NEW Lotus Elise Sport 240 - The LAST EVER Elise: Track Review | Carfection 4K
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
- The Lotus Elise has been with us for over 25 years but the Sport 240 will be the last ever one. How does this swan song of a sports car do out on track, how does it compare to the original Lotus Elise, and is it a fitting goodbye?
Henry Catchpole takes the Lotus Elise Sport 240 through its paces at i's home track, Henthel, at Lotus HQ to see for himself.
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:10 What's new?
01:40 Driving
05:46 Interesting facts about the Elise
08:31 Driving
10:30 Outro - Авто та транспорт
This is one of those cars that no one buys when it’s new but when it’s gone, everyone will miss it and wonder why more weren’t made...
Toyota Celica
Honda Integra
Same thing happened with the Esprite.
And wish it was available in the US.
You're right. Familiarity has bred contempt with these cars, but I think part of the problem is also that it's very hard to sell one to someone that has an earlier model. I love my S1 and when I sit in a newer version I like it, but buying one would feel crazy because of how similar they are.
Story of my life. Nothing can replace the Elise or S2000.
I feel like this is the "don't cry because it ended, smile because it happened" moment in automotive history. I wanted one since 2004. Still do.
Reminds me of high school and wanting an orange Exige.
@@Masteraal ever since clarkson evaded missile lock in one from an Apache gunship 👌
@@richboy900 Ah the fond memories. I remember studying for my exams and thinking it was a great idea to rewatch all the Top Gear episodes and also Scrubs haha
Same. And I'm just now getting into the position of being able to attain one soon. And that happens is lotus discontinues the Elise :(
Used market it is then. At least it's more or less guaranteed that these will be classics one fay
Just take a loan and get a used one then, i did, 2005 Yellow 111R, had it for 10 years now.
you know its gonna be a quality video without even watching it
I like Lotus.
@@adamsonlinearrayspeakersha87 i like lightweight British sportscars
Thank you all for watching. Still seems hard to believe that this is the Elise's swan song. The particular heritage paint on this car is Azure Blue, by the way. And the podcast I mention is the Stage by Stage Podcast by Trevor Agnew - the Rob Wilson episode being the specific one I talk about. There is also a Rob Wilson video on Carfection if you want to search that out.
I think a more powerful one in Black John Player Special livery and gold wheels could keep me happy forever. Top work Henry.
Henry you mentioned the seats, unfortunately you cannot upgrade on the Sport 240. The seats you tested are the only option.
Thanks for the vid Henry. The end of the Elise. Quite an emotional moment.
Thanks for making this video Henry. Bit of a tearjerker at the end.
Some great notes you make about how this car is the perfect car to learn to drive better in. I've been fortunate enough to get instructed by Martin Donnelly on that track, courtesy of the Lotus Driving Academy - what an experience and definitely, you can learn so much about balance and weight transfer with this car.
Caterham should strike a similar deal for the rights to the elise like they did with the lotus 7 that has been a real success story for them
Absolutely...
Great idea!
That's not a bad shout actually
This is something i didn't knew i wanted
Could make an 500bhp Exige! Caterham Exige R500 Superlight
I say this is a more emotional farewell than the Zonda ever deserved
The concluding words here almost made me cry.
Legends never die, rest in peace.
The conclusion is absolutely spot on. Perfectly worded.
True. I hope there is a replacement and it’s of the 21st century and sold in North America. I’d love to see the Elise they always wanted to build but the technology didn’t exist 25 years ago but now it does, and if it still cost less than a Porsche Cayman even better.
As an owner of an S1 Sport 135, I almost shed a tear at the end of that great farewell video. Thank You Henry.
I am happy to have fullfilled my childhood dream and bought an exige when they were still available. You could save the money but I never spent it better, life is short and in the end it comes down to what you always wanted to do and never did.
This is basically a love letter to the Elise! Loved it.
I took my S3 out of hibernation on the weekend to go and get some essentials, mini toilet rolls etc. Driving down a mucky, sodden Welsh B road in the Elise reminded me of why I love driving. Thank you Lotus for giving the world one of the greatest little sports cars to ever turn a wheel.
Try an Alpine A110 😉
@@nessuno5403 that's a bit like drinking bourbon when you've got whiskey reviewing adoration of the Magi when you have The Last Supper in front of you killing people with an ar-15 when you have an original Soviet AK-47 lol why settle for less just because it's new
@@nessuno5403 I would if it was better looking xD
@@G1lgamesj 😅
I can’t believe how good this car looks. That blue is epic.
Blue is hands down the best Elise color imho. I really want a S2 Elise in laser blue. That's my attainable dream car.
No, you really have to see the Solid Yellow and Metallic Orange Elise's those are breathtaking. Same for Elise Grey.
Agreed. I ordered mine in the same Azure Blue. Will be here soon…
I love the stereo... straight out of 2009!
you are right, useless. should remove
2009? Looks more like the 90s!
@C J B I am so sorry that you were molested and the trauma is affecting your judgement.
@@Channy132 lifted straight out of my k reg corolla
@@headcrash69 Someone can't understand humour
I just love it when Henry does his thing ✌ entertaining! Fun facts for the geeks! Heart and soul!
10:23 That bobble sticking out the roof in the breeze... 😂
A real shame its being taken out of production. Would've been nice for it to carry on as a heritage product slotting below all the new ones. People won't realise what they've lost, till its too late.
Spoken like a legend.
I don't think there would be space to continue production. And it can't be sold in North America so it's not financially viable really. Would be great if Caterham could carry it on
I think they will make a new model with Geely's capitals, am I wrong?
@@achilleconte4385 they're making an suv in Geely's factory but it's still badged as a Lotus. They just wanted to keep this factory as the sports cars base
@@TheHesK9 I know that they want to make a Lotus suv, I was just wondering if they are planning on making a new Elise in the future, as far as I've read on some internet magazine they should do it.
Thank you Lotus, end of an era
Beautiful tribute to the Elise.
Kind of wanted to swap the R300 for a Sport220 for a while, but now I really want a Sport240!
As soon as he said that this is a final edition car, I started crying. I still remember being about 6 years old when I saw my first Lotus Elise, the sun was setting behind the beautiful red car. I wish I could own one of these literal masterpieces. I will miss them with all my heart.
Don't have to imagine how nice the Final Edition is when you've heard it from Carfection, just left yearning for one. Oh and the winter moss everywhere on track except the racing line... 👌🏼Lotus. [please may a new badge read 'Esprit']
Lotus have officially said they will not be bringing the Esprit line back, rather it will be something new.
@@martinharding im sure geely have brought a big portion of the conpany and they going all electric
@@marley354 they are, but they aren't reviving the Esprit badge.
Amen!
@@martinharding where have they said that?
These things are just magical. I’ve been lucky enough to own a series 2 Exige cup 240, and now have an S1 motorsport Elise race car which I’ll keep forever. I think an Elise is all I’ll ever need to be happy.
I've been daily driving an Elise for 6 months now. It snowed the other day and I had to drive my 911 C4. The lotus makes the 911 feel rather porky and numb. I still love it. Just not as much.
I had a lotus Elise 220, it was the best car I ever had. So much fun and built quality perfect
Never wanted an Elise. Always thought a Cayman/Boxster was a better all-rounder and therefore the better buy. But Carfection turned me now. I almost had tears in my eyes in the outro when he said "Thank you, Elise.". I now want an Elise. And I want one badly. Thank you Carfection.
In 5 years these Elise's and Exige's will sky rocket in value
They already have
Every NA engine sportscar with manual shift will sky rocket in value in the near future🤣
I don't know, they are pretty old already. Hyper-inflation is here for everything. Low grade steak is $30/lb in the supermarket. Trump spent 40% of all previous presidents combined, so prices are in the process of doubling. Biden is on track to spend 10% of all previous including Trump, in the first month. Wages are still falling.
@@FFE-js2zp You know there is more in this world than the pathetic USA and their broken system right? The center of its own universe is crumbling, who cares seriously.
@@FFE-js2zp I hope that you are pretty aware that this is a British Company owned by a Chinese Giant which has nothing to do with the United States and it's affairs ?
US is not the only Superpower now, it's not a Unipolar world like in the 20th Century, Multipolar with extensive supply chains along the Indo-Pacific and nothing to do with the US.
I get it, yall got a new president after bashing the old one so...hard he won't be doing politics again. It's over get over it. Get something new to talk about.
20 years ago I was tooling around in an S1 that was pretty much this colour. I loved every minute of owning it, did some track days and on track lessons in it, took it to Le Mans with my brother, and generally had a blast. I traded it for a 911, and honestly I miss the Elise more; in fact I miss it's purity, simplicity and finesse more than any other car I've owned. I have to admit, this got me a bit nostalgic... So long Elise, we were lucky we knew you.
Kinda makes you wish you had 46k just laying around right? This has always been a dream car of mine and as sad as I am to see this gem of a machine go, as you so eloquently put it, it is so that new automotive projects can be underway for the new generations to come and the bar that was set high by this model can be met and surpassed. Brilliant video as always Mr. H! Here’s to finding the next shiny new gem, Cheers!
Lotus is one of the last bastions for lightweight and purist cars without being like atoms and monos, I hope they succeed the Elise with a new gen drivers car!
Still one of the best drivers cars out there.
This is sad :(. The Elise is THE FIRST sports car that caught my attention when I was a kid, and what kick-started my love for auto-sport. I'll never forget it was a bronze color with black trim, and a few decades later I'd saved up for one and bought the Elise as my first sports car. I know it sounds silly, but I enjoyed driving the Elise just as much as a Porsche GT3, it may have been down on power but once you connect with it, it becomes an extension of you like no other car.
An amazing British sports car with amazing Style, not overcomplicated, just right, well done lotus👏👏👏👏
There’s just something about the way carfection reviews the cars... it makes me want to buy every single car. Would love to see Henry review an old banger or Fiat mulitpla!
A great send off, I just hope Lotus continue to serve their core customer base and don't just start chasing the super rich
I think has already happened. I’ve had one Elise 111s brill car then a 240s exige black then 260 cup black and white carbon. Beautiful and finally I bought an ardent red 2014 exige s v6 350. Last two were brand new from Murray lotus in Edinburgh. Sad to say lotus just dumped £20,000 on the price for almost the same car. That put an end to any new purchases for me. Still have it now. Goes away for winters and due out in April/May depending if all the salt is off the roads here in Northern Ireland. 20,000 miles. Like new.
I was late to the Lotus game and am still original owner of 2008 S2. I love this car! If you own one don’t ever sell it before taking it to a track. Then you will never sell it. ;)
Henry Catchpole always did a great job showing us cars.
You know when you see an eagle, or a shark and marvel at how they've evolved to perfection for their environment and stayed the same for seemingly eons.............. Great video, thank you
See the level of praise journalists currently lavish on the excellent Alpine while the (at least as excellent) Elise is lucky to appear as a footnote in the same article.
More than two decades and the base is still there one of the most iconic lightweight roadster it really is a pure gem. There's not a lot model's that resist this long, but the Elise just came to stay between two very different era's and that shows the real DNA of Lotus. The same formula perfected until this last edition which is the cherry on Top, is always going to be a reference. Since I saw it for the first time this is the one my favourite by far. All the keys from Colin for building a good sports car are all there, i going to miss this true old school.👏👏
Keeping my S2 Exige forever 😎
Thank you for all you guys do, it's been a blessing to be able to look forward to your videos during this pandemic and you've given me a lot of joy. Be well and safe, fair winds. ❤️
Just discovered this channel, and I absolutely love it! Keep up the great work!
I’ve only ever been in one of these. It was brand new at the time. R- reg! In a dark metallic purple colour. It belonged to a work colleague of my late mother. He very kindly gave me a passenger ride to work one morning. I clearly haven’t forgotten about it... (he didn’t rape me) Such an exciting journey/car! I’d love one of these new final edition ones! Great video! 👍
Wow, wow, wow... bravo! It’s at a point where every review is a very special and memorable one now. Thank you Carfection and Henry.
Loved it!! Brilliant!
Always a massive fan of the Elise
A video that gives of the same feeling as the Elise itself. What a fantastic piece of work, I enjoyed watching that very much!
That exposed manual is beautiful. I want one soooo bad...
I truly hope a company like Caterham can get the rights to the Elise design to continually build the Elise like they did the Lotus 7/Caterham
Great as always. Actually shed a tears at the final words.
Big fan of your videos and this one is no exception. The outro, however, is perfect and made me a little emotional. Well done again. The photography and Henry’s delivery in these videos are sublime.
I was asking my local dealer yesterday about whether Lotus was making a final edition of the Elise and Exige - and then this arrives in my inbox! What a bizarre coincidence.
Great video, Henry!
Man my high school mathematics teacher has a Lotus Elise Sport 220. I've always loved the Elise, hopefully one day I'll be able to own one!
I bought a new Elise 220 and it was amazing. As a 24 year old at the time it was the absolute best, as I had no care for practicalities!
Thanks for the test drive of this final Edition
Such an icon. I'm sad to see their run end, but SO impressed they made it to 25 years. It's fully deserved, no doubt, but damn impressive. Whatever Lotus has come up with, has one hell of a pair of shoes to fill. Great video, as always
I still miss my Series 2 Elise. Great car, it did let me down on a couple of occasions, but then, its a Lotus 😂. Love that new dash! Another world class video Henry 👌🏼
Another great video, thanks guys!
Beautiful review and cinematography as usual, well done👍
Well done Henry. Watching you pedal a V6 Exige around Hethel was memorable and this is too. End of an era really. What a wonderful driving machine an Elise is and a lesson in what is essential and what is optional in a sports car. Love the bobble hat too, testament to the brave souls who decided to take their clamshelled machines rallying!
I loved my S1, ordered before they we on sale, only old age made me move on to an Evora in 2017, also much loved. Great video many thanks
I had an S1 Elise from new. Did 18k miles in mine as an everyday car back in 98. Great car, no issues except tearing my trousers a few times getting in and out. Looking forward to the new car. I hope it's light and a manual.
Got to watch those door lock pins on the arse of your trousers.
If your skills are beneath that of a race car driver, this is arguably one of the best DRIVER'S car on the planet. What good is a car like a Chiron on the street? You can use all of the power of that blessedly reliably Toyota engine, with a chassis that communicates everything in a meaningful fashion. Everything you need and nothing you don't.
As usual a great video from Henry, I can't wait to see what replaces these soon to be discontinued cars as I am hopeful Lotus finally has the backing it needs to succeed.
It's very hard to put the emotion of driving into words, but you seem to capture it and express it perfectly every time. Top video, and car👌
Excellent video Henry, thanks.
I remember the excitement of picking up the first black S2 elise in Scotland. LOTUS has run through my veins ever since.
The Elise was a classic in its life time which is extremely rare.
What a car. Perfect for windy, pothole-free, mountain passes, in the sunshine.
Mr Catchpole, your rapidly turning into my go to commentator on all things cars, reminds me of the old top gear reviews, fun, detailed and very well shot... I commend you, keep it up.
That was simply brilliant !
Fantastic video Henry, thanks very much.
Henry and Lotus... this video is quintessential, as simple as that.
Chapeau bas!
Great send-off, Henry! It's one of the greatest cars ever made.
Very nice they choose Azure Blue for this special edition; I own an Elise S1 in Azure Blue and I love this color!
How has this channel still not hit over a million subscribers?
She a little beast on the track... and love the content keep it coming 💥💥💥💥😎
I saw the lotus post on Instagram and here you guys have a video , great coincidence.
Carfection perfection once again
Christ, the intro made me realise I’m 25yrs older than when I picked up my Elise! How has a quarter century passed so quick????
Haven’t driven it in 9yrs..it’s out to pasture in the garden as I soon will be.
Thanks for the video!
Lotus concentrating on the driving experience rather than becoming embroiled in an arms race for ever increasing power figures has meant together with the innovative engineering, as Harry says, the Elise is more relevant than ever. I was the weird kid at school who didn’t care for the products from Modena or Sant’Agata, but instead loved the lithe, lean cars emerging from a couple of counties away. It’s still the case today.
I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to own three Elises in my driving career, and every time I drive my current one (an S3 220) it’s a wonderfully absorbing experience that thanks to the values of leaving out the excess, I’m less worried about being able to continue to enjoy in the future. Lotus has an unenviable task of replacing a legend, and without the Elise they probably wouldn’t be around to have the consideration.
A other beautifully crafted video Harry...nobody does it better than you.🙂🙂🙂🙂
One the best and most iconic sports cars ever made. What a legend.
I want to buy it absolutely~ awesome! Thank you for the reviewing~!
2:00 “If it’s not raining... may as well have the top off, then!”
My S2000 and I live by this mantra
Epic car... great video.. love the pull key out shot at the end... but WHAT NEXT LOTUS?
Excellent review - I bought an S2 Elise from new in 2003 - it was absolutely superb and I loved pretty much everything about it, apart from it smelt of glue in the cabin for the first few months 😁. Truly one of the great British sports cars - you will be missed 🥲
Brand new in 2021, and it still has a classic Halfords Sony stereo from 2001. That’s why I love it 🤷🏼♂️
If you can find the documentaries on how the original Elise was designed and engineered go and watch them. Amazing work.
Thank you, Henry. Yesterday, I had to charge up the battery, and towel out a pint or so of rainwater from my 2005 111S. Ran a cloth over the green stains on the roof before I hooked it over the gate, and scarfed up (not entirely sure about the bobble hat). A mile or so into a ahort lockdown supermarket trip (just a chicken and bottle of plonk) the engine was warm enough - and the A34 dry enough to push up towards 5,500 a few times - after that don't remember looking at the dash - and was wide-smiling for the first time in weeks. Pure joy. Somehow you don't remember anything bad after a run in a Lotus...
Such a great and refreshing review.
Also a car you can track race all day long without killing your brakes and tires!
Even the pom-pom on his hat was enjoying the ride... great vid
Miss my 111R so much...Cheers, Henry.
The talky bits and the watchy bits are all just marvellous. This guy, and the team, they just get cars. Makes one understand and appreciate the plucky British... welll.. carmaker.
It's a dream! I love this car.
Love the moss off the racing line, so British weather. Nice one, Henry
So pleased I owned an Elise S3 220 Sport, was a fantastic car I used to love the feeling of being in a Class C racer as Henry said. My car had a hard top and it was always difficult to get in and out and it was my only criticism. Great car to drive, reasonable ownership costs and I lost very little when I sold it. Hope they don't go down the luxury route with the 131...it still needs the Lotus DNA.
Initial reaction is just how small this car is! Henry is a giant next to it.