Lotus Clark Type-25 Elise SC Special Edition

[PatrickShim]

Just saw this on Autoblog.com

Hi-Res Picture : http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au..._3qtr_1280.jpg

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Lotus is releasing its first special edition supercharged Elise, the Clark Type 25 Elise SC, to honor legendary F1 driver Jim Clark who died four decades ago at the Hockenheim circuit. The British Racing Green and yellow color combo was inspired by Clark's Type 25 F1 car in which he won the world championship in 1963, and aside from the standard hardtop, black and silver Lotus racing wheels, black leather seats, red trim and wooden shift knob, this is the same Elise SC available abroad. No mechanical changes have been made, so it's still putting out 218 hp and 156 lb.-ft. of torque from its supercharged 1.8-liter mounted amidships. In tribute to Clark's racing number, Lotus is limiting production of the special edition Elise SC to 25 units and will only make the £35,995 coupe available in the UK and Ireland. Hit the jump for Lotus' press release.

[Source: Lotus]

PRESS RELEASE

Type 25 celebrates the life of Jim Clark

Jim Clark is considered by many as the finest and most naturally gifted racing driver of all time. He won the F1 World Championship twice for Team Lotus in 1963 and in 1965.

In total, he won 25 Grand Prix races and was the first Briton to win the Indianapolis 500. Clark won a third of all the F1 races he entered, as well as racing in other formulae such as F2, F3 and Touring Cars. Typically he would race in as many as three different categories per race meeting! How many of the current crop of F1 drivers would do that?

In tribute to Jim Clark's achievements, Lotus, in association with Classic Team Lotus, is producing the Clark Type 25 Elise SC, with a donation for each of these special cars sold going to the Jim Clark memorial fund. This Elise, limited to just 25 cars in the UK (25 being the Type number of his 1963 Lotus F1 car and his number of F1 wins) has been authorised by the Clark family and coincides with the 40th anniversary of Jim Clark's death at Hockenheim in 1968.

The Clark Type 25 Elise SC will be launched at The Scottish Classic SpeedFair at Knockhill on the 8th of June 2008 and will form part of a weekend long tribute to Jim Clark. The Club Lotus Jim Clark Remembrance Weekend will take place over the 7th and 8th of June and promises to be a fantastic celebration of the life of Jim Clark.

Mike Kimberley, CEO of Group Lotus Plc comments, "It is fitting that the latest version of our award winning Elise, the Clark Type 25 Elise SC, should celebrate the life of Jim Clark. It is also an honour to be able to unveil the car at Knockhill this weekend. Each owner of the Clark Type 25 Elise SC will be joining an unrivalled heritage that recognises motorsport's greatest partnership, that of Lotus and Jim Clark."

The Clark Type 25 Elise SC draws upon many styling cues from the Type 25 Formula 1 car that Jim Clark raced to win the World Championship in 1963. The car, with a removable hard top as standard, is finished in British Racing Green with a yellow stripe along the centre and features high performance Lotus Sport wheels, finished in an historic black and silver design. The interior is inspired by the Team Lotus Formula 1 cars of the era, with black leather sports seats, trimmed with red leather and all finished off with a fantastic retro wooden gear knob.

The Elise SC is the most powerful production Elise ever produced and offers stunning performance. Power comes from a 1.8 litre non-intercooled, supercharged engine and uses intelligent cam switching technology, enabling the engine to switch to the high performance cam anywhere between 4000 and 6200 rpm. This clever feature gives the engine two characters, allowing the car to be driven economically or giving maximum performance for spirited driving.

The Elise's light weight gives low CO2 emissions, great handling and affords phenomenal braking. Another benefit of the low weight is incredible acceleration, with the sprint to 60 mph taking just 4.3 seconds and with 100 km/h despatched in 4.6 seconds. The Elise SC accelerates on to a top speed of 148 mph, which is 238 km/h.

All Lotus cars offer exceptional handling and the Elise is no exception. The chassis has a seriously light, stiff structure. Combining this technology with the fantastic Lotus ride and handling gives an inspiring driving experience and the mid-engined layout of the Lotus Elise offers fantastic balance and agility.

The Elise SC offers a few technological advances that Jim Clark may have found helpful in his Type 25. Coming as standard on the Elise is traction control, ABS and sequential shift lights, however all the driver aids are included to improve the driving experience and do not intervene unless really called upon.

The Clark Type 25 Elise SC is currently only available in the UK and Republic of Ireland and is on sale now. Price: £35,995 MSRP, and includes £5,750 worth of options for just £3,445. On the Road costs are £950 MSRP

[FLuXeXigeS]

only avail in ireland or UK...whats up with that???

[RoadDad]

I saw this yesterday but didn't see a pic of the car. I actually like it. Didn't like the 72D, but this I like.

[DuffMan]

BRG is my favorite color for a Lotus. It just suits them perfectly in my opinion. Not too flashy, but just right. Too bad no one in the US can get a hold of one.

[frostylocks]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

BRG is my favorite color for a Lotus. It just suits them perfectly in my opinion. Not too flashy, but just right. Too bad no one in the US can get a hold of one.

I agree with the color scheme, but why didn't Lotus pick the Exige 240 or the 2-11 better yet? These two are viewed more as track cars. Jim Clark wasn't made famous as being a street-car racer.

Clark was a racer...2-11 is a racecar...no, that makes too much sense.

[FLuXeXigeS]

^it is lotus^

[eurosport]

Clark was also legendary for what he could do in a lowly Cortina

[andykeck]

Originally Posted by eurosport

Clark was also legendary for what he could do in a lowly Cortina

...and a Fairlane.

[climb4fun]

Originally Posted by FLuXeXigeS

only avail in ireland or UK...whats up with that???

It's a Limited Edition, and only 25 EliseSC Type-25 will be produce.

I suspect they are all pre-sold. There is enough Lotus loyalty in the UK alone to buy all of the 25 Elise Jim Clarke Edition model.

But, this Edition has an unattractive look, imo. A wide single yellow stripe over flat green body; black rims with shiny\chrome lip. Not my taste.

[ms355]

Originally Posted by climb4fun

It's a Limited Edition, and only 25 EliseSC Type-25 will be produce.

I suspect they are all pre-sold. There is enough Lotus loyalty in the UK alone to buy all of the 25 Elise Jim Clarke Edition model.

But, this Edition has an unattractive look, imo. A wide single yellow stripe over flat green body; black rims with shiny\chrome lip. Not my taste.

Yep, it's a matter of taste. The original Lotus 25 had a wide single yellow stripe too, but - other than this one - it had yellow rims, right?

[andrewgotanelise]

Originally Posted by ms355

Yep, it's a matter of taste. The original Lotus 25 had a wide single yellow stripe too, but - other than this one - it had yellow rims, right?

If you want that look get some gold Y spoke like on the 72D. But ya not my taste either i dont like green and yellow on my car no thanks.

[ms355]

Originally Posted by andrewgotanelise

If you want that look get some gold Y spoke like on the 72D. But ya not my taste either i dont like green and yellow on my car no thanks.

I should have added: yellow rims would make it look even worse.

[BRTHTAKR]

I'd like to see one in person, but that photo suits my tastes very well.

[tmr]

BRG is my favorite color for a Lotus. It just suits them perfectly in my opinion. Not too flashy, but just right. Too bad no one in the US can get a hold of one.

I like the look as well, but what can't be ordered as an option other than the stripe and the Lotus Sport wheels? Both of those items are available from dealers or other sources.

[RoadDad]

Originally Posted by climb4fun

It's a Limited Edition, and only 25 EliseSC Type-25 will be produce.

I suspect they are all pre-sold. There is enough Lotus loyalty in the UK alone to buy all of the 25 Elise Jim Clarke Edition model.

But, this Edition has an unattractive look, imo. A wide single yellow stripe over flat green body; black rims with shiny\chrome lip. Not my taste.

[eurosport]

Originally Posted by ms355

I should have added: yellow rims would make it look even worse.

I'm thinking the Jim Clark Edition Esprit had yellow rims and yellow seats...can't find a pic.

[EdHahn]

Love it! The Lotus 25 does appear to have wavy yellow wheels.



The Lotus 49 he drove has black wheels with polished rims.

ed

[FIRME]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

BRG is my favorite color for a Lotus. It just suits them perfectly in my opinion. Not too flashy, but just right. Too bad no one in the US can get a hold of one.

Yeah but remember, Lotus USA will also have their 60th anniversary cars which will include a S/C Elise in BRG with double painted stripes. The pictures down below will be the color schemes available however, it will have the wing which these pics do not show. Also, interiors will have stitchings matching the stripes but sorry, no pics of that

[jheberle]

I can't get passed that other article from the autoblog link where someone got a DUI on their motorized cooler. I could see this happening at every NASCAR event...

[RoadDad]

Originally Posted by eurosport

Clark was also legendary for what he could do in a lowly Cortina

No kidding.

That guy could drive almost as well as I can .