This C&D article about the Lotus has me confused...
I have mentioned before that someone where I work owns a Lotus Elise. I got curious about them and started looking up information. I found this Car and Driver article from December 2003:
In the article, they say that, at the time, Lotus was claiming the '05 Elise would have a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 141mph. The writer of the article goes on to say that, "Not much this side of an exotic supercar will keep up with it on a racetrack."
I don't know a lot about racing, but it seems to me there are plenty of things this side of 'an exotic supercar' that could keep up with those numbers. The new Mustang GTs are rated (in many places) 0-60 in 5.1 seconds and I saw a commercial recently where Ford claimed 4.5. Also, even SN95s were capable of speeds up to 150 or so (the ones without the speed limiters), right? I would think that some of the faster BMWs (expensive, sure, but hardly exotic supercars) would destroy it. Is it simply because of the suspension and handling that they make this statement, or is it because C&D writers are full of crap?
In fact, according to Autos.com (don't know how reliable they are, either), the '05 Elise has a 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds. They rate the '02 Mustang GT at 0-60 in 6.4 seconds - .4 seconds faster. Is the Lotus more handling and looks than speed or am I getting bad reports?
Not that I am planning to line up against the Lotus - I don't even know who owns it. It's more just a matter of curiosity.
Yes, the lotus is better in the corners than most stock mustangs. I have seen a lotus exige up against an '05 mustang on a road course and it beat the mustang by a few seconds. (not sure how long the course was) So, the statement that not much will keep up with it is not too far fetched, but its not power its the extremely light weight and good handling.
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The Elise will absolutely smoke 95% of all cars rolling the street on a road course. It's not about sheer power with those cars. It's mainly about finesse. It's kinda what ricers WISH they could accomplish.
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Ditto ... the Lotus Elise is a corner carving machine in comparison.
Very light and nimble. Great weekend car and not too expensive.
:thumbsup
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The Lotus is extremely light and is geared really low so it accelerates and handles better than most cars on the street. However, it only has a Toyota 4 cylinder so it doesn't have a very high top speed when combined with the low gearing.
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They'd have to do more than throw a big heavy powerful motor in it. Full independent suspension the quality of the GT.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
The Elise will absolutely smoke 95% of all cars rolling the street on a road course. It's not about sheer power with those cars. It's mainly about finesse. It's kinda what ricers WISH they could accomplish.
Okay, so when they say 'race track', they are most likely talking about a road course. That I can easily believe. I'm no fan of NASCAR, but I guess living in Tennessee (less than an hour's drive from Bristol Motor Speedway, depending on traffic), I automatically think of the round track when someone says 'race track'. Thanks to all those who responded for helping me clear that up.
I went to a parking lot autocross event a couple of months ago and there were two Lotus' there. I got there late so I didn't get to see them run, but now I really wish I had.
They'd have to do more than throw a big heavy powerful motor in it. Full independent suspension the quality of the GT.
How about a Focus with a supercharged V6, 6 speed, stiffened chassis, racing inspired buckets front and rear and full independent suspension? Put all that in a yellow hatchback, give it a sunroof, and that would be a Focus I would actually want. Of course, it would cost twice the price of a base Focus but still wouldn't be too expensive.
Nah, they aren't quite that expensive. I think mid-high 50's maybe. I like the idea about a supercharged V6 and a 6 speed....oh wait didn't they do that already and kill it?? Or were those 4 bangers? Anyway if Ford would do it right, they could compete with the Elise, but just like everything else anymore, they would settle for mediocrity at best.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
Nah, they aren't quite that expensive. I think mid-high 50's maybe. I like the idea about a supercharged V6 and a 6 speed....oh wait didn't they do that already and kill it?? Or were those 4 bangers? Anyway if Ford would do it right, they could compete with the Elise, but just like everything else anymore, they would settle for mediocrity at best.
I have seen them in the mid 30s at the LOTUS dealership in Scottsdale, AZ
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Nah, they aren't quite that expensive. I think mid-high 50's maybe. I like the idea about a supercharged V6 and a 6 speed....oh wait didn't they do that already and kill it?? Or were those 4 bangers? Anyway if Ford would do it right, they could compete with the Elise, but just like everything else anymore, they would settle for mediocrity at best.
The essential piece of machinery here is the 2.0-liter in-line four. Fundamentally it's the same engine found in the Focus ZX3 hatch, but in the SVT version it makes forty more horsepower, for a total of 170 hp, and ten pound-feet more of torque. It gets there through a variety of massage techniques, all legit. The intake manifold grows dual-stage intakes, with a longer runner length for engine speeds below 6000 rpm and shorter ones above. The intake valves have larger ports for better breathing and electromechanically operated variable cam timing. The pistons get forged connecting rods, too.
Its 170 horses were ten fewer than Volkswagen's GTI, but the SVT Focus doesn't seem to have been a turbo. It was a six-speed and listed at about $18k - not a bad price for a car from SVT. The supercharged V6 version, should leave the GTI and most other 'hot hatches' - and many other imports - in the dust. Do you think it would be reasonable to expect 275 horses out of a supercharged Ford V6 if they started with the motor they are using in the V6 Mustangs? Could they fit all that in the engine bay of a Focus?
I have seen them in the mid 30s at the LOTUS dealership in Scottsdale, AZ
Brand new or used? I thought I had seen a price way higher than that in the Road & Track road test I read a while ago.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
This C&D article about the Lotus has me confused... 
