LOTUS ELISETiming chain or Belt?

The Lotus Elise is a two-seater sports car from the manufacturer Lotus Cars. It was manufactured between 1996 and 2021, with a total of 35,124 units produced. Its predecessor was the Lotus Elan and its successor is the Lotus Emira.

The first generation of the Lotus Elise (Elise Series 1) was introduced in 1996. It was built on an aluminum and fiberglass platform, and weighed only 725 kg. The engine was a 1.8-liter Rover K-series with 118 hp, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. In 1998, the Sport 135 version was launched, with 145 hp. Later on, other versions such as the Sport 160 and Sport 190 were released.

The second generation of the Lotus Elise (Elise Series 2) was introduced in 2001. It was built on the same platform as the first generation, but with some improvements. The engine was a 1.8-liter Toyota 1ZZ with 122 hp, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds. In 2004, the S version was launched, with 136 hp. Later, in 2006, the R version was released, with 192 hp. Finally, in 2008, the SC version was launched, with 220 hp.

The third generation (Elise Series 3) of the Lotus Elise was introduced in 2011. It was built on a new platform, lighter and stiffer than that of the previous generations. The engine was a 1.8-liter Toyota 2ZZ-GE with 136 hp, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds. Shortly after, the S, R, and Cup versions would arrive, much more powerful, with up to 246 hp.

Among the alternatives to the Lotus Elise, other sports cars stood out such as the Mazda MX-5, the Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ, the Porsche Boxster, or the BMW Z4.