Lotus Australia Releases MY20.5 Lineup
Lotus Cars Australia has released a series of tweaks for the entire Lotus range for the rest of 2020. New option packs roll up some options for added value.
February was a busy month for Lotus Cars Australia, culminating in the announcement of the Evora GT 410 and the Lotus Only Track Day at Bathurst.
Just so you’ve got everything straight in your head, here’s the run-down for what Lotus is calling the MY20.5 update for Elise and Exige.
Lotus Elise
Elise Sport 220: $87,990
For the MY20.5 year, the tweaks on the Sport 220 are reasonably small. The seats come in a mix of cloth and leather with contrast stitching and you can upgrade to various stitching options. You also get central locking, electric windows and air-conditioning. The steering wheel comes in leather, too, and the endlessly lovely alloy gearshift takes pride of place.
The Touring Pack is new for MY20.5, with a choice of leather or Alcantara trim, four-speaker stereo with DAB, sound insulation pack, cruise control and black carpeting. The leather comes in black, red or tan. The Alcantara comes in black or red and both packs have silver stitching.
The Sports Pack offers a full Alcantara steering wheel in black, two-piece brake discs, sports suspension with Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs and 10-spoke forged alloy wheels in black or silver.
The 220 ships with a Toyota-sourced supercharged 1.8-litre with 162kW and 250Nm.
Elise Cup 250: $107,990
The Cup 250 is a more driver-focused version of the Elise, as if the 220 wasn’t sharp enough. As the name suggests, the supercharged 1.8-litre produces more power at 181kW.
Chassis upgrades include stiffer Bilstein dampers and an adjustable front anti-roll bar. The aero package brings 158kg of downforce. Out goes the stereo, seats, battery and glass rear screen. The seats are switched with carbon fibre units, the rear screen is made from polycarbonate and a lithium-ion battery replaces the normal one. The lightweight forged alloys reduce unsprung weight. Altogether, the kerb weight drops to 931kg.
Yokohama Advan A052s up the grip, with 195/50/R16s at the front and 225/45/R17s at the rear.
You can also add the Touring Pack if you want to stack the weight back on.
Both Elises feature a ton of options, such as titanium exhaust, metallic or pearl paint options, GFRP or carbon fibre hardtops and a heap of carbon fibre parts. There are also a range of premium paints.
Click here for the Lotus Elise Cup 250 review.
MY20.5 Lotus Exige
Sport 350 Coupe: $139,500
Sport 350 Roadster: $139,500
The Exige is a big step up, with a supercharged V6 strapped into the back of the brilliant Elise chassis. The 350 serves up 258kW and 400Nm, delivering a 3.9 second 0-100km/h time.
You also score an electronically locking differential and a three-way ESP setup. Braking is by AP Racing with 322mm discs all round. Michelin Pilot Sport 4s adorn the wheels, with 205/45/R17s at the front and 265/35/R18s at the rear.
You can choose yellow or orange from the standard palette or upgrade to metallic, premium or pearl paint options.
Standard features include central locking, rear parking sensors, air-conditioning and electric windows. A standard 12-volt battery ships as standard and you can flip it for the lightweight lithium-ion.
The Elise’s Touring Pack is available on the Exige and the Sport Pack too.
A Carbon Fibre Aero Pack replaces the standard aero parts with carbon fibre, taking in the front splitter, rear wing and rear diffuser. You can also specify a black pack.
Again, there’s a long list of options including lots of carbon fibre bits, painted brake calipers and alloys.
Exige 410 Coupe: $169,990
Exige 410 Roadster: $169,990
Yep, the 410 means even more power from the supercharged V6, climbing to 306kW and 420Nm to push its 1110kg to 100km/ in 3.4 seconds.
The 410 scores the Cup 430’s oil cooler, bigger clutch and forged four-piston AP Racing calipers with 332mm discs. Nitron dampers perform chassis magic alongside Eibach front and rear anti-roll bars. The various aero parts deliver 115kg of downforce.
The forged alloys wear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, with 215/45/R17s in front of you and 285/30/R18s behind.
The cabin spec is similar to the 350, but more black Alcantara. You can also spec the Touring Pack.
We drove the Exige 410 at Bathurst and it was wild.
