For my first ever car review abroad, I find myself in beautiful Singapore reviewing the Lotus Elise of a local friend whom I met through my Instagram account/YouTube channel. Many may not know this, but I started my sports car journey with Lotuses. Shortly after I started working, I bought myself a Toyota MR-S, which was lovely, but right after that I upgraded to a Lotus Elise S2 with the Toyota engine. After that, I upgraded yet again to an Exige S240, which was quite the machine. Both in yellow and super eye-catching which was exactly what the 23 year old me wanted at the time. You have to understand in those days there are a lot less super cars than there are now in Hong Kong, and a yellow Lotus looked pretty cool and special to the general public. While these days I no longer seek for the attention, and I certainly will not be able to stand the small and uncomfortable cabin of the Lotus Elise again, the brand nevertheless holds a special place in my heart.
Throughout all the generations of Lotus Elise’s, they used essentially the same interior, so it was very nostalgic for me when I climbed into the cockpit of the Elise S1 we are reviewing today. Even though it is the S1, the interior, particularly the undignified fashion that you have to engage in climbing in and out of it, brought me straight back to the day when I was 23 years old. Frankly, I never understood the interior. Yes I get it had to be basic as Lotus was pretty poor back then, but why did the side sills have to be so ridiculously wide, making it so difficult to climb in and out of? Either way, it didn’t matter because the Elise saved the Lotus brand and helped them open a brand new successful chapter. The Elise singlehandedly transitioned the brand into a new era and lasted for 3 generations in 25 years. The model line was only retired last year in 2021.
When Italian businessman Romano Artioli (who used to also own Bugatti) acquired Lotus in the early 90’s, the brand was pretty tired. It practically only had the Esprit which was very outdated and should’ve been retired long ago. Lotus desperately needed a new model to breathe a new life into it. Under Artioli’s management, the Elise concept was conceived (it was named after Artioli’s granddaughter, Elisa). The idea was to build a small and light back-to-basics car, going back to the original Colin Chapman principle of less being more. The result was a compact two door sports car made in fiberglass with a chassis that is bonded by aviation grade glue and weighing only 725KG.
Due to its lightweight, the Elise did not need a large powerful engine, plus the car was always about handling and driving engagement as opposed to sheer power. As such, the first Lotus Elise’s used the 1.8L Rover K-series engine producing only 118HP, with the latter models using a Toyota unit (why they didn’t go for a Honda V-tec I would never understand). Even though low in power, the S1 can still do 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds.
The car we have today is known as a “Shah Alam” car, being the reference to the Malaysian factory it was built in. In 1996, Malaysian car company Proton acquired Lotus, and between 1997-2003 used its Shah Alam factory to build around 180 ‘Asian’ Elise’s. Lotus UK would ship the chassis and other part to Malaysia, and the cars would be assembled there. Rumour has it though, that the fiberglass body of the Shah Alam cars used Malaysian glass which, if true, would give it an exotic Asian element.
When I started the car, immediately I can sense that the K-series engine sounds pretty raw and potent. I want to say more so than the Toyota-engined Elise I had but that would be unfair as it was so long ago. It probably helps that this particular car has an aftermarket exhaust. On the go, it feels exactly like how an Elise should be. Not particularly fast, torque is adequate and nothing more, but you do feel very much like you are in a go-kart. Sitting very low in a very bare aluminium interior, with a very direct steering. All the controls of the car are otherwise very basic and easy to use, including the clutch.
One thing about the Elise or Exige that I was always unimpressed with, and I am fully aware that I am most likely in the minority here, is that the car never feels too confidence inspiring in corners. I have no doubt these are one of the best handling cars as advertised, but it just doesn’t egg me on as much as say, my former Honda Integra Type R or Fiat Abarth 500. Perhaps it is because of its mid-engine rear wheel drive layout. It doesn’t matter, however, for just as the Lotus Elise is not a car made for sheer explosive power, Singapore is not a city made for driving. For most of the day we were driving in stop and go redlight traffic or heavily camera-monitored highways. My friend did make an effort to bring me to the ‘only twisty road’ in Singapore known as ‘99 turns’ (it was more like 9 turns in reality, literally), but even before 9AM on a Saturday morning it was already packed with cyclists and other road users. I guess the grass is not always greener on the other side. This experience surely did make me more appreciative of the roads back home, even if they are far from perfect.
Despite the lack of open roads, this has been one of the most memorable experiences I have from my InstacarHK YouTube channel. Driving around Singapore in a modern classic Lotus Elise owned by a friend I have met through the channel is truly an incredible experience that I am very grateful for, and reminded me why I started this channel two years ago – to create a classic car-focused platform for likeminded individuals to share their passion. Huge thanks to the owner for offering his car and being a great host whilst I was in Singapore.
See the review video here: