Lotus Elise Bathurst Edition Is An Aussie Special

The Lotus Elise Bathurst Edition is a long name for a small car to go with the length of its namesake.

robably a complicated joke for a very limited edition car but I reckon it’s a cracker of an idea. There’s a long tradition of Bathurst-related special editions but this one has a clever sting in the tail.

Based on the Lotus Elise Cup 250 (even more powerful than the Sprint 220 I drove)(and loved), there will be just six Elise Bathurst Edition cars available and only in Australia. For now, anyway…

Look and Feel

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It’s just a white Elise with stickers, right? Nope. The Elise Bathurst has some nice touches.

I mean, yes, it’s white, but it’s a special white – the Elise Bathurst Edition sports Premium Monaco White, last seen on 007’s Lotus Esprit three decades or so. There’s a wing that for some reason has Union Jacks on each end but you’ll also find Bathurst decals. The forged alloys are painted black for that monochrome effect and various bits are painted in the body colour for maximum contrast.

In the tight cabin, you’ll find carbon fibre seats covered (very sensibly) in Alcantara with a cool red surround on the open gearshift and red stitching about the place. I think it looks terrific.

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Last, and surely not least, you get the authenticity plate so you, your passengers and future buyers know that this is the real deal.

Chassis

The Elise Bathurst Edition is properly light, weighing in at 931kg (kerb weight). Like the 220, it has a lightweight lithium-ion battery instead a chunky old-school one, as well as the aforementioned carbon fibre seats and forged alloys. Lotus also replaced the rear screen with a lighter polycarbonate version.

Suspension is by double wishbones front and rear with an adjustable front anti-roll bar. Damping is by Bilstein dampers, 12 percent stiffer on compression and 20 percent on rebound to further improve the handling. The rear dampers are nine percent firmer on compression and a robust 30 percent on rebound.

Springs are from Eibach, as with many other Elises.

The forged alloys are 16-inch units at the front and 17 at the back, with Yokohama Advan A052s measuring 195/50 and 225/45. No spare, obviously. Keeping you off the Armco is a set of AP Racing two piston calipers up front and Brembos at the rear.

Various aero bits generate an impressive 148kg of downforce at an unspecified speed, but who cares, it’s not lifting.

Drivetrain

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Behind the rear bulkhead you’ll find a supercharged 181kW four-cylinder with charge-cooling. The walloping (for 931kg) torque figure of 250Nm helps the Elise 250 Cup to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds.

The six-speed manual is the only option, sending drive through an electronic limited-slip diff.

So it’s light, fast and loud. Just as an Elise should be.

How much and when?

The Elise Bathurst Edition weighs in at $109,990, just a few bucks more than a normal 250 Cup. That gets you the usual two year/33,000km warranty, three years roadside assist and a very generous three years of scheduled servicing.

Oh. And you know how it’s called the Bathurst Edition? Get in early enough (I’ll be surprised if any of the six are still left before too long), you get free access to the next Lotus track day at Mt Panorama. Yep.