This Is What An Off-Road Rally Racing Lotus Elise S1 ACTUALLY Looks Like

British start-up ‘Get Lost’ has revealed how Lotus’ lightweight Elise S1 sports car could – and indeed, does – work as an off-road rally racer. The reimagined Elise, dubbed ‘Project Safari,’ is said to blend “rally-inspired capability” with “road trip practicality” (something that even Lotus would admit is tricky with the two-seater Elise!) in a design study inspired largely by “a relentless pursuit of fun” and which looked to reinvent the Elise “without constraints.” Get Lost

“The idea of taking an Elise off-road might sound ridiculous, and that’s exactly why we leaned into it,” explains Get Lost founder and noted automotive photographer George ‘GF’ Williams.

Amazingly, rather than simply creating Project Safari as a render, Get Lost – the latest British start-up to hit the mainstream after Longbow and Perseus – has actually been built as a working prototype!

Key Takeaways

• British start-up reveals ‘Project Safari’ rally raider inspired by Lotus Elise S1
• Bespoke suspension, new ride height and all-terrain tires, all for “the relentless pursuit of fun.”
• New powertrain fitted; customer builds set to begin later this year.

Project Safari Boasts New, Rally-Inspired Bodywork And Suspension

If you were wondering where the ‘Get Lost’ name originated, the meaning is almost ludicrously straightforward… “If you get it, you get us. If not? Get Lost.”

Among the most notable changes to Project Safari is the bespoke suspension, which raises the ride height – and thus the Elise’s wafer-thin ground clearance – by 100 millimeters (understandably, the undertray has also been reinforced). Beneath the newly-flared wheel arches lie ‘Nankang’ all-terrain tires, while on the front, a new air intake has been incorporated. In a neat touch, this has been designed to look like the Elise’s front grille. You’d be forgiven for missing that, however, and indeed the bespoke, rectangular LED headlights, given the rally-style brace of headlamps mounted on the hood.

Further back (check out the spare wheel mounted behind the cockpit), Project Safari features a custom roof scoop (we’re guessing wading depths will still be kept fairly conservative!), while the two-seater cabin has also been ripped out for a “completely redesigned interior.”

Lotus’ 1.8-Liter Four-Cylinder Has Also Gone…

Interestingly, Get Lost specifies that the Elise’s original, 118-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder has been replaced with “a new powertrain” promised to deliver “strong, reliable performance,” though, save that it’s connected to a limited slip differential and new hydraulic handbrake (another rally specialty), no further details have been provided. One wonders whether a Ford-sourced, bullet-proof Duratec four-cylinder, as used on the Ford Focus, the Fusion and Volvo’s C-class range, may have found its way under the hood…

“This is not a modified Elise, it’s our interpretation of what the platform had to offer.” – GF Williams. – “Everything has been considered – from the design to the drive – all in the pursuit of creating something that’s fun.”

Customer builds are due to start later this year in the UK, though no confirmed price nor whether the Project Safari will be available to North American clients have been mentioned.

Lotus Elise (Production). Tech Specs