No more 2ZZ for the Elise/Exige/2-11 in Europe

[Frederik]

Due to environmental considerations Lotus will soon be quitting production of the Elise and Exige with the Toyota 1.8l 2ZZ-GE engine fitted. Euro 5 emissions regulations mean that the engine which has been used for the Elise R/SC and all S2 Exige models plus the 2Eleven is no longer an available powerplant and the final 40 build slots left will be allocated by the 27th of August this year. When supercharged and intercooled the engine would produce 260ps propelling the Exige Cup 260 from 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds and 0-100 mph in sub 10 seconds, quite an act to follow.

Currently the Elise production cars are being produced with a Toyota 1.6l engine in the base S model which passes all Euro 5 emissions requirements and we are unaware of what engine will power the models further up the range. Speculation of a V6 engine for the Exige has been seen online, perhaps this is something we'll see at the Paris motorshow next month along with the rumoured Evora S / Evora Auto and new Esprit.

This is the end of an era for this race proven bullet-proof engine which we're sure will be sadly missed by Lotus enthusiasts. What Lotus plan to do with their core models isn't clear, fingers crossed they're something special up their sleeves.

[Frederik]

Lotus Cars have confirmed that the order book for these vehicles will close on Friday 27th August.