What do you get when you take a Lotus Elise S, subtract one 2ZZ Toyota four-banger, and substitute a Honda K-Series VTEC engine? You go back one in the alphabet and get the Stark Automotive Lotus Elise R. The crew starts with a base Elise, strips the car down and rebuilds the already-nimble sports car to customer specifications. The new mill is a K20A i-VTEC that normally sees duty in Type-R Hondas mated to a K20 six-speed gearbox. The result is a car that can reach 60 mph from a cold start in 3.9 seconds and achieve a top speed of around 160 mph. And how much does all that fun set you back?

This little green Lotus is set to cost approximately $53,500, though it's cheaper if you've already got an Elise of your own that can be converted. That's a fairly reasonable price given the promised performance and the novelty of getting a car with a "powered by VTEC" sticker that is actually powered by VTEC. In addition, you might be able to shed a few pounds and Pounds by foregoing the six layers of super green spray. The car also comes with a 12-month warranty, though we're guessing it doesn't cover rolling your super Elise into the Thames at 160 mph. [AutoBlog.nl via MotorAuthority]

Send an email to Matt Hardigree, the author of this post, at .