LONDON: The Lotus Elise has been announced as the Readers’ Champion at the British magazine Autocar Awards, after tens of thousands of motoring fans voted in an online contest.
From a starting roster of 50, the final shortlist of cars was reduced to 10 contenders as the two-week contest drew to a close.
“Winning the Readers’ Champion Award shows what a key role the Elise continues to play in the automotive industry. When it was launched it shook the rest of the automotive industry into acknowledging and understanding the importance of lightweight when producing class-leading sports cars – redefining the segment," said Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales when receiving the award at Silverstone on May 24.
Lotus said the lightweight hand-built sports car from Hethel, Norfolk is a benchmark for handling and performance. Following the Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s engineering principles of performance through light weight, the Elise is tuned for British roads, providing an involving and agile driving experience. The latest model, the Elise Cup 250 (pic) reaches 100kph in just 3.9 seconds and produces 175 g/CO2 per 100 km. Prices start at under £30,000 (RM180,000) for the Sport edition.
The award coincided with the anniversary of the car’s first year on sale, and the 50th celebration of the move to the company’s factory in Hethel.
