Lotus Elise gets a face lift and cuts wind drag

[Blue_Tires]

Lotus has redesigned the Elise to give it a "more planted, purposeful stance and a pure, contemporary look." Um, OK. For you students of auto-speak, this is yet another way of saying it looks different.

The Lotus Elise gets a fresh new look, back and front.
CAPTIONBy LotusThe new styling did have some practicality. It cut drag in the little sports car by 4%, Lotus says. The engine compartment in the middle of the car got a stylish new cover. There are now LED daytime running lights.

It will come in two versions:

One has the Toyota-made 1.8-liter, four-cylinder engine and develops 189 horsepower. The other, the SC, has a 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine and puts out 218 horsepower. Both go on sale in late summer.

The aluminum chassis weighs only 150 pounds.

"The Elise is an iconic sports car and it was important that we did not complicate its design, so we made the car more pure in its look, improved the aerodynamics and gave it a more contemporary look with high-quality detailing," said Donato Coco, the director of design.

It will be formally unveiled at the big auto show in Geneva coming up soon.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/02/lotus-elise-gets-a-facelift-and-cuts-more-wind-drag/1