Lotus Elise Gets New Engine in Australia

The 2011 model year Lotus Elise introduces a number of changes and improvements for the Australian market, namely a new 1598cm3 1ZR-FAE engine, provided by Toyota. The engine is said to be more fuel efficient thanks to the valvematic system (a variable valve-lift mechanism), which is combined with the dual VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing-intelligent).

At just 149 g/km, the new Lotus Elise has fuel consumption figures on a combined cycle of just 5.04l/100km, a 16 percent reduction over the 2010 Elise S.

However, the engine outputs the same 100kW power as the outgoing 1.8-litre Elise S, and 0-100km/h in just 6.5 seconds. Maximum power output is achieved at 6800rpm and maximum torque of 160Nm is reached at 4400rpm. A new six-speed close-ratio manual gearbox is also a first for Elise.

Like all Elise sports cars, there are three up-shift lights on the binnacle that illuminate cumulatively when approaching the rev limiter; when all three are illuminated, they flash to indicate that the driver is almost on the rev limiter.

“The Lotus Elise revolutionised the sports car when it was launched 14 years ago and now the Lotus Elise has become greener, giving drivers access to class-leading performance with less guilt,” Dany Bahar, CEO of Lotus Group, said in a release.

The new engine, however, meets EURO 5 regulations which means the new Lotus Elise has the lowest CO2 per performance from any gasoline high performance sports car. The 1.6-litre engine is controlled via the bespoke Lotus T6 engine management system, which improves total power output by 3kW over the standard engine management.