Fast and Furious

Lotus officials figure it doesn't matter the Elise is the polar opposite of the overstuffed, overweight and flaccid-handling SUV that typifies the “American car” nowadays. There appears to be plenty of pent-up demand for the Elise. Lotus aficionados and track-day driving enthusiasts — not to mention those who simply want to make a genuine “niche” statement — slapped down more than 2,000 deposits (against an annual North American allotment of no more than 2,400 units) before the Elise's mid-June on-sale date.

Not hard to imagine, because clued-in zealots on this side of the Atlantic have been salivating for a shot at the British-made Elise since the first-generation car's European launch in 1996. The car that makes a Mazda Miata look flabby and scorches Porsche's benchmark Boxster S in the 0-60 mph (97 km/h) and quarter-mile runs has been a perpetual award-winner thanks to its religious adherence to Lotus founder Colin Chapman's chief design goal: light weight above all else.

Less weight makes for easier handling. And lightness simplifies the power-to-weight equation — the car can generate scintillating performance with a smaller and less-bulky engine and transmission. The '05 Elise comes to the U.S. at less than a ton in base form — 500 lbs. (227 kg) lighter than a Miata and a thrilling 900 lbs. (363 kg) lighter than the Boxster S.

The lack of poundage assures the Toyota Motor Corp.-supplied 1.8L DOHC I-4's 190 hp rockets the Elise to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. The 1.8L rather famously fails to impress in Toyota's own Celica and Matrix largely due to its torque deficiencies — just 138 lb.-ft. (181 Nm) for the Elise — and sky-high horsepower peak. But never in a car has torque felt so non-essential; rev it and something usually happens pretty quickly.

Apart from its tidy 100 hp-plus per liter, Lotus execs say the Toyota 4-cyl. was selected for another important reason: it all but guaranteed U.S. emissions compliance. That, in turn, helped Lotus engineers gestate the Elise from North American program approval to start-of-production in 16 months.

Finally, from the service and reliability standpoint, Toyota's 4-cyl. screamer can't be beat. “There's a lot of comfort in having the (Toyota) engine,” says Mark O'Shaughnessy, Lotus Cars USA director of sales and marketing.

Unfortunately Elise has one big, weight-dictated character flaw: It is so dedicated to the low-weight mantra that creature comforts such as power windows — carpeting, for heaven's sake — can be had only in the $1,350 Touring Pack. With the Elise's complex canvas demi-roof removed, travel at typical freeway speeds in a non-Touring-equipped car is an exercise in reverse sensory deprivation: you're buffeted by wind noise, road noise, engine noise, and a host of other noises you can't hear because of the primary noises.

At $39,985, the Elise, even when loaded to $45,000, is faster and much cheaper than a Boxster S or equally intense Honda S2000. It's faster but much more expensive than a Miata. All three competitors could be daily drivers. The Elise could not.

'04 Lotus Elise

Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, 2-passenger 2-door roadster

Engine: 1.8L (1,796 cc) DOHC I-4, aluminum block/aluminum head

Power (SAE net): 190 hp @ 7,800 rpm

Torque: 138 lb.-ft. (187 Nm) @ 6,800 rpm

Compression ratio: 11.5:1

Bore x stroke (mm): 82 × 85

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Wheelbase: 90.5 ins. (230 cm)

Overall length: 149 ins. (378 cm)

Overall width: 67.7 ins. (172 cm)

Overall height: 43.9 ins. (112 cm)

Curb weight: 1,975 lbs. (896 kg)

Market competition: BMW Z4; Honda S2000; Mazda Miata; Porsche Boxster