As of November 2004, the waiting list for this car is a little over 2 years long. Introducing the Lotus Elise. Demand is similar to the Prowler when it was introduced, with low production and a low price for a high performance car. The whole idea behind the Elise is power to weight. It sports a whoppingly gigantic 4-cylinder 190hp engine but weighs only ~1800 lbs. The engine revs to 8500rpm and has a 6-speed manual transmission to drive with. There's barely anything in the car. The body is made of a super light material. Stickers cover holes instead of plastic caps or trim.

As minimal as the car looks, it is comfortable to sit and drive in, and even has lumbar support. This Elise comes with many options on it, such as the Sport Package ($2480) which includes alloy wheels, yokohama tires, and a shock/suspension package. This Elise also includes the Touring package ($1350), which makes it comfortable inside with offerings such as full leather trim and perforated leather seats, electric windows, full carpeting, Blaupunkt stereo, thermal/noise insulated top, interior storage net, and additional interior sound dampening. In addition, Lotus factory installed the "Star Shield", which is the fancy term for the $995 price of the 3M paint guard that goes on the front bumper area to prevent all stone chips and make bug splatter easier to clean. Never own a car without it. It's unnoticeable unless you get on your knees and feel for the material.

The official color is "Ardent Red", considered the hottest color on the Elise. It truly is too!

Total MSRP (of which you're super lucky if you can even buy one at MSRP) $46,550.