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Simply once you thought the Lotus Elise couldn’t get any extra impractical, alongside comes Analogue Automotive with the VHPK: a single-seat interpretation of Colin Chapman’s masterpiece that makes the unique appear like a household hauler.
Let’s be trustworthy: the usual Elise was by no means constructed for practicality. With its fiberglass tub, non-existent space for storing, and entry process that requires the pliability of a gymnast, it’s at all times been a automobile that calls for sacrifice from its proprietor. No cup holders, minimal climate safety, and a boot that may barely match a weekend bag; these weren’t bugs within the Elise design, they have been options that separated true fans from fair-weather drivers.
However that’s exactly why we fell in love with it. In an period of more and more sanitized sports activities vehicles loaded with creature comforts, the Elise remained fantastically, stubbornly analog. It was a automobile that didn’t care about your espresso or your golf golf equipment: it cared about making you a greater driver.
Enter the VHPK: Peak Impracticality Achieved
Now Analogue Automotive has taken that philosophy to its logical excessive. The VHPK (Very Excessive Efficiency Equipment) strips away the Elise’s final vestige of practicality – the passenger seat – inserting the motive force lifeless heart in a configuration harking back to the McLaren F1. It’s a transfer that has the fanatic group buzzing with equal components pleasure and bewilderment.
The inspiration comes from the single-seat Elise racers used within the now-legendary Autobytel Lotus Championship of the late Nineties. These stripped-out observe weapons proved that typically much less actually is extra, delivering a purity of expertise that left drivers grinning like maniacs regardless of the entire absence of consolation or comfort.
Analogue’s interpretation takes this idea even additional. At simply 1,323 kilos – almost 250 kilos lighter than an already featherweight Elise – the VHPK represents weight discount taken to obsessive ranges. Carbon fiber wheels, ceramic brakes, and what seems to be carbon all the things else contribute to a curb weight that will make a Caterham Seven jealous. Mentioned VHPK: “Thirty years to the day because the Elise first shocked the automotive world on the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Present, a brand new chapter in light-weight efficiency begins.”
Extra Energy, Much less All the pieces Else
The guts of the VHPK stays Rover’s venerable Ok-series engine, however don’t let that idiot you into considering that is some nostalgic train. Analogue has extracted 250 horsepower from the aluminum four-cylinder via elevated displacement and cast internals – a 40-horsepower bump over their earlier Supersport mannequin and a far cry from the 118 horsepower the Ok-series made in early Elises.
In a 1,323-pound automobile, these numbers translate to a power-to-weight ratio that will embarrass many supercars. The corporate claims they’ve taken “the Ok Collection to its final type,” which is saying one thing contemplating the engine’s three-decade evolution from financial system automobile workhorse to track-bred screamer.
Will 35 Be Sufficient?
Analogue Automotive plans to construct simply 35 examples of the VHPK, with orders opening in 2026. At that manufacturing quantity, every automobile turns into one thing approaching automotive artwork – an announcement piece for collectors who have already got all the things else of their storage.
The exclusivity issue can’t be understated. In a world the place even Ferrari builds 1000’s of vehicles yearly, proudly owning considered one of 35 examples of something carries severe bragging rights. Whether or not that justifies what’s going to undoubtedly be a six-figure price ticket stays to be seen.
The Elise Legacy Lives On
What’s exceptional is that we’re nonetheless speaking about new interpretations of a automobile that debuted 30 years in the past on the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Present. The Elise’s affect on trendy sports activities automobile design can’t be overstated: from the Alfa Romeo 4C to the newest Caterham choices, the DNA of Chapman’s final nice creation continues to encourage new generations of driving machines.
The VHPK represents each the logical conclusion of that affect and maybe its most excessive interpretation. It’s a automobile that can enchantment to a really particular sort of fanatic – one who sees a two-seat sports activities automobile and thinks, “I want this automobile have been much more cramped and impractical!”
In an automotive panorama more and more dominated by SUVs and electrical crossovers, maybe we want extra firms keen to chase impracticality to its logical excessive. In any case, probably the most memorable vehicles in historical past weren’t constructed for everybody – they have been constructed for the few who actually understood what driving might be.
Whether or not you adore it or hate it, the VHPK proves that 30 years later, the Elise continues to encourage individuals to construct vehicles that make completely no sensible sense. And in a world that always makes an excessive amount of sense, which may simply be precisely what we want.
