Lotus Elise
 

Checked one of these out at the Lotus Dealership today. That car looks a lot better in person than it does in the magazines. It looks unlike anything else I've ever seen on the road. It's bigger than I thought it would be too, but it's still tiny. Smaller than our Boxsters. It's quite....boring on the inside, very no-nonsense atmosphere in the cabin. It's definitely a track car by all means not something I would want to pick up a date with.

those things fly though, must help how light it is......

1930 lbs!

The Elise is a handfull when pushed hard.

There was a yellow one at the SCCA Solo II Autocross at Turner Field a few weeks ago.

Its an incredible performer, but the owner was learning how to keep the rear end behind him. I went to Sunday's event, where he was spinning out quite a bit. I was told by another AutoXer, he was throwing it around a lot more on Saturday spinning out a whole lot more. I tell you he was having a lot of fun with it.

1.8 liter, mid engine, quick, 1900+ pounds its neat. Very clean lines, no nonsense interior, dual air bags, yada yada yada...

It tends to want to oversteer more than understeer. Just the opposite in the Boxster.

There is a red Elise running around locally. I will see if its at the Auto X here on Sunday.

Dave
2004 Boxster, Guards Red, 18" Carerra Light Alloys

the elsise has been around in the uk for ages and its dubbed the worst design in lotus history..

infact it was on the news a few days back that a local garage gives a yellow elise to the person that sells the least amount of cars as a punishment.

inside its basic and more like a go cart, the roof has 11 bars and nuts to take off and put on everytime you want to convert. You have to slide polls inside the softtop to give it support.

i really hate this car, and anyone who has one is after only one thing... cheap thrills.

if anyone is after a lotus stay well away but if you must get the esprint turbo..
If anyone has winmx download the video called elsisevp.mpeg you will have a good laugh it compares all softtops available around 32 cars and the elisee came number 32 even the convertable mini beat it. Oh by the way the boxster came number 2 which was great and it was well praised. Number one was the 996, the boxster beat the likes of the merc, bmw m3 and many more high performance cars..

The 1st Gen Elise (in the UK) was hideous. The 2nd gen isn't so bad.

You can no longer buy an Esprit Turbo...at least not new. The last 3 new ones for sale where at the Lotus dealership here in North Scottsdale. When I stopped in they were not to be seen so imaging they must have sold. The Elise is scheduled for a redesign in 3 years...something about only being able to be sold for so long and in limited numbers because of the bumpers or something...

I was at a BMW dealer today helping my friend look for a new 5 series. There is a Porsche/Audi next door and all the guys were standing around an Elise. It is a neat car. Lotus must make a huge profit because there is nothing inside, and all for $45,000

Lol, not to mention they outsourced the engine!

The outsourced engine is the best part, if they were to build from that..

It could be a monster, in looks and power.

The looks seem to be it's down point, but at least it has a dependable power plant.

To high in price though, for what you get ...

Scott

Not to hijack the thread, but...
 

How light can you get a Boxster S without going the full race route? i.e. no fiberglass/carbon fiber panels, leave the interior pretty much alone, two seats, working ragtop.

CW

Removing items reduces weight by:
Passenger seat (Electric,no heater): -45 lbs (inc. bracket)
Rag-top w/ assorted hardware: -40 lbs
Spare Tire and Tools: -30 lbs.
Rear Speakers w/shelf: -8.5 lbs
Carpet over engine hatch(heavy insl.): -7 lbs.


replacing with lighter components:
B&B 2nd gen. muffler: -25 lbs (from stock "S" muffler)
Sparco on the driver's seat -30 lbs.
replace 18" turbolook wheels -20lbs , 5 lbs per wheel (unsprung)
Carbon Fiber hood - 20 lbs.
Carbon Fiber trunklid - 8 lbs
CF doors -50 lbs + weight of roll cage vs stock roll hoops


so about 130lbs can be removed for free
the next 150lbs is more expensive ;)

- - - - - - -

Even with all this work done, the Boxster will weigh 2600-2700 lbs which is a lot more than a Lotus Elise.


Keeping the stock seats and a working ragtop, and I assume radio, air conditioning,etc. you can reduce our weight by 1 large bag of dog food for free and 1 more large bag of dog food for $1000.

guys guys whats all this about reducing wieght... the boxster isnt a race car, its an amazing car that is fine the way it is... if you want a race car get a 996 turbo, something with power..

i bought my boxster in 98 as it is an amazing machine and a true 2 seater sports car..

sure the elise is lighter but it drops thousands every year...

I mean the boxster is balanced to pefection, would it not make the boxster poor handling if you make it lighter as porsche have already tuned the car to that weight,

i would like to know this someone let me know :)

The Boxster isn't a race car... neither is the 996 turbo

Good thing you mentioned turbo in your comparison. The Boxster falls right in the middle of the 911 family in track competence. The Boxster S falls somewhere in front of virtually all stock pre-993, normally aspirated 911, about on par with 993s, and behind the turbo versioned 993 and 996. Add in driver competent and the playing field levels :matchup: Unlike most 911 series, I've yet to pass a turbo 996 on the track- but then I only have 6 track days and most of the modern turbos and GT2/3 cars hide in the higher run groups ;)

These cars are a BLAST on the race track:D

I find it interesting that you are talking about Loti, especially the Elise. They are the antithesis of almost every Porsche, especially the Boxster, which really does make a practical daily driver. I would not want to commute in an Elise, although I have an autocross prepared MGB that is about as barbaric.

On the other hand, I owe the Elise a great debt. A friend of mine has ordered one, and as a result I just bought his triple black '97 Boxster, in perfect condition, with 18,000 miles! A toast to Colin Chapman!

Mike

One of the first cars I ever rode backroads in was my best friends Lotus Europa - it was much more reliable and had better creature comforts than my Fiat X1/9. His Europa was a daily driver. More than the Austin Healys and the Triumphs this was my Gold standard in sports cars. Until the Boxster, this was the best handling car I'd ever driven, including the Ferrari 328.

The intervening Lotus models have tended towards the exotic. I think of the Elise as a return to the vision of Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman and the days of the super 7.