2011 Lotus Elise Officially Rated 46.7 mpg, 149 g/km CO2

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed)
Apr 9th 2010 at 6:02AM

2011 Lotus Elise – Click above for high-res image gallery

For those that want a fast, great handling sports car that also has great fuel efficiency, the 2011 Lotus Elise S should be at the top of the consideration list. Heading into the new model year, Lotus has refreshed its evergreen roadster with a new slicker face and a new 1.6-liter inline-four base engine.

The new styling draws on the looks of the recently launched Lotus Evora and cuts aerodynamic drag by four percent compared to the 2010 model. The 1.6-liter produces the same 136 horsepower as the outgoing 1.8-liter. While 136 hp may not sound like much, in a car that only weighs 1,931 pounds it produces serious performance. The new Elise sprints from 0-60 mph in just 6.0 seconds.

Thanks to the efficient engine and light weight, the Elise S is officially rated at 46.7 miles per gallon (U.S.) on the EU test cycle and emits just 149 grams / kilometer of CO2.

Gallery: 2011 Lotus Elise

[Source: Lotus]

PRESS RELEASE

8th April 2010

149

Naturally you couldn't resist clicking through! So, what does 149 mean exactly? And why are we so happy about it? Read on and all will become clear (that's a clue by the way!)....

We are delighted to announce that the new 2011 Lotus Elise has just been certified with an outstandingly low emissions figure of 149g of CO2 / km which represents a reduction of 16% over the previous Lotus Elise S.

This means that the Elise has the lowest CO2 for its performance level for any gasoline sportscar in the world.

Not only does this low emissions figure give a greener drive with less guilt but it also relates directly to fuel consumption with the new Elise turning in an impressive figure of 56.1 mpg (5.04 litres per 100 km) extra urban. This means that the Lotus Elise could travel a colossal 500 miles (800 km) on one tank of fuel – the equivalent of Paris to Marseille or London to Aberdeen.*

Fed up with the figures yet? Stay with us, there's more.

These world leading emissions and economy figures are a direct result of Lotus' commitment to its core values of performance through light weight and efficiency. The Elise weighs just 876 kg and to put this weight into perspective, a nameless convertible sportscar from Stuttgart (Germany) weighs in at 1335 kg.

Aerodynamics have been improved by 4% and a new super efficient, 1.6 litre 4 cylinder VVT-I engine has been installed which is 200 cc smaller than the engine in the outgoing Lotus Elise S and produces the same power. And the performance figures speak for themselves: 0-60 mp/h in 6.0 seconds and 0-100 km/h in 6.5 seconds!

Are you ready to celebrate with us?

* driving style dependent!

Tags: 2011, 2011 lotus, 2011 lotus elise, 2011 lotus elise s, lotus elise s, roadster

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

reallytorkedoff Apr 9th 2010 9:15PM

Are you sure about this?

The 2010 Lotus Elise is rated at 21/27/23 (city/highway/combined). The supercharged version is 20/26/22.

If the mileage you are listing is combined (and it should be if you only list one), then Lotus has DOUBLED their mileage by reducing engine size by 0.2 liters.

Most of the news out there says that mileage has improved by 23%, but that will only yield 33+ mpg on the highway.

Since all of the news quotes the exact same figures, I am concerned that a typo has crept in and been copied ad infinitum.

Also, those numbers don't appear in the EPA guide, so they're not official yet.

I am interested in how these numbers will change with time. The Lotus website has no info about this.

Sam Abuelsamid Apr 9th 2010 9:21PM

The Elise S is a European spec version with 136 hp. The current entry level model here in North America is a 190 hp 1.8-liter. The 46 mpg is a highway rating, Lotus has not yet stated what the combined or urban figures are. There currently aren't plans to offer this model in the US.