Unlike some who decry the Roadsters' Lotus Elise DNA, I've always loved the Elise, and especially its handling and on track behaviour. I had one of the 1st Elises in 1996, and was also was fascinated by electrification. This was around the time of AC Propulsions original TZero (which initially used Lead-Acid Batteries). The Zytek Elise was more interesting as it was basically an electrified Lotus Elise, using Nickel-Cadmium batteries. On a recent clearout I found some fascinating brochure and review materials ... I hope this may be of interest to Roadster Owners. Zytek Electric Elise Zytek Electric Elise Reviews 1997 Pre-Launch Lotus Elise Update 1996 As a postscript Russ Sciville, converted a Lotus Elise to Electric with Li-ion batteries in 2006 : Russ Sciville's 1998 Lotus Elise
If I hadn't been working with Porsche from the late 80's i can guarantee I would have had a Lotus, and not only because I'm young enough to remember when James Bond had one. My wife used to joke to me about converting one for racing with, now I laugh as I have the next best thing.