Woah, someone’s building a single seat, 600kg Lotus Elise S1

A British company called Analogue Automotive has announced its intention to build a limited number of single-seat Lotus Elise S1s that weigh just 600kg and offer 400bhp per tonne. It's called the VHPK, and arrives exactly 30 years since Lotus revealed the original car at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Drop everything, stop the press and call all cars: this is big.

And small. Really, really small. The S1 is a tiny car by 2025’s overinflated standards, so Analogue Automotive’s decision to really go big on the smallness is a welcome antidote. (Reminder: small cars rule).

The company cites the early Noughties Autobytel Lotus Championship, which saw single-seat S1s trade paint on the circuit. As such, this one is indeed ‘singularly focused’ around that central driving position. In front of you sits a lightweight carbon wheel, and at your feet you have command over a set of carbon ceramic brakes.

And a very tweaked version of Rover’s K-series engine. It returns! Here, AA has stripped and buffed it up, replacing the internals with bespoke billet and forged items, and upping the displacement so it produces a hearty 250bhp.

The bodywork has been replaced with a full carbon fibre suit, ditto the bespoke carbon fibre interior, and AA said “every element is engineered for minimal weight”. So it weighs just 600kg. That’s a battery pack on a family SUV. AA quote 400bhp-per-tonne. You know what else offers 400bhp-per-tonne? A Porsche 911 Turbo.

AA is planning on building just 35 of these super, super leggera Elise S1s, each one individually numbered and available to order next year.