FROM CAR AND DRIVER:
We’ve heard it all before, but this time Lotus says it’s set in stone. The lovely little Elise will go on sale in America next spring as a 2005 model. The U.S. car will be powered by a version of the 1.8-liter Toyota four-banger found in the Celica GT-S. It will make 190 horsepower and come with Toyota’s six-speed manual transmission. The company expects to sell 2500 of them a year for about $40,000 through 37 dealers. It will be slightly heavier than its Euro counterpart but will still be a featherweight at about 1800 pounds. Air conditioning will be standard. The company says there are still 75 Esprit models to be built, as that model dies a slow death.