Naked carbon-fiber Lotus Elise roaming Hong Kong
Click above for full gallery of pics of this carbon-fiber Lotus Elise
A couple SEMAs ago, we stumbled across a carbon-fiber Lotus Exige that had our salivary glands working overtime. With Colin Chapman's ethos of "adding lightness" to his designs, it seemed like the perfect application of the super-strong lightweight material on an already featherweight Lotus sportscar. We've been hoping to see something similar on the road and it looks like we'll have to travel across the Pacific to check it out in person. Thanks to a tipster, we know now that there is at least one other CF-cloaked Lotus and it resides in Hong Kong with custodian Jimmy Wong.
TW Auto Limited, a Hong Kong Lotus and turbocharging specialist, built the car in about six months. As you'll see in the pics, carbon fiber coats the entire exterior of this 2002 Elise, along with almost every panel inside. Even if it only shaves about 80 pounds from the curb weight, it looks thoroughly sinister. We're digging the way it highlights the car's curves, particularly around the gas filler. Although the engine remains fairly stock, it does feature an upgraded air filter and intake, plus a Stage 2 Lotus Racing Exhaust. The car was also fitted with a KW Suspension and JP Racing Wheels. For more pictures, check out the gallery cribbed from Flickr.
Gallery: Carbon Fiber Lotus Elise
[Source: Carbon Fiber Gear]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael 7:03PM (1/14/2009)
Hardcore.
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Nick 10:29PM (1/14/2009)
UVs quickly degrade CF ! I hope this is coated with the ultra-premium clearcoat used on the ZR1
AZZO45b 11:00PM (1/14/2009)
Hardcore & totally my gotta have!!!!
nickds7 11:53PM (1/14/2009)
I can only assume with 6 months of work and all that money that they know everything there is to know about carbon fiber.
Kyle 7:07PM (1/14/2009)
Hawt...kinda.
Regardless this is where we're going right? Merc AMG said this "iz teh futur3"
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Gomi 7:08PM (1/14/2009)
freaking bad@ss
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Kyle 7:09PM (1/14/2009)
It just looks so ....happy.
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Eric 7:14PM (1/14/2009)
what engine is that? rover? definitely not the toyota 2zz-ge.
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zapperdude60 7:13PM (1/14/2009)
why not an exige for that much?
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thomas 9:53PM (1/14/2009)
cuz the weathers nice.
13enS 7:14PM (1/14/2009)
/lust
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casey 7:18PM (1/14/2009)
it's the best looking modern Lotus i've seen. i'm loving the matte look, whether it's CF like here or the new Lambo paint finishes.
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Lotus Blog 7:43PM (1/14/2009)
Absolutely awesome! I wish carbon fiber wasn't so bloody expensive, would have been nice to repair my old Lotus Elise with carbon fiber clams.
http://www.lotuseliseblog.com
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firstplace 7:46PM (1/14/2009)
that really rocks. Bet there is more going on then just carbon fiber.
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Rick 7:46PM (1/14/2009)
Are they replacement panels or did he apply carbon fiber to the existing panels? The picture of the headlight makes it look like carbon fiber is an overlay. So it might be heavier than stock. Regardless, it looks great.
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Someone 7:53PM (1/14/2009)
Looks awesome!
But if you look at the tail lights looks like applied vinyl... don`t wanna sound paranoid... just saying...
Because it suddenly ends like a sticker... don`t know is that right??
Hope it`s real... just think of the performance... hehehe
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yh 8:05PM (1/14/2009)
Driving this you're bound to get 2 kinds of stares. One from the general populous wondering why there's another car no one bothered to properly paint and the other from gearheads with their jaws on the floor watching all that carbon fiber drive by.
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Valentino Amoro 9:40PM (1/14/2009)
You cant just expose carbon fiber naked. It oxidizes rather quickly to a yellowing mucky compound in the presence of UV.
It's kind of like exposing raw iron sheets. Thats why the Corvette ZR1 (where the CF is naked) uses a really expensive engineered clear coat. Of course, this being a boutique bodyshop that did it it may not have that, in which case the finish will be ruined soon.
Kaveh 9:33PM (1/14/2009)
I am diggin this car, black wheels black everything with suede and carbon everything. I want it, who do I have to kill for it?
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xpolarx 9:43PM (1/14/2009)
That actually looks like dry carbon fiber, and if it is...holymarymotherofgod how expensive was this little project!?!?!
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