Originally introduced as a concept car at the 1998 Birmingham Motor Show, the 340R is a special edition of the Lotus Elise. 340 were built, and all were sold before they were manufactured. It uses a custom built bodyshell with no roof or doors. All cars came with a silver and black colour scheme. Special A038R tyres were developed for the 340R in collaboration with Yokohama.

While road-legal in the UK and Europe,^[1] most of the surviving cars are only used for racing, track use, or demonstrations.^{[citation needed]}

The engine is a four-cylinder version of the 1.8L Rover K-Series engine called VHPD (Very High Power Derivative) used in the regular Elise which produces 177 bhp (132 kW; 179 PS) at 7800 rpm and 172 N⋅m (127 lbf⋅ft) at 6750 rpm as standard, or 187 bhp (139 kW; 190 PS) at 7500 rpm and 189 N⋅m (139 lbf⋅ft) at 5600 rpm with optional Lotus accessories. The former can accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 133 mph (214 km/h).^[2][3]

• 0-160 km/h (99 mph) 10.7 sec
• Power-to-weight ratio: 252.5 bhp (188.3 kW)/Ton or 3.96 kg (8.73 lb)/bhp
• Price: £35,000

• Independent 340R site
• PistonHeads Entry
• The Lotus 340R story