TopGear - August 2015 PH

he Elise is an immature

scamp: an entertaining

thing in passing, but over

prolonged exposure, its

noisy and panting nature

can get pretty tiresome. Yet in other

ways, it’s like an old sage, an oracle to

be cherished and revered. Approaching

the close of its second decade, it has

characteristics that are truly

benchmarks.

For that reason alone,

a new version should be

welcome. But there’s more.

The Elise S Cup is evi-

dence that Lotus is in

recovery from its bruising

rollercoaster of misplaced

investment, retrenchment and

lockdown.

Broadly speaking, it’s a road-going

version of the track-only fixed-hardtop

S Cup R. The S stands for

217 hp of supercharged Lotus-

Toyota four, so performance

isn’t any too shabby. But

the real headliner is the

way it tackles corners quick

and slow, thanks to the Cup

bit: an aerodynamic kit and

stiffened chassis tune. Stereo

and aircon are available

but not standard,

and so’s an extra

dose of sound

deadening that

doesn’t do a bad job of

making things habitable—

well, as far as ear-bleedin’

quasi-racers go, anyway.

Sure enough, on a track it’s all

about quick-reacting precision and

conversation, the delicious steering

letting you know just when it’s nibbling

at understeer, the seat communicating

the onset of oversteer. The ESP’s Sport

setting allows you to play small slide

angles with great subtlety. At 193 kph,

the splitter, barge boards, side duct

vanes and a huge rear-wing-and-diffuser

combo are shoving you into the tarmac

with a force equivalent to 100 kg, and

it’s already doing good work at road

speeds. Result is a real sense of security

in fast corners that’d have a normal Elise

feeling slightly floaty.

But there are plenty of cars that do

this well on track—albeit by dint of

more power and money. On-road, the

Elise is unique.

It’s small, its ride is relatively supple

and its front tires are a super-slim

175 mm in section. So it doesn’t need

much road width, and it doesn’t

tramline. On a British back road, those

are stupendous assets. The minuscule

nose weight means the steering rack

happily goes without power assistance.

The result is an absolute joy, a wheel free

of friction and largely without kickback,

yet intimate in telling you what grip

is left. When you think how often you

actually use your car’s steering, that’s a

benchmark well worth having.

Lap dancer

The most fun you can have on a track. We aren’t messing about Words by paul horrell

SHAKEDOWN

premium sports car

the SPeCS

Price:

tbc

engine:

1.8-liter dohc I4

Power:

217hp @ 6,800rpm

torque:

250Nm @

4,600rpm

transmission:

6-speed manual

Layout/seating:

RWd/2

thirSt Meter

the VerDiCt

this road-to-track

Elise isn’t user-friendly,

but we need it.

Lotus’s nude steering

makes all powered

systems feel

zombified.

18 20

GeArBOX

lOtuS eliSe S CuP

RIVAL

THE

elise steering is

possibly the best

in the business

alfa romeo 4c

Stunning looks but

a choppy ride and

a soulless engine.

WWW.topgear.com.ph toP GEAR PhILIPPINES 49

t