Lotus had Yokohama develop a bespoke tire just for the 340R — the A038R, with a tread pattern so unconventional it's been described as bizarre.
Lead trim: 1.8 Rover K-series VHPD (177 bhp)
Lotus 340R2000–2000
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Lotus 340R yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactLotus had Yokohama develop a bespoke tire just for the 340R — the A038R, with a tread pattern so unconventional it's been described as bizarre.
The Lotus 340R is a limited edition sports car manufactured by Lotus in 2000 at Hethel, introduced as a concept car at the 1998 British International Motor Show as a special edition of the Elise. 340 were built and all were sold before they were manufactured; it uses a custom-built bodyshell with no roof or doors, and all cars came in a silver and black colour scheme. The engine is the four-cylinder VHPD version of the 1.8L Rover K-Series engine used in the regular Elise, producing 177 bhp at 7800 rpm and 172 N·m at 6750 rpm as standard, or 187 bhp with optional Lotus accessories, and the standard car can accelerate to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 133 mph.
Collectors Spotted in the Lotus 340R Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Lotus 340R yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 Rover K-series VHPD (177 bhp) | 2000–2000 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 177 hp | 127 lb-ft | 4.4 s | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
In 1974 Alfa built a one-off on this Spider: a Porsche-style solid rear window and lift-out roof panels, fewer than 2,000 made, the only Spider ever with a part-solid roof.
Over 100,000 people voted to name this car "Duetto" — but a chocolate-snack maker had already trademarked the word, and a Milan court ruling forced Alfa to sell it as the Spider 1600 instead.
After nearly 25 years of manual-only Spiders, the final Series 4 cars quietly added something Alfa purists never expected: an optional automatic transmission.
The mid-80s Spider's Quadrifoglio Verde trim went all-in on a single look: blood-red carpets and grey leather with red stitching, and it only ever came in three exterior colors.
This Spider was built not by Alfa but by Pininfarina itself, on a platform shared with General Motors.
The 916 Spider's strongest naturally aspirated engine, the 192 PS 3.0 12V Busso V6, was never offered in its GTV coupe twin.
The Frogeye had no boot lid at all — owners reached the spare wheel by tilting the seats forward into the dark cavity behind, a ritual they likened to potholing.
The Fairlady 2000's SR311 update came with a five-speed manual gearbox in 1967 — a genuinely unusual spec for any production car of that era.