The current Lotus Elise has been around since 1995. Sure, it's undergone many updates over the years, but, at its core, it's been relatively unchanged. That's remarkable considering the Elise, especially the new and limited edition Cup 260, is still competitive against the best Porsche and Ferrari have to offer. Carfection recently had the opportunity to drive the new Elise Cup 260 at the company's Hethel headquarters. Ever so conveniently enough, Lotus has its very own test track on site.

As for the Elise Cup 260, to say it's nuts would be an understatement. Still powered by the familiar supercharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder with 250 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque, it has a mere 1,878 lbs. dry weight. That's lighter than the latest Mazda MX-5 Miata, just to put things into some perspective. Oh, and today's Miata has 95 less ponies. Zero to 60mph?

Try 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 151 mph. Remember, a Lotus is designed and engineered for the track, so forget about just straight line performance. Although the Elise Cup 260 may, at first glance, look like other Elise variants, this one has an oversize motorsport-derived rear wing originally developed for the 3-Eleven. Lotus performed many other vital upgrades as well, and you ought to check out the video review to learn more.