Wednesday 16th April

Get Lost: Project Safari takes the Elise off-road

Lotus's icon has been many things over the past 30 years - now it's getting a run at rally car

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It’s easy to see why the off-road sports car might appeal. There’s the slight silliness to the concept, of course, taking cars designed for smooth tarmac off the beaten track, while also making them - whisper it - a bit more engaging to drive. Some squidge in the tyres and some roll in the suspension return sensations lost to super sticky tyres and track-spec dampers. Little surprise, then, that the demand was considerable for cars like the Huracan Sterrato, 911 Dakar, and Morgan CX-T. On-road or off, they’re an absolute hoot. 

Now there’s a Lotus joining in the fun. This stunning reimagination of an Elise S1 isn’t a factory project; instead, it’s the brainchild of photographer GF Williams, a name you might recognise from his wild Exige S3 build in Readers’ Cars. He’s keen on a crazy Lotus, that’s for sure. This Elise is called Project Safari, the first endeavour from his new ‘Get Lost’ venture. He has said of the car: “This is not a modified Elise; it’s our interpretation of what the platform had to offer. Everything has been considered - from the design to the drive - all in the pursuit of creating something that’s fun.”

Which sounds right up our street, does it not? Key modifications are a bespoke suspension system to raise the ride height by 100mm, broaden the tracks, and deal with challenges a regular Elise has never had to face before, along with all-terrain tyres and new wheels. The little Lotus now boasts a square setup all round, in fact, again for the sake of fun; presumably, a bit more bite at the front end will bring the rear into play more easily. 

The underbody is reinforced to deal with whatever (within reason) is thrown at it, and Cerakote protects important bits for year-round use. The usual fun stuff for an off-road build, including a hydraulic handbrake, limited-slip diff, and a spare wheel in a silly space, are also included. Project Safari boasts a ‘new powertrain’, says the press release, though there aren’t many details for the moment. Given the website mentions ‘the kind of performance and reliability you actually want in a car like this’, we’d have to assume a Honda K-swap of some description. Always a popular one for Elises, and if it’s good enough for an Ariel Nomad, it’s good enough for Project Safari. 

There’s more than just the rough and tumble mods to this as well. Check out the roof scoop, for starters, as well as new LED light design and a ‘floating wing’ to accommodate the spare wheel. Project Safari has been designed, if that makes sense, not just had big wheels and tyres thrown on it. Looks brilliant for it, too. Check out the seats as well: unique to this build, they’re intended to ‘fit taller and wider drivers comfortably’. Excellent news for those of us who tick both boxes and have always struggled a bit in Elises. 

Clearly, there are still details to fill in, but also a Project Safari definitely exists and most definitely can venture where no Elise has before it. While looking pretty awesome in the process. We can’t wait to hear more. GF added: “The idea of taking an Elise off-road might sound ridiculous, and that’s exactly why we leaned into it”. Amen to that. 

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• Analogue Automotive Supersport | PH Review
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[leglessAlex]

I absolutely love this so so much. So proud of GFW bringing it to life, anyone that knows him knows how much he cares about the details.

I want one. I want to Get Lost.

[ex-devonpaul]

Be better off getting a Panda 4x4 and glueing an Elise shell on it.

[rodericb]

That would have been a cool project. The first generation Elise is a bit buggy-esque so having it like this doesn't look that odd. It says it contains a limited slip diff - is that standard in the K series? A fully locking diff would give it some extra capability off road.

[leggerito]

Bit skeptical of this and the earlier safari one.

Anyone who has owned an Elise knows that the underfloor/chassis pick ups are delicate and structual repairs are near impossible. A single misjudged clearance on rocky terrain could total it.

That said, very pretty machine, and it would be nice to have an Elise that could take speedbumps a little faster...

[Hoofy]

Awesome. Dunno what it is about Safari cars that are based on sports cars but I do like them!

Am I right in thinking that they handle worse on the road than the cars they're based on?

[Paracetamol]

Love it. This is a perfect dune buggy . Light but with enough protection to keep you safe. Hopefully he can fit ac so I can have one here in the sandpit

[RB Will]

I like the idea (Nomad owner), and if it could be had for around £50k or less would be interesting. Not a huge fan of the snorkel style wise but the rest is great.
GF if you want someone to do some extended test driving / benchmarking against a Nomad or just a chat about nice to have features or issues give me a shout

[Ben Lowden]

I really wasn't expecting this but love it, congrats George! Can't wait to see it in the flesh.

[chrisironside]

Well that's extremely weird.

[lordturns]

Reminds me of a Tamiya radio control buggy in the same vein as the Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar - like it though.

[dunnoreally]

These safari cars always feel to me like a styling exercise first and foremost. I'd imagine even with the best possible execution this thing would be pretty severely compromised away from tarmac and also rather worse than a decently sorted base model on it. Maybe I'd get it if I drove one, I don't know.

The idea can certainly look cool, although this one isn't quite doing it for me.

[Jermy Claxon]

I cannot think of a worse starting point.

I should love this. I love a Dakar 911, and I've had 2 Elises, but no this just does not work for me. My spine is complaining just looking at the photos.

Nice photos though, obviously.

[Shnozz]

chrisironside said:

Well that's extremely weird.

Whereas I always viewed my Elise S1 as a sort of dune buggy that had been squashed!

It's suitably mad and I love it! Good luck with it.

[WPA]

dunnoreally said:

These safari cars always feel to me like a styling exercise first and foremost. I'd imagine even with the best possible execution this thing would be pretty severely compromised away from tarmac and also rather worse than a decently sorted base model on it. Maybe I'd get it if I drove one, I don't know.

The idea can certainly look cool, although this one isn't quite doing it for me.

+1

[kambites]

I'd be interested to know what they've attached the spare wheel to.

[georgeyboy12345]

Is it real?

[Cryssys]

My first thought was what a terrible thing to do to an Elise. Then I got over myself.

Looks pretty funky so why the hell not.

[shirt]

i dont mind the idea, just not the reality.

the suspension pick up points are weak and it would be pretty much a forgone conclusion offroad to tear them and that's your chassis written off.

[leglessAlex]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Is it real?

Yes

[MarJay]

First of all, it's got that weird lighting and sheen that looks very AI to me. Assuming it is real (I'm yet to be convinced - even if it's not AI it's a mockup, the text seems to say it's a visual creation of some sort) The suspension travel will be terrible and the Nomad is just a better design. The fibreglass body and bonded aluminium tub don't lend themselves to hard knocks either.

Seems a bit of a waste of time to me. Get one on video driving over a rally stage and I might be more inclined to get enthused about it.

I hate reading these negative posts on PH, but this seems to have triggered me to become one of 'those' people on here. I feel like sticking with cars based in reality would be a good idea.