A Forbidden Lotus Elise Rival Is for Sale in the U.S. Right Now

Here iIn America, the Lotus Elise is a hallowed mid-engine sports car focused entirely on providing an exceptional driving experience. What many folks Stateside don't know is that Renault built an Elise rival — one that was only sold overseas. It was the Renault Sport Spider — and now, a 1998 example is up for sale here in the USA with all of the import paperwork already done.

This is, in fact, the very first Renault Sport-branded vehicle ever produced. Every Renault Sport Spider was hand-built in the old Alpine factory in Dieppe, France. In addition, it boasts extreme looks, hardcore design decisions, and supercar-style butterfly doors. Simply put, this is a sports car with an impressive pedigree.

Under the skin, the Spider features a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with around 150 horsepower. Those ponies head to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. An aluminum chassis provides excellent rigidity, while keeping weight down. Renault employed metal-jointed double-wishbone suspension at each corner, and even included inboard Bilstein coilovers to ensure the best possible performance for the day.

The cabin is very simple, with Recaro seats, a metal floor pan, and exactly zero creature comforts. There's no air conditioning, which is fine, because there's no top available. The Spider doesn't even come with heat. It's about driving, not about being quaffed as you trundle down the highway.

Having driven one of these, I can attest that they feel extreme to pilot around town. Don't get me wrong, they're relatively easy to drive, but they're supremely analog. The simple design leads to tons of little noises, like the pedal bumping up against the floor pan or the gear shift knocking against the center tunnel when you jiggle it. These cars don't have power steering, either. You do the work in the Renault Sport Spider — and it rewards good drivers.

This particular example sits in beautiful Sport Yellow and has just 12,500 miles on the odometer. As previously mentioned, it's already been imported into the States and sits now in Virginia with a clean Tennessee title. As the auction over at Cars & Bids mentions, it's believed that Renault built less than 2,000 of these. Consider this as one very cool and unique way to show up to Cars and Coffee.

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