A two-seater roadster with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the Elise has a fibreglass body shell atop its bonded extruded aluminium chassis that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum.

[2] The drivetrain was imported complete and initially the bodywork was painted in the UK at Hethel prior to export.

The Malaysian-assembled Elise sold for double the price of its British-built counterpart due to local vehicle taxes.

[3] The Malaysian-assembled Elise was also exported to regional markets, including Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

It featured a VVC system providing continuously variable lift and duration on the intake valves only.

Minor changes include more padding in the seats, headlamp covers, rear spoiler, cross drilled brake discs, alloy window winders and six-spoke wheels.

A "Track Pack" was created that upped power to 192 bhp (143 kW; 195 PS) and weighed only 571 kg (1,259 lb), thus fulfilling its original power-to-weight ratio promise.

Many models received an upgrade to 190 bhp (142 kW; 193 PS) with better driveability due to changes to ECU and cam timing.

General Motors offered to fund the project, in return for a badged and GM-engined version of the car for their European brands, Opel and Vauxhall.

It was limited to a production run of 50 cars, all of which were fitted with the heritage type 23 ID plate indicating the build number.

Externally the car was painted in heritage white with twin parallel Lotus racing Green stripes.

[citation needed] It is believed that the switch to a Toyota engine was due to federalising issues with the Rover powerplant in the US, however this has been largely unproven with little information released from Lotus as to the exact reasons.

Approval for the Elise, however, required intervention by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which provided a three-year exemption for the car, as it had failed to meet US bumper and headlight regulations.

2006 models sport LED tail lights, drive by wire (an updated ECU), improved fuel consumption, and more comfortable[citation needed] ProBax seats.

Also, in order to comply with US Federally mandated bumper restrictions, the frontal crash structure was slightly changed and rear bumperettes were added next to the licence plate mount.

The interiors of the Calis were produced in a light two-tone leather (Biscuit) and the exterior modifications included a silver front grille (a nod to vintage-Ferrari), body-coloured shutter grills on the side inlets and engine cover, enhanced 16-spoke wheels, and a large spoiler that covers the upper-rear deck (72-D style).

In February 2010, Lotus unveiled a facelifted version of the second generation Elise (internal project code name "Anglesey").

The cheapest version in Europe had a 1.6 litre 1ZR-FAE engine to comply with Euro 5 emissions, with the same power output as the earlier 1ZZ-FE, 136 PS (100 kW; 134 hp).

The 2011 model was the last offered for street legal sale in the United States when the waiver from the United States Government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for Lotus to build and sell cars in the US without smart airbags expired in August 2011.

At the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, Lotus revealed a high performance version of the Elise called the Cup 220.

Other options include a hard roof, air conditioning, cruise control and an upgraded Clarion stereo system.

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Lotus revealed the high performance version of the Elise called the Cup 250.

Other changes include increased top speed, acceleration, low weight and high downforce due to added aero elements.

For the Elise Sprint, Lotus used several weight-saving techniques to cut the car's weight down to 798 kg (1,759 lb).

When fully specified with weight-saving options – namely carbon-fibre sill and engine covers, a lithium-ion starter battery and a polycarbonate rear window – the Sport 240 is the lightest car on offer, tipping the scales in at just 898 kg.

The Elise Cup 250 Final Edition features a variant of the Sport 240's 1.8-litre four-cylinder, now tuned to produce 245 bhp (248 PS; 183 kW) and 244 N⋅m (180 lb⋅ft).

This model gets an optimised aerodynamic package allowing for 155 kg of downforce at its top speed of 248 km/h, along with 10-spoke M Sport forged alloy wheels, Yokohama A052 tyres, Bilstein dampers and adjustable anti-roll bars.

A lightweight lithium-ion battery and polycarbonate rear window are also fitted as standard for increased weight saving, and, in top spec layout, the car weighs 931 kg.

[38] The last Elise built was a Sport 240, painted gold; it was delivered to Elisa Artioli, the car's namesake.

250 nickel-cadmium batteries provide 300 volts (at full charge) to two Zytek oil-cooled brushless DC motors, which deliver a total power of 150 kW (201 hp; 204 PS) and torque of 100 N⋅m (74 lb⋅ft).