Tuesday 21st December 2004

Lotus hits Elise production benchmark

Demand for Lotus' most wanted car keeps growing

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Lotus is a tad chuffed about the fact that it's made 20,000 Elises since it launched the model nearly 10 years ago. The 20,000th Elise is a UK specification 111R in Saffron Yellow, and has already been delivered to the UK Lotus dealer network before being passed to the customer.

Launched to great critical acclaim in September 1995, the Elise evolved throughout its life while retaining the uncompromising Lotus brand philosophy has given it strong attributes:

• Performance through light weight
• Fun to drive
• Great ride and handling
• Innovation

The key Lotus philosophy is performance through light weight. The Lotus Elise weighs roughly half that of a family saloon car which contributes to a 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 120bhp base model to the latest 111R. The 189bhp 111R offers a 4.9 seconds 0-60 mph time (0-100km/h in 5.2 seconds) and a top speed of 150 mph (241km/h), together with precision handling and balance.

Throughout its history, Lotus has produced over 70,000 cars with the Elise contributing 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".

He said, "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".

The 20,000th car is now for sale at Bell and Colville in Surrey.

Link: www.bell-colvill.co.uk

 

[bigfut]

..best fun in any car I;ve ever driven...including Porsches, Lambo's and Astons!!! nuff said.

[v8thunder]

Good news! This should supply Lotus with the capital to get back to their Porsche-bashing status of the '80s. New Esprit, new Excel, Elise up to Boxster specification - job done!

[clanger]

Let the good times roll.

Tested new Boxster last week, Elise still rocks its socks off

Here's to another decade of Lotus fun

[Boggy]

Good work Lad's, I've never driven anything like my 111R it's a sensation. I also get such positive feed back from other road users & none road users it just adds to the sense of occasion, it's a strong word but I love my Car. As my girlfriend says (it just makes every journey feel so special !). Great news

Boggy

[TVR Sagaris]

Good 1 Lotus ur finally becomin the company tht u shud b.
Well done

[benfell100]

Happy times, now Lotus just need to produce the goods with the new Esprit, can't wait...

[Tim Netherton]

Well done Lotus!

I'm with Boggy on this one - I love my Elise - it gets driven all year round and after 20 years behind the wheel in many different vehicles it's the best car I've ever had.

[johnnystorm]

Elise up to Boxster spec? No Ta! The M250/Esprit type cars can manage that. Long live the (kind of) inexpensive , "less-is-more" Elise!

[britten_mark]

So why are they sacking so many people???

[clanger]

Its Lotus Engineering thats made the redundancies not the Lotus car manufacturing side..

Apparently they've lost a number of major development projects from main stream manufacturers....