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Carsales Staff29 Jan 2015
NEWS

Comfier Lotus Elise S Club Racer

Uncompromising sports car makes a few compromises, including price hikes

The 2015 Lotus Elise S Club Racer now benefits from a number of comfort and convenience upgrades in response to customer tastes, but it'll cost a little more now.

The two seat Elise S Club Racer is the raw, pared-back, hard core version of the Elise S, both of which are powered by a 162kW 1.8-litre supercharged four-pot engine and priced at $84,990 – a rise of $1740 for the Club Racer model.

However the Club Racer now features several creature comforts as standard, such as a four-speaker digital audio system, full convertible roof, central locking, an aluminium passenger foot rest, front mud flaps and the sound insulation fitted to the regular Elise S.

"Following the launch of the Lotus Elise S Club Racer last year [2014], the majority of customers have opted for the comfort pack," said Glen Sealey, general manager of Lotus Australia and New Zealand.

In 2014 the more powerful Exige overtook the Elise in terms of annual sales, but the Elise still accounts for around a third of total Lotus sales in Australia, which amounted to 61 vehicles in 2014, down from 71 in 2013.

As Sealey explained, the addition of the 'comfort pack' to the Elise S Club Racer makes it easier to drive regularly and "also means it is practical for owners to drive their Club Racer to some of the more remote race tracks where they are able to fully explore the abilities of their Lotus."

The addition of the comfort pack as standard sees a small price increase from $83,250 to $84,990.

The Lotus Elise S Club Racer also comes with features that make the car an engaging drive, such as its mid-mounted supercharged engine that pumps out 250Nm, good enough to push the car's 900kg mass from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds.

Twin composite bucket seats are finished in grey faux suede, as is the gear knob, hand brake, door inserts and door pulls, along with the steering wheel, which adds perforated black leather inserts.

From the outside, the Elise S Club Racer is marked by a black rear diffuser, grey brake calipers and satin black 'Y-type' cast wheels, 16-inches in diameter at the front and 17-inch rear.

A total of six standard colours are offered to Elise S Club Racer customers: Chrome Orange, Toxic Green, Daytona Blue, Formula Red, Carbon Grey and Aspen White.

Although things like antilock brakes, twin airbags and stability control are welcome, some of the features that are not available on any Lotus Elise variant will be deal-breakers for some buyers. For instance you cannot get satellite-navigation from the manufacturer, nor a glovebox, trip computer, there's no armrest, you cannot adjust the steering wheel and there's definitely no Bluetooth streaming.

This could put the car at a great disadvantage when the Alfa Romeo 4C sports car arrives in February 2015. The Italian car, which will be priced at a $89,000, trumps the British icon's power, with 177kW and 350Nm from its much newer four-cylinder engine.

Entry-level Lotus Elise models are powered by a 100kW/160Nm naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine, and open the bidding at $74,990 and can also be optioned with the Club Racer package. However the base price has risen by $5000 from $69,990. The Elise accelerates from 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds.

The other two models in the Lotus range in Australia include the six-cylinder Exige and Evora models.

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Written byCarsales Staff
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