However, Lotus now offers a 135bhp upgrade for new Elises which costs - by the standards of higher performance conversions for many other cars - a bargain ΂£1750, including fitting and VAT. Furthermore, whilst the conversion work can be carried out at your local dealer for cars registered after Jan 3, you may just as well have it done up at Hethel; as soon as your pre-registered Elise rolls off the end of the production line it gets trundled a couple of hundred yards across the tarmac to the workshops of Lotus Motorsport, which must otherwise be pretty quiet now that the company no longer has its own race series.

Some of you will be aware that Lotus produced a 135 version of the Mk1 Elise, a car regarded by many as the sweetest, best balanced Elise of the bunch. The engine for that car was fettled by Janspeed, but now Janspeed has gone to the wall, Lotus is doing all the production work in-house, or at least in the workshop across the way. Because the 1.8-litre K-series engine that powers the standard Elise comes direct from Rover as a complete unit, there's no viable option other than to strip down fully- assembled powerplants before the upgrade work can begin.

All of the engine modifications centre on the need to improve its breathing. The alloy cylinder head is fully ported and gas-flowed, a specially-developed cast aluminium inlet system is fitted, the airbox is the same carbonfibre, low-restriction unit used on the Exige, and the aft end of the exhaust system now has a stainless steel sports silencer. The engine management system is also re-programmed which, crucially, allows the Sport 135 to meet forthcoming emissions regulations. In theory this means that the Sport 135 could be made as a full production model, but since the type approval process for any new model is such a protracted and expensive affair, Lotus has opted to make the conversion an aftermarket job, even if this means restricting numbers.

Talking of numbers, the first one you really need to know is a minimum of 135bhp at 6200rpm. Yes, that's a minimum, so you may get more! Torque climbs to 129lb ft at 4850rpm, which is better than the previous Sport 135 managed. Perhaps a little disappointingly the 0-62mph time falls by only 0.3sec compared with the standard car, to 5.4sec. But by way of compensation, the 0-100mph time is now 14.9sec, slashing 2.3sec off the old figure.

There are no suspension or brake mods to accompany the engine upgrade because the standard car's chassis has enough in reserve not to need them. However, if sir really feels the need to spend a little more, the Lotus Accessories catalogue can comfortably accommodate sir's desires. Certainly more initial bite and greater pedal feel from the brakes wouldn't go amiss for normal road use.

The only visual clues that you're driving a Sport 135 are stickers beneath the side repeaters, on the tail and on the facia. Frankly I'd ask for them to be left off.
The upgrade makes its presence felt from the moment you fire up the engine and blip the throttle. Not only is the exhaust note more crisply fruity - not to mention noticeably louder - but the revs are more willing to spool up and send the tacho needle punching around the dial. At low to middling engine speeds there's a vivacity to the throttle response that you simply don't get in the standard car, while the torque increase gives you greater speed when you're knocking along at five-tenths.

Not that you'll end up dawdling. The 135 engine offers every encouragement to rev it like hell. It comes on song at about 4000rpm and then makes a headlong rush for the red line. At six-five a red 'change up' light flashes from the tacho, and while there are further aural pleasures to be gained from ignoring it and pushing on to beyond seven - this car sounds like a raving racer when it's flying - there's no performance advantage. Whereas the standard car's power delivery gets a bit fluffy at the top end, the Sport 135 is in its element. The extra oomph and response mean you can exploit the chassis more fully, nip more quickly out of tight corners and overtake when in the standard car you might hesitate and lose the opportunity.

This engine, this power output, suits the Elise so brilliantly that you've got to wonder why Lotus didn't just bite the bullet when the new car was launched and offer it as the standard motor. At least it now gives owners of the old Elise 135 or even Sport 160 (a crudely executed device) a reason to get themselves into the new-shape car. The Sport 135 conversion also gives the Elise much-needed fizz for track-day jaunts, which again should broaden its appeal. And for the money, it's probably the performance bargain of the year.