The Lotus Elise 2016 – the new generation of a bigger and meaner machine

They have since showed what the new Elise will look like after that and this is where many are saying that it is a ‘more mature’ version of what it is currently. For starters, it is bigger and definitely heavier which at the preliminary specs showed that it is about 200kgs more than what you see now. Dany Bahar, the Chief Executive Officer of Lotus said that while they are very happy with the current version, which he said is ‘fantastic’, they are also looking to progress and such a move would be just natural.

The new generation will come with a new 2.0 liter engine that gets you up to 316 horses and 330Nm of torque, where the engine will follow the current version which is mid-mounted and rear wheel drive. You can also opt for the Dual Clutch transmission which is currently the standard equipment in the 2011 model. It is then paired with a 6 speed manual transmission gearbox and would most likely be last one to let you choose between the 2 or 3 pedal system.

This is seen as an important move for Lotus because as with the current version, critics are fast to hit out that it has never been a very profitable model for the company and despite being the main iconic model, it is still suffering from bad sales. The new 2016 Elise will form part of what the company is trying to do moving forward by mainstreaming Lotus away from its past of being a car with an niche brand.

As mentioned, it is bigger and hence for comparison sake, it will be 8.4 inches longer, 5.1 inches wider, and 5.6 inches taller when the new model comes out then and the engine is as usual produced by Toyota. As compared to the new lineup, it is highly likely that the Elise could still be the smallest and lightest model of the lot.