Lotus is renowned for producing great handling cars with an emphasis on ‘adding lightness’.
However, most models don’t really have all that much power, and for instance, it would not be conceivable for a 2005 Elise to be as fast as this modified example driven by Jay Leno – it has 680 hp and it’s actually mostly hand-built, using the Lotus as a base.
It’s the work of enthusiast Frank Profera, who wanted a nicely driving sports car for the road. His favorite thing to do with the car is take it up on California’s mountain twisties and give it some stick.
Leno got to drive it on the roads it was intended for too, and he was deeply impressed with the experience. It provides feel, yet it’s easy to drive, and brutally fast when you want it to be. The engine used is the same 1.8-liter the donor Elise came with, but with a custom turbo on it plus an alcohol injection to reach the full 680 hp.