Lotus Elise Cup 250

he structure is still stiff enough, and while dimensions might have grown to the point where this most modern of Elises, the Cup 250, feels larger on the road, it owes everything to its grandfather.

The Cup 250 is a focused car. The price has risen to the point that, costing £49,595, it’s more than twice what the original Elise went on sale for (a base-spec Elise Sport 220, which is more the successor to the standard S1 still costs £41,695).

Still, this fastest, most hardcore Elise shows off just how far the model line has come over the past quarter of a century, but how much it’s retained, too.

The engine is a Toyota-sourced supercharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder, so the concept is similar to the Series 1. It’s just that with 245bhp and 250Nm of torque, while the weight has also increased to 932kg – still incredibly light by modern standards given that the Elise now benefits from safety kit such as ESC, ABS and creature comforts like air-con and electric windows – performance is bordering on supercar standards, with the 0-62mph sprint taking 3.9 seconds, rather than simply being just a quick sports car.

The Cup 250’s rather more senior nature compared with the S1 means its suspension is firmer, the track-focused tyres’ sidewalls are stiffer and the compound stickier. There’s more adhesion derived from clever aerodynamics to go with the increased mechanical grip from the set-up and wider rubber, while the engine is sharper and punchier than the S1’s K Series motor.