Performance Review: Lotus Elise Club Racer - [2011]

Figures & Specs Summary:

Lotus Elise Performance Review.

Introduction:

This edition of the Lotus Elise Club Racer is the 6 speed / Manual version and was first brought out in 2011. This was at around the same time as the introduction of the 2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse and the 2011 SSC Tuatara 6.9L V8 Twin Turbo.This particular Lotus Elise has a 1598cc Naturally Aspirated Petrol powerplant with 4 cylinders in a St formation.

Alternative Petrol St4's includes the 2019 Ariel Atom 4 2.0 Turbo

The Elise shares its Petrol St4 engine configuration with the likes of the 2019 Ariel Atom 4 2.0 Turbo and the 2013 Caterham 7 620 R 2.0 L Supercharged. If you're looking for other fast cars which share the Elise's Rear Wheel Drive, Cabriolet combination then how about the 1982 Fiat X1/9 1.5 8V or the 1965 Aston-Martin DB6 1965.

Power and Weight:

Weighing in at 852 kgs (1878 lbs) this makes the Lotus Elise Club Racer in the same weight category as the 2006 Lotus Elise S or the give or take 50kg.

The Lotus Elise shares the same bhp with the 2022 Mini Cooper Countryman John Cooper Works 1.5 Turbo (134 bhp)

In terms of power the 1598cc 16V St4 engine produces 134 bhp (99 kW) @ 6800 rpm similar to the 2022 Mini Cooper Countryman John Cooper Works 1.5 Turbo (134 bhp) or the 2020 Audi A1 A1 Sportback 35 TFSI S tronic S line (148 bhp).

The Naturally Aspirated St4 throws out 118 lb-ft (159.9 Nm) @ 4400 rpm placing it with cars of similar torque performance figures such as the 2013 Renault Captur 1.2 Turbo TCe 120 EDC (140 lb-ft) or the 2012 Mini Cooper Paceman (118 lb-ft).

Power to Weight:

If one combines the weight with power or torque performance for the Lotus Elise you can get a better idea of it's real world performance.

The 2003 Rolls-Royce Phantom Saloon 4d (182.2 bhp per ton) has similar Bhp Per Ton stats as the Lotus Elise.

The Lotus Elise has a Power to weight ratio of 157.2 bhp per ton and 138.4 lb-ft per ton. Bhp Per Ton figures of the 2011 Elise competing with the 2003 Rolls-Royce Phantom Saloon 4d (182.2 bhp per ton) or the 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (182.2 bhp per ton).

Power to Weight(cont.):

If you agree with the late great Carroll Shelby then arguably an even better indicator of potential performance, Torque. Use weight as well and you end up with - Torque per ton, with the Lotus Elise generating around 138.4 lb-ft per ton. If you're curious as to what other cars have as much torque to weight then look no further than the 1984 BMW 6 Series M635 CSi E24 (163.4 lb-ft per ton) or the 2012 Porsche Cayman 2.7l (163.3 lb-ft per ton).

Acceleration:

With a 0-60mph time of 6.00 secs or a 0-100km/h (0-62mph) of 6.2 secs, this made the Lotus Elise Club Racer as fast as the 2019 Land-Rover Defender 110 3.0 Turbo (6.00 secs) the 2017 Dodge Challenger GT 3.6 V6 AWD (6.00 secs) the 2017 Toyota Century 5.0 V8 (6.00 secs) the or the 2015 Seat Leon ST Cupra 265 DSG (6.00 secs). This Lotus Elise Club Racer is also faster than the 2017 Maserati Ghibli 3.0 V6 Diesel (6.10 secs) the 2017 Hyundai i30 N 2.0 Turbo (6.10 secs) the 2017 Land-Rover Velar 3.0 SDV6 300 (6.10 secs) the and the 2016 Volkswagen-VW Golf GTI 2.0 Turbo DSG (6.10 secs).

Quarter Mile time is a close race between the Elise and the 1993 Porsche 968 Club Sport

When talking about the performance of the Lotus Elise on the drag strip it can reach a quarter mile in an estimated 15.32 secs @ 89.3 mph. Similar performance down the quarter mile can be found with the the 1993 Porsche 968 Club Sport (15.25 secs), the 1970 Chevrolet Malibu 5.7 V8 Turbo Hydra-Matic (15.26 secs), and the 1986 Lamborghini LM002 5.2 V12 (15.29 secs).

Top Speed:

Modern performance cars are often artificially restricted to 155mph. The 2011 version of the Lotus Elise Club Racer has a maximum speed of 127mph.

Top Speed of the 2011 Elise equals the 2020 Audi A1 A1 Sportback 35 TFSI S tronic S line (138 mph)

If maxing out your car on the AutoBahn is your thing and you're wondering what's faster than the 2011 Lotus Elise Club Racer then how about the 2020 Audi A1 A1 Sportback 35 TFSI S tronic S line (138 mph), the 2008 Audi A3 2.0tdi Quattro S-Line (138 mph), or the 2004 Renault Clio 2.0 16V Renaultsport Trophy 182 (138 mph).

Related Links:

2011 Elise Rivals List.

A Brief History of Lotus

Car Comparison