New Lotus Elise Classic Heritage Editions Add Retro Liveries And More Kit

Lotus is launching four new Classic Heritage limited-edition versions for the Elise featuring iconic motorsport color schemes from the company’s illustrious racing history.

Customers will be able to spec their new Lotus Elise in four different retro liveries as a tribute to the company’s most iconic race cars, including black and gold; red, white and gold; blue, red and silver; and blue and white.

The black and gold livery comes from the 1972 Type 72D F1 car that won five races at the hands of Emerson Fittipaldi. The red, white, and gold livery pay homage to the Type 49B that Graham Hill raced in 1968 while the blue, red, and silver one is inspired by the Type 81 F1 car that was driven by Nigel Mansell, Elio de Angelis, and Mario Andretti in the 1980 F1 season.

Last but not least, the blue and white livery references the Lotus Type 18 from 1960, the company’s first F1 car to achieve a pole position and victory at the hands of Sir Stirling Moss at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The new Lotus Elise Classic Heritage Editions also offer more equipment over the standard Elise Sport 220 they’re based on and are available now across selected international markets. Lotus will build a total of 100 examples -each with its own individually numbered build plaque on the dashboard. The final numbers of each variant will be dictated by customer demand.

Standard features include things like DAB digital radio with four speakers, air-conditioning, cruise control, ultra-lightweight forged alloy wheels with a special finish, two-piece disc brakes, and black carpets.

The interior color pack is also fitted as standard and includes elements finished in the same color with the exterior of the car like the upper door trim, the central seat insert, gear selector surround, and bits of the dashboard.

Power still comes from a supercharged Toyota-sourced 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 217 HP (220 PS) and 250Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque paired to a six-speed manual transmission. Lotus claims a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 145 mph (233 km/h).

The premium for one of the new Classic Heritage editions of the Lotus Elise is set at £6,350 over the price of a standard Elise Cup 220 in the UK, which represents great value in the Lotus world as the new models come with £11,735 worth of added features. The base price remains the same for all four limited-edition versions of the Lotus Elise, starting from £46,250 (€47,848).