The Latest Lotus Elise Series 1 Sports Car

A review of The Latest Lotus Elise Series 1 Sports Car, covering development, important features, and technical data of this the thirtieth model in the Lotus range.

In this Article, I offer a nostalgic look at the Latest Lotus Elise Series 1, one of an elite group of classic cars, which was manufactured during the period 1999 to 2000.

The Lotus Elise Series 1

The Heritage Lotus Elise Type 79

In July 1999, a limited edition Lotus Elise, with 100 left hand drive cars, were built for the Italian dealer network.

They were painted in the John Player Special (JPS) colours of black, with gold wheels and grilles, and displayed a "Heritage" badge.

Furthermore, another limited edition of 50 cars, with right hand drive, and designated as the Type 79 sports car, were ofered with either 1.8 litre Rover K-Series standard or Variable Valve Control (VVC) engines.

The Lotus Elise Type 79

Introduced in October 1999 at the London Motor Show, this special edition Lotus Elise sports car shared the same colour of red, gold, and white as the Type 49 Formula One race car.

This Elise was powered by either a 1.8 litre Rover K-Series standard or VVC engines.

The Millenium Edition Lotus Elise

Also introduced in October 1999, this Millenium Edition Lotus Elise was based on the standard Elise or Elise 111S variants.

Painted in Atlantis Blue, both the leather seats and road wheels from the 111S were painted black, while the rear wheel arches had spats.

The Lotus Elise 340R

Based on the Series 1 Elise, and with a name derived from the fact that only 340 units were built, the Lotus Elise 340R sports car was launched in August 1999 at the Hippodrome in London.

It was the most radical of all the Elise variants.

The body shell, which was custom made, contained neither a roof nor doors, and was painted in silver and black.

It was powered by a 1.8 litre Very High Performance Derivative (VHPD) Rover K-Series engine, which developed 177 bhp at 7800 rpm, and 126 ft/lbs of torque at 6750 rpm.

Fitted with a Rover five speed PGI close ratio gearbox, it had a top speed of 135 mph, a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 secs, and a 0-100 mph time of 12.4 secs.

Power enhancement was available by way of a Track Pack, which included adjustments to the engine management system, no catalytic converter, and no sports silencer.

With such an addition, power was increased to 195 bhp at 7500 rpm, and 139 ft/lbs of torque.

In the UK, the Elise 340R was road legal.

The Lotus Exige

Launched by Lotus at Brands Hatch in April 2000, the Lotus Exige sports car was, essentially, a fixed head coupe version of the Elise.

It was designed to be used on both track and the road.

It was powered by the 1.8 litre, Rover K-Series VHPD unit, as used in the Elise 340R, and developing 177 bhp at 7800 rpm.

There was the option of upgrading from 177 bhp to 190 bhp by using the Track Pack, which excluded a catalytic converter.

This resulted in a top speed of 137 mph, and a 0-60 mph time of 4.7 secs.

The Exige featured a lightweight, reinforced glass fibre body, with a front aerodynamic splitter, sports suspension, a close ratio gearbox, larger black wheels, and a transparent tailgate to view the engine.

It was fitted with a large carbon fibre high level rear wing, similar to that used on the Lotus Esprit Sport 350, which increased downwrd pressure to improve rodholding, and minimise drag.

Optional extras included a sports exhaust, and the same seats as used in the 340R.

In October 2000, air conditioning became standard equipment on the Exige.

The Series 1 Lotus Exige was produced until 2002, when 604 units were built. It was reintroduce in 2004 as the Series 2 variant.

The VX220 Type 116

New European directives on car impacts caused Lotus to seek a business partnership with General Motors. This resulted in Lotus agreeing to build specified Opel and Vauxhall performance cars.

Launched as a concept car at the March 1999 Geneva Motor Show, and designated the Type 116, the VX200, also known as the Speedster, was powered by Vauxhall's new 2198 cc, ECOTEC, 4-cylinder engine.

This developed 147 bhp at 5800 rpm, and 203 ft/lbs of torque at 4000 rpm, with a 0-60 mph time of 6.6 secs, and a top speed of 132 mph.

In 2003, the VX220 Turbo sports car was introduced, fitted with the 1.8 litre turbocharged engine, as used in the Vauxhall Astra SRi, and developing 200 bhp, with 190 ft/lbs of torque.

It had a top speed of 150 mph, and a 0-60 mph time of 5.3 secs.

It was built on the same production lines as the Elise. Lotus ceased production of the VX220 in 2005.

The Lotus Elise Sport 190

Introduced in January 2001 for use on the track, the Lotus Elise Sport 190 sports car featured a heavily modified 1.8 litre Very High Performance Derivative (VHPD) Rover K-Series engine, developing 189 bhp.

It produced a top speed of 131 mph, with a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 secs, and a 0-100 mph time of 10.7 secs.

It used drilled disc brakes all round, with competition suspension and gearbox.

This marked the end of the Latest Lotus Elise Series 1.

Perhaps this stroll down memory lane might have answered, or at least shed light on, a possible question:

Which Lotus Sports Car is Your Favourite?

However, should this question still remain unanswered, I will be reviewing, in some detail, in future articles within this website, the entire range of Lotus sports cars which were featured in the memorable era spanning 1952 to 1996.

I hope you join me in my nostalgic travels "down sports car memory lane".

By Peter Radford 

The Lotus Excel Sports Car

A review of The Lotus Excel Sports Car, covering development, important features, and technical data of this the twenty seventh model in the Lotus range.

In this Article, I offer a nostalgic look at the Lotus Excel, one of an elite group of classic cars, which was manufactured during the period 1982 to 1992.

The Lotus Excel sports car was launched in 1982, and was given the designation Type 89.

In terms of design, it was similar in shape to the Eclat, upon which it was based, but received softer styling in the nose area, together with integrated lights, bumper, and spoiler.

The result was a stylish 2+2 sports coupe.

While the upper half of the body moulding had a more aggressive styling, the lower half was retained from the Eclat.

It was for this reason that the car was also known as the Eclat Excel, and even the Eclat 3.

Interestingly, the first batch of Excel production displayed "Eclat" badges on the boot, and "Excel" badges on the rear wings.

However, by late 1983, this anomaly was removed.

At around this time, Toyota became a 20% shareholder in Lotus and, as part of the agreement, it allowed Lotus to use a number of its mechanical parts.

Consequently, the original Excel used the gearbox, drive shaft, differential, alloy wheels, and door handles from the Toyota Supra Grand Tourer.

The Excel was powered by the Lotus 912, 2174 cc, 4-cylinder, double overhead cam, all aluminium engine, as previously used in the Esprit Series 3.

Fitted with two twin choke Dell'Orto DHLA 45E carburettors, it developed 160 bhp, with a 0-60 mph time of 7.0 secs, and a top speed of 134 mph.

In October 1985, the Excel SE was introduced, and the 912 engine was further modified so that the SE variant now developed 180 bhp, with a top speed of 135 mph.

Changes to this model included alterations to the bumpers, wings, and interior, together with a new dashboard.

In October 1986, the Excel SA variant was included in the range, and featured the addition of a four speed ZF automatic transmission, which was aimed at the US market.

In 1989, minor changes included wing mirrors sourced from Citroen, and 15 inch OZ alloy wheels, as used in the Esprit.

The Excel gained a reputation for good cornering and handling characteristics due, in part, to its 50:50 weight distribution.

It had a galvanized steel chassis, firmer rear suspension, a five speed Toyota gearbox, disc brakes all round, whilst the passenger space was increased.

Over the period 1982 to 1992, the Excel underwent a number of changes, the more important of which included:

1984 - bumpers matching the body colour, bonnet was now louvered, a spoiler was added to the boot

1985 - wheel arches were widened, boot lid was increased in size

1986 - a high compression engine variant was made available, steering column was now adjustable, air conditioning system was improved

1989 - bonnet was modified, as were the front and rear spoilers

Following reliability problems with previous models, an improvement was made with the Excel, although this deficiency still fell well short of its nearest rival at that time, the Porsche 944.

The ten year production run ended in 1992, when 2,159 Lotus Excel's were built, which reflected a disappointing sales record.

The main cause was due to the fact that the Excel was never officially marketed in the US, since Lotus felt that it would not be able to satisfy the stringent US emission control regulations.

This marked the end of the Lotus Excel

Perhaps this stroll down memory lane might have answered, or at least shed light on, a possible question:

Which Lotus Sports Car is Your Favourite?

However, should this question still remain unanswered, I will be reviewing, in some detail, in future articles within this website, the entire range of Lotus sports cars which were featured in the memorable era spanning 1952 to 1996.

I hope you join me in my nostalgic travels "down sports car memory lane".

By Peter Radford

4 Tips For Choosing The Best Paint Color For Your Car

Colors make the world beautiful. A great color or combination of colors can make your car look more beautiful than ever. But choosing the right color isn't as easy as purchasing a can of your favorite color. You need to know much more than that before purchasing a color for your car. In this article we're going to see what those things are:

Tip 1 - Select the right paint type

Before you go to your local store for purchasing your color, it's essential to know the right type of color for your car. Basically there are four types of colors that can be used for painting a car:

• First type of pain is Acrylic lacquer. It provides high gloss finish and is inexpensive in comparison to other paints, which makes it suitable for first-time painters.
• Second is Acrylic enamel. It's a tougher paint to work with because it doesn't lay down easily. Some acrylic enamel colors even require a clean topcoat.
• Third is acrylic urethane, which comes with the toughness of enamel paint but is easy to apply. However, it has a drawback of being expensive.
• Finally there are non-toxic water-based paints that are most frequently used as custom car paints and provide an even finish to your vehicle.

Tip 2 - Look the design of your car carefully

You may not realize it, but you should accept it - choose the wrong color and whole styling of your car will be lost. On the other hand, choose right color and the looks of car shine more than ever! While choosing the color for your car you should keep all the features, lines and design of your car in mind. There are certain colors that can make some lines and other designing elements of your car completely invisible.

Tip 3 - Grab the color code of your car

If you don't want to change the color of your car then you should get the color code of your vehicle. Color code helps in describing an exact color so you don't get a different variation of your desired color. This code is stamped on the car itself in various locations. However, you may have to look for it because this location varies according to the manufacturer.

By Ricard D Knowles