Lotus Elise greenest in its class

Lotus has announced the 2011 Elise (facelift) has a CO² emissions rating of 149 g/km – the lowest of any sportscar in its segment.

The figures are a reduction of 16% over the prvious Lotus Elise S.

The achievement is possible thanks to the Elise’s new 1.6-litre four cylinder VVT-I engine. Producing 100 kW / 134 hp, the engine allows the 876kg car to accelerate from 0-100kmh in 6.5 seconds. It returns 56.1 mpg (5.04 liters per 100km) in the extra urban cycle.

Gains have also been made thanks to improvements in aerodynamics, which cut drag by four percent.

“World leading emissions and economy figures are a direct result of our commitment to core values of performance through light weight and efficiency,” Lotus says. “The Elise weighs just 876kg and to put this weight into perspective, a nameless convertible sportscar from Stuttgart (Germany) weighs in at 1335kg.”

Read more about the 2011 Lotus Elise here.