Ever since its inception, Lotus has been making sports cars free from the burden of luxury trappings, instead offering customers cars shorn of all unnecessary weight in the pursuit of peerless performance and handling.
The Lotus Elise follows in this tradition, and the Club Racer addition tested here takes the lightweight ethos to the extreme, with not even floor mats making an appearance in the minimalist interior. The seats too are slender plastic items, designed foremost to be light, rather than a comfy place to sit.
However, while the Elise would make a lousy long-distance cruiser, it is perhaps the perfect Sunday morning cobweb blaster. With lightning-quick responses and an athleticism sorely missing from other so-called sports cars, it will instantly strike a chord with anyone who drives for the pleasure of it.
Watch our 90 second review for the full low-down. If you fancy your own Elise, they are available in our classifieds starting from £10,995.
