While the original Series 1 Lotus Elise wowed sports car enthusiasts with its lightweight and capable chassis, it was the Series II that bows in 2000, with its more powerful engines and crisper sheet metal, that attracted even more people to the British sports car marquee.
More variants were added: the luxuriously-appointed (for a Lotus) 111S, the better handling Sports 111, and the limited-edition Type 72 that paid tribute to the company's legendary Formula 1 racer in paint scheme, with all of them powered by the same engine that produced 143 HP and 128.0 ft-lb of torque (peak output was later raised to 156 HP).
But in a break with its traditional British roots, the Rover-sourced engine was replaced by Toyota's 2ZZ-GE from the Japanese giant's popular Celica coupe in 2004 for the 111R model. This 1.8-liter DOHC inline-4 came replete with a smooth-shifting 6-speed manual transmission and a respectable 189 HP and 133.8 ft-lb of torque at its disposal. Also, it met stringent U.S. emissions standards, thus becoming not only the first street-legal Elise to be exported to America but also the first one equipped with 4-channel ABS brakes, all welcome advancements on the Elise that benefitted sporting drivers just as much on both city streets in everyday driving and the local race circuit on the weekend.
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.jpg "Lotus Elise 111R '04 (Premium).jpg (455 KB)")
