Lotus's new 2010 Elise dips below 150g/km of CO2

The new facelifted 2011 model year Lotus Elise has cut its CO2 output by nearly a fifth to a saintly 149g/km.

It's a 16% improvement over the outgoing Lotus Elise S and Hethel claims 'the Elise has the lowest CO2 for its performance level for any gasoline sports car in the world.'

Lotus is getting combative with the new Elise, pointing out that the Elise weighs just 876kg – while the Porsche Boxster sends the scales spinning to 1334kg.

So how come the new Lotus Elise is so clean?

The aerodynamics are 4% smoother, according to Lotus, while a smaller Toyota 1.6-litre VVT-i engine is downsized by 200cc compared with the outgoing 1.8, yet produces the same power.

The new 2011 model year (but on sale now in 2010) shows the benefits of lightweight: it'll hit 60mph in 6.0sec.