the original Mini ( or Mustang ) seem natural born racers as this Lotus.
*It was commonly believed that the runway at the start of The Prisoner title sequence was either Elstree airfield or Lotus's Hethel test track. However, evidence points to it being Santa Pod raceway (formerly Poddington) because Lotus hadn't moved to Hethel when the titles were filmed.
- Steve Dix,
www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/lotus1.htm
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