Radical Single-Seater Revives Lotus Elise Spirit After 30 Years
Three decades after the Lotus Elise redefined the sports car as an exercise in lightness and purity, a British startup is daring to push the formula further. Analogue Automotive has announced the VHPK, a one-seat road-legal machine that channels the essence of the Elise while echoing the exclusivity of the McLaren F1.
Unveiled as a tribute to the Elise’s 30th anniversary since its Frankfurt debut, the VHPK will be built in an ultra-limited run of just 35 units. That scarcity alone virtually guarantees collectible status, but the concept itself is equally provocative: a centrally mounted single driver’s seat, a layout that remains the preserve of icons. While Lotus has previously produced track-only single-seaters, no street-legal variant has ever carried the idea this far.
Analogue Automotive has not confirmed the underlying chassis, though insiders suggest it draws heavily from the original Elise architecture. Power comes from a reworked Rover K-series engine, the same unit that propelled the 1990s Elise, but now enlarged and extensively reengineered to produce more than 250 horsepower.
Lightness remains the car’s defining virtue. Thanks to widespread use of carbon fiber—not only for the body panels but also interior elements and even the wheels—the curb weight hovers around 600 kilograms. The result is a power-to-weight ratio that promises to delight purists who have long cherished the Elise for precisely that quality.
So far, only teaser images have been released, hinting at a design that retains the Elise’s classic proportions while sharpening them with modern aggression. Full details are expected ahead of order books opening next year, but one thing is already clear: the VHPK is not merely a homage, it is a bold reinterpretation of one of Britain’s most influential sports cars.
