The Bard himself once wrote, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." It's the end of an era for Lotus, whose Norwich, England headquarters is a mere three hour drive from Shakespeare's ancestral home in Stratford-upon-Avon. This year, the automaker's current model lineup will fade into a memory as the company pushes forward with an ambitious new plan to remake themselves in a modern and electrically progressive light.
Two of the company's cars, the Elise and Exige, have been available to the buying public for over two decades. It is these models that serve as the base for five new Final Edition cars - each of which with more power and greater standard specification than the traditional models. They will be limited in quantity.
The five new variants– two Elise and three Exige – wear names that define their output: Elise Sport 240, Elise Cup 250, Exige Sport 390, Exige Sport 420 and Exige Cup 430.
Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition
The Elise Sport 240 Final Edition builds on the traditional Elise offering more standard features and power.
Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Each of the Elise Final Editions contains the core ingredients that make it a staple of the company's lineup including the two-seat configuration and 1.8-liter four-cylinder mid-mounted engine. Both models have undergone additional lightweighting.
Buyers can order their Elise in a new selection of colors including Azure Blue, the color used in the first production car images for media in 1996, Black, and Racing Green, which serves as an homage to the colour of the original car unveiled at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Elise Sport 240 has been tuned to deliver 240 brake horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque. It can get from zero to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. The rig rides on 10-spoke Anthracite lightweight forged alloy wheels (16-inch in the front and 17-inch in the rear) that are wrapped in Yokohama tires.
It has a new TFT digital dashboard with two screens for a driver to choose from, as well as a new Alcantara- and leather-clad flat bottom steering wheel. Every car comes with a Final Edition build plaque.
The Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition has had a horsepower increase as part of its new setup.
Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Lotus Elise Cup 250 Final Edition
The Elise Cup 250 Final Edition has many of the same attributes as the Sport 240, only it's less powerful and set up to be more track-ready. It has a front splitter, rear wing, rear diffuser, and side floor extension. It produces 66 kilograms of downforce at 100 mph and 155 kilograms at its top speed of 154 mph.
Lotus has given the model new 10-spoke diamond cut ultra-lightweight M Sport forged wheels (16-inch in the front and 17-inch in the rear) wrapped in Yokohama tires. The car's other standard equipment includes Bilstein sport dampers, adjustable anti-roll bars, a lithium-ion battery, and polycarbonate rear window.
Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition
Lotus has given each Final Edition a new set of standard features, including unique paint options.
Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Buyers of the Exige Final Editions get options similar to what is available for the Elise Final Editions. They all come with the new TFT digital display, Final Edition plaque, fresh paint options, new seat trim and stitch patterns, and new wheels.
Each Exige is powered by a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 that is paired with a bonded aluminum chassis, unique rear subframe, forged aluminum double wishbone rear suspension, unassisted steering, and baffled sump to deliver a pure driving experience.
The new Exige Sport 390 replaces the outgoing Exige Sport 350. It has 47 brake horsepower more than the Sport 350 and can accelerate from a stop to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The car has a top speed of 172 mph.
Aerodynamics allow the car to get 70 kilograms of downforce at the rear and 45 kg up front at top speed. The whole rig rides on 10-spoke silver lightweight forged alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin PS4 tires.
Lotus Exige Sport 420 Final Edition
The Exige Sport 420 Final Edition has more horsepower and is more track-ready than its predecessor.
Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Powered by a supercharged and charge cooled V6 engine, the Exige Sport 420 Final Edition has a 10 brake horsepower increase over the outgoing Sport 410 making it the fastest Exige available. The car can get from zero to 60 mpg in 3.3 seconds.
Each Sport 420 comes equipped with front and rear Eibach anti-roll bars, three-way adjustable Nitron dampers, 10-spoke anthracite lightweight forged alloy wheels (17-inch in front and 18-inch in the rear), and AP Racing brakes with forged four-piston calipers and two-piece J-hook brake discs.
Lotus Exige Cup 430 Final Edition
The Cup 430 remains the range-topping Exige. Its engine delivers 430 brake horsepower and is capable of generating 171 kilograms of downforce. The Exige Cup 430 generates as much downforce at 100mph as the Exige Sport 390 does at 170mph
It can complete getting from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and has a top speed of 174 mpgh.
Every car comes with motorsport-grade carbon fibre panels include the front splitter, front access panel, roof, diffuser surround, enlarged air-intake side pods, one-piece tailgate and race-derived rear wing. Lotus has revised the car's steering arm geometry to increase bump steer, while drivers can alter the car's driving characteristics via the Nitron three-way adjustable dampers and Eibach adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars.
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are fitted to ultra-lightweight 10-spoke diamond cut lightweight forged alloy wheels (17-inch in the front and 18-inch in the rear). Braking power is provided by forged four-piston AP Racing brake calipers and two-piece J-hook brake discs.
A high-flow titanium exhaust system is also standard.
The Lotus Exige Sport 420 Final Edition has a top speed of 180 mph.
Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Pricing
Each model is on sale now. The Elise Sport 240 has a U.K. price tag of £45,500 and the Elise Cup 250 comes in at £50,900. The Exige Sport 390 is priced at £64,000 while the Exige Sport 420 sits a bit higher at £79,900. The highest priced of the models is the Exige Cup 430, which wears a £100,600 price tag. All prices include VAT. International pricing is available from local dealers.
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The shapely back end of the of the Lotus Emira.Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Lotus has released this image teasing three future cars the company plans to produce.Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
Gavan Kershaw, Director of Vehicle Attributes for Lotus, pilots the car in the video.Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
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Margaret Thatcher drives the Esprit around Norwich Airport.Photo courtesy of Lotus Cars
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