2012 Lotus Elise Club Racer launched

The Elise Club Racer is welcome news for the marque renowned for driver-focused lightweight performance cars.

Based on a chassis designed with track use in mind and following Lotus founder Colin Chapman's ethos "to increase performance, add lightness", Lotus successfully reduced weight from the drivetrain and body resulting in the Elise Club Racer dropping a further 24kg over the already lightweight 876kg Lotus Elise.

The same naturally aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine remains, producing an identical 100kW of power at 6000rpm and 160Nm at 4400rpm supplying drive to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Fuel consumption comes in at 6.3 litres per 100 km.

Lotus-tuned Eibach springs and Bilstein dampers combine with an adjustable anti-roll bar meaning the Lotus Elise Club Racer should be compliant enough for the road but more than enough fun on the track.

Continuing to preach its wares for practicality, the Elise Club Racer is the first Lotus Elise to come with a 'Sport' setting for its Dynamic Performance Management system. This aims to allow the less experienced, or less brave, to push the performance envelop with a safety net in place. While the feature will please some, the ability to switch it off completely will please others.

The Lotus Elise Club Racer is available in six colours; Sky Blue, Saffron Yellow, Ardent Red, Aspen White, Carbon Grey and the ever-tough Matt Black, and all featuring body-coloured seats.

This latest iteration of the mid-engined sports car first released in 1996 will be available in very limited numbers and is priced at $68,990 before on-road costs.

Click here to read our review of the 2011 Lotus Elise Club Racer.