Last Lotus Elise delivered to the person it was named after

Lotus just made an announcement on its social media channels that the last customer-bound Elise has been built — we'll note that Lotus built the very last Elise for itself — and delivered to its final customer, Elisa Artioli. If you haven’t heard of her before, it’s time for a little Lotus history lesson.

Back when the Elise came to fruition and was released in 1996, Romano Artioli was the company’s chairman. When it came time to finalize a name for the two-seat sports car, Romano looked to his granddaughter, Elisa, for inspiration. 

For those who find full-circle stories satisfying, it’s hard to get any better than this one. The Elise you’re looking at here is the final customer-bound Elise in the world, and it’s going to none other than the woman who the car is named after.

Yesterday, we were delighted to welcome Elisa Artioli to Hethel to hand over her new car – the last Elise built for a customer – a Sport 240 in “Championship Gold”.

The granddaughter of Lotus’ then Chairman, Romano Artioli, Elisa was the original inspiration for the car’s name. pic.twitter.com/pt0hf9WZIo

— Lotus Cars (@lotuscars) February 25, 2022

As for the spec of the car itself, this is an Elise Sport 240, and it’s painted in “Championship Gold.” The Sport 240 features a 1.8-liter supercharged four-cylinder that’s good for 240 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. Weighing only 2,033 pounds, it’s capable of a 4.1-second 0-60 mph sprint and has a top speed of 147 mph.

What a lovely story! We’ve asked Lotus for more photos and additional information, and we’ll update when we hear back.