UK-based Analogue Automotive is building a limited run of super-lightweight Lotus Elise S1 sports cars.
Announced 30 years after the first Elise made its debut at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show, the new VHPK is described as “an uncompromising driver’s machine inspired by the spirit of the original, but reborn with modern materials and unmatched craft”.
It also tips its helmet to the race cars used in the Autobytel Lotus Championship, a one-make racing series that supported the British Touring Car Championship and other FIA Sportscar Series events in Europe during the early 2000s. Analogue Automotive has engineered the VHPK with a central driving position to make it feel like an out-and-out track day weapon. It has also worked hard to make it as feathery as possible.
This means the car’s bodywork, seat and steering wheel are all constructed from lightweight but incredibly rigid carbon fibre. Finished off with a carbon-ceramic brake package, Analogue Automotive said the VHPK tips the scales at a mere 600kg.
Propulsion comes courtesy of a modified Rover K-Series engine with increased displacement plus bespoke billet and forged internals for a claimed power output in excess of 186kW. Do the maths and you’ll see this equates to an enviable power-to-weight ratio of 298kW per tonne. Expect straight-line performance to be absolutely mega.
With only 35 examples to be built worldwide, the VHPK is as rare as it is radical. Each car will be individually numbered and crafted with obsessive attention to detail. Orders will open exclusively through Analogue Automotive in 2026.
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