The 12 Hours of Bathurst is an endurance race held on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, Australia every February. Lotus will enter this year’s competition with the exclusive Elise Cup 250 Bathurst Special Edition.
Exterior novelty is minimal: black and white paintjob, British flags adorning the rear wing sides, Bathurst Cup 250 stickers, the Mount Panorama Circuit map, and black forged wheels – the list is complete.
The technical specs remain undisclosed. Therefore, it is safe to assume that every Special Edition car comes powered by the standard 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder engine of the series, which connects to a six-speed manual transmission and produces 246 hp (183 kW) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft). The sports car needs 4.3 seconds to get to 100 km/h (62 mph) from standing still.
It has to be noted that the Elise range contains entries arguably more interesting than the Cup 250, such as the 250 Special Edition or the Cup 260. Just why Lotus didn’t choose one of those for its Bathurst run remains unexplained.
Lotus will build a total of six Elise Cup 250 Bathurst coupes.