Lotus · racing automobile model · 1997–present

Lotus Elise GT1

The Lotus Elise GT1 (also known as the Lotus GT1 and known internally as Type-115) is a race car developed for grand tourer-style sports car racing starting in 1997.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Development

Lotus Cars had previously been using the Lotus Esprit GT1—a racing version of their Lotus Esprit road car—in the BPR Global GT Series since its foundation in 1994, competing in the premier GT1 class against the McLaren F1 GTR, Venturi 600LM, Ferrari F40 GTE and others. However, in 1997, the series came to be known as the FIA GT Championship and manufacturer involvement was increased with the new international exposure. Porsche was the first to start a new breed of racing cars in 1996, with their purpose-built homologation special known as the 911 GT1. This was quickly followed by the announcement that Mercedes-Benz planned to do the same with their CLK GTR for 1997. Thus Lotus decided that in order to remain competitive in the GT1 class, it would be required to follow the blueprint set by Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. However, the company management was aware that they lacked the resources available that Porsche and Mercedes had to create not only the race cars but also the street legal variants. Therefore, at a guaranteed financial loss, Lotus decided to take an alternate route—making a single road version of their new race car. With this in mind, Lotus set about to develop their racing car. Lotus decided to abandon the aging Esprit chassis and instead turn to its new sports car, the Elise. Lotus knew that the Elise's inline-4 engine would not be competitive so it was initially decided that the car would use the 3.5 L V8 engine from the Esprit sports car. However, testing showed that the engine was not as reliable as hoped. After installation of it in the road car, Lotus teams were left to decide whether or not to use the Lotus V8 or opt for a 5.7 L LT5 V8, a car which Lotus had jointly developed when they had been under the ownership of General Motors. Lotus further deve

Performance

The Elise GT1's road car's 3.5 L Type 918 Garrett twin-turbocharged V8 engine has a power output of 550 PS (540 hp; 400 kW) at 6,500 rpm and the factory race cars' modified 5.7 L Chevrolet V8 engine has a power output of ca 600 PS (590 hp; 440 kW) at 7,200 rpm. Either engine propelled the car from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and on a top speed in excess of 200 mph. The race cars were initially fitted with a Hewland 6-speed sequential manual transmission, although multiple other transmissions were used during their life span. For the last two races of the 1997 FIA GT Championship at Sebring and Laguna Seca the factory Lotus used a 2-valve NASCAR engine with a steel block which gave more power and was much more reliable. The car was uncompetitive throughout its factory racing life.

Racing history

=== 1997 === Debuting at Hockenheim, on 13 April (first round of the 1997 FIA GT Championship season), the three factory Elise GT1s and the privateer GBF car took to the grid. Their debut was short lived, as all four cars failed to finish, all due to alternator problems in the engine. For race two at Silverstone, privateer GBF UK received their second car (an untested chassis bearing number 06 driven by Andrea Boldrini and Mauro Martini). Again the three factory cars suffered, failing to finish because of gearbox difficulties. GBF's Elise GT1s fared slightly better, with one of their entries actually finishing, although classified last and 25 laps down from the winner. The third race of the season in Helsinki was a shorter race, featuring a smaller field with 23 cars. Only three Elise GT1s were entered, but GBF was able to succeed in taking 5th place, earning them points in the championship. The other two Elise GT1s also finished the race as well, an improvement for the company. As the season progressed, the teams began to suffer. After Helsinki was the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which only a lone GT1 was entered due to concern over the car's ability to last 24 hours. The car had an engine block failure after 121 laps. Returning to the FIA championship at the Nürburgring, the full complement of five cars managed a best result of only 11th, while at Spa-Francorchamps they achieved 8th. But at Zeltweg all five cars failed to finish again. The teams did not attempt the Suzuka round and again could only earn 12th place at Donington Park and 11th at Mugello when the series returned to Europe. The final two races in the United States saw only the factory team bring two cars, with US prepared NASCAR 5.7 ltr Chevrolet engines with 2 valves 1 cam and a cast iron block, to overcome

Road version

GT regulations at the time required that Lotus produce a road version of the new Elise GT1 to meet homologation requirements. Mechanically, the Lotus Elise S1's aluminum chassis was retained for the GT1, although it was heavily modified from its standard form. A new carbon fibre/kevlar body that resembled the Elise was built, featuring a much longer length and a bigger width in order to increase the car's aerodynamic capabilities. Overall length grew to 4510 mm, and overall width increased to 2070 mm. Width of both axles was 2000 mm. The front overhang was 940 mm and the rear was 895 mm. Wheelbase is approximately 2675 mm. All of these measurements were made from the center of the car. The weight of the car was around 1050 kg, a little heavier than its track-focused counterparts. Front and rear suspension was double wishbone. An aluminum roll cage was also fitted. The road version of the GT1 was fitted with a Lotus Type 918 twin-turbocharged V8 engine with a power output of 550 PS (542 HP) at 6,500 RPM, attached to a Renault 5-speed manual transmission. As of 2017, it is difficult to say where exactly the road version GT1 is. Last time it was seen in public was almost 10 years ago, at the Le Mans Classic. According to some sources it's still owned by Lotus and stored in a warehouse in England, but some say it could have ended up in the hands of a private collector in the Netherlands. Additional information. ==== Type 918 ==== Position and location of the engine: behind the driver, central rear longitudinal Cycle: 4-stroke Turbos: Garrett Number and layout of cylinders: V8 (90 deg) Type of cooling: Water Cylinder block material: Aluminum Angle between intake valve and vertical: 21° 30' to bore centre-line Angle between exhaust valve and vertical: 20° 30' to bore centre-l

Bitter GT1

Former Dutch factory driver Mike Hezemans, feeling that the Elise GT1's main faults were in its power and aerodynamics, decided that the car should not be abandoned and convinced his father Toine Hezemans to provide financial help in his project. The new cars were promised to compete in the 1998 FIA GT Championship season. In order to make the cars compliant to the regulations of the FIA, Hezemans turned to his friend Erich Bitter who was an independent German car manufacturer and founder of Bitter Automobile. He agreed to give the cars his firm's name and the cars were named Bitter GT1. Toine Hezemans owned two former Elise GT1 chassis abandoned by the factory along with their inventory of parts. Hezemans and his small team consisting of chief mechanic Hans Willemsen and two mechanics, Peter Classen and Mario van Beek, set out to eliminate the known faults in the car. They took the chassis to the Netherlands and in their small workshop, the car was extensively reworked. The front end was made longer and smoother in an attempt to increase front downforce. To replace the Elise GT1's Chevrolet V8, Hezemans turned to Chrysler, buying a pair of 356-T6 8.0L V10 engines having a power output of 626 PS (460 kW; 617 hp) and 800 N⋅m (590 lb⋅ft) of torque, which were being used in Chrysler's GT2 Vipers. The engine was fitted in the car by extending the chassis. The Hewland gearbox was retained as the team had a small budget. The cars never matched even the lackluster performance of the original Elise GT1s. The only race in 1998 FIA GT Championship season in which they actually competed, the 1998 British Empire Trophy at Silverstone, saw both Bitters failing to finish, as the torque produced by the new V10 engine was too much for the gearbox. The original Hewland gearbox would be

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Lotus Elise GT1
Manufacturer: Lotus Cars
aka: Type 115, Bitter GT1
Production: 1997, 1 road car and 7 race cars
Assembly: United Kingdom: Hethel, Norfolk
Designer: Julian Thomson
Class: GT1
Body style: 2-door coupe
Related: Lotus Esprit GT1, Lotus Esprit S4, Lotus Elise S1, Lotus Exige S1
Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Engine: 5.7 L Chevrolet LT5 V8, 3.5 L Lotus Type 918 twin-turbocharged V8 (road car), 8.0 L Chrysler 356-T6 V10 (Bitter GT1)
Transmission: 5-speed Renault manual (road car), 6-speed sequential
Wheelbase: 2675 mm
Length: 4510 mm
Width: 2070 mm
Height: 1100 mm
Kerb weight: 1050 kg (road car), 950 kg
sp: uk
Predecessor: Lotus Esprit GT1

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6685148CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elise_GT1CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1363499746 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lotus_Elise_GT1_Road_Car_(front_right).jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Mariegriffiths at English Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.