Lotus question guys

Hey guys its been a long time since I have been on here and its been soo busy in the mean time. I was originally looking for a bull to park in the garage but decided to go with a viper TT from jason heffner. I got a great price and then did some more work to make it a real monster. She's great fun and I love it. I also bought a S550. Its a great cruiser but not a lot of fun if you know what I mean.
here is the deal, I want a car that I can kinda beat the crap out of and then still have A/C because we all know that the viper shoots flames out when you dare turn that dial. Soo what about a lotus elise.....they are toyota motors soo I figure it shouldn't be that bad. Price is great and I dont have much room in the garage....OPINIONS PLEASE!!!!!!
Thanks
Rapid

 

You won't have more fun in any car than you will in an Elise. They say you have to leave your ego at home, because the snob car guys don't think much of them, but the true enthusiasts know they are a great car.
They will also leave most things short of an Enzo for dead on a twisty road or track.

 

Hi Cameron,

As someone who manages a Lotus store in Calif., I'd say go for it. It's hard to find any other car that can keep up with it on the twisties and still be able to drive around town with. There are several Lotus dealers in FL and I'm sure if any of them still have a left over new '05, you'd be able to get an awesome deal. I'd recommend test driving one first and see if you can deal with the in/out before comitting. Good luck.

 

i would do it and get the turbo kit thrown on it. the car is sick with the turbo kit. handles like its on rails too. go for it.

 

Get one - they're great!

Oh and with reference to those car snobs who shoot you down, just leave them for dead on the next bit of twisty road and then see what they say!

 

Hi Cameron,

regarding the Lotus, they are great little cars. No refinement whatsoever really and they are the ultimate car to drive around corners quickly. I have driven a series 2 version for a couple of hours then a white series 2 exige around Knockhill race track in Scotland. The handling is just uncomparable to anything but could be a little quicker in a straight line!

Regards,

Matthew

 

The AC in the Elise is horrible, so don't count on that for some comfort on the drive home from the track. Say it is 90 degrees. One person in the car with the AC on full is uncomfortable. Two people in 90+ and it is no less than miserable.

Yes, my car was checked out and determined to be performing within spec. The answer was they all do that. The air coming out of the AC was actually pretty cool, but between the aluminum, fabric top and lack of insulation, the outside heat just defeats the inside cool.

As for the driving experience, it was an absolute blast.

Snobbery must be regional, because I never ran into anyone who had anything negative to say about me or my car. People who didn't know thought it was a $200k car and enthusiast were eager to find out how it drove. Not a single person said, "Oh, it is just an Elise."

I had mine for two years. It left today for its new home.

 

I love mine.

I would recommend buying used though. There are some great deals out there!
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What shade of blue is that? (-:

 

I would love to get one, but I've found you have to be a smaller guy to fit comfortably though, or a contortionist. That and every dealer I've been to blows smoke up your butt about how in demand they are and their absurd markups (they all seem to be $50K+... on a $42k car with few options), as if there weren't lines of 32 of them at some FL and midwest dealers sitting for ages.

The Vegas dealer was particularly silly, with the salesman acting as if I couldn't get a car allocated to me even if I wanted to buy. Maybe that was some sort of "taunt to tempt" sales technique, the "oh you can't have it anyway."

 

There are plenty of new '06 models that have an MSRP of $50K+ as $42,990 is only the base price but, try searching for a pre-owned '05 if you're looking for a steal and as long as you're not above 6'4", you should be able to get in and out...unless your wide, then it definitely won't work.

 

Aye, there's the rub. Or rather, the rubbing of the wheel on my knees and the parking brake under my thigh!

I can think of only two comparable experiences of automotive claustrophobia: Countach and S2000.

 

BUmmer Ryalex - They really are fun cars! And you can get an '05 for the low 30's now.

 

Yeah, it stinks. I was hoping the larger Europa might do the trick but I read the times review of it and they went on about how poor it was.

 

Would aftermarket seats help?

 

Hey thanks you guys for all the info and I am still really really considering buying one. I have like I said two cars already....so adding a daily driver track car would be the ultimate garage for me. I am only considering buying a skyline instead. I love the car, and yes I know that they are completely different cars and need to check them out. The ass down at naples motorsports wanted a two thousand dollar deposit and with that being said I was royally offended. the car is beautiful blueish/purple color......Its sick
thanks
cameron

 

It's not the seat itself - it's snug but I fit in the seat, and I have headroom - but my legs were very close to the wheel and the parking brake was underneath my thy. The seats are so thin I don't know that you could get something that was further back.

It's all good, there are other fish in the automotive sea!

 

Ryalex,

How tall are you man? A buddy of mine who is around 5-8 had one and he let me drive it. With my 6-3 athletic build, it was a tight fit...I felt like Magnum PI driving around with the roof off because (1) There was NO WAY I was going to fit in that car with the roof on, and (2) With the roof off, I could literally feel the bugs hitting the top of my head!!!

Great cars nonetheless. But, much like the NSX, I can't justify buying one because I simply can't fit comfortably

I will say this about the Elise, they are deceptively quick. I raced my buddy's car from a 20mph roll several times in my modded 930 & each time he squirted out ahead...it was not until around 90 mph that I caught him and put him in his place!!!

 

I'm only about 6ft in shoes, but I'm a big guy pushing 20 stone.
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Man, we could have used you on our lawschool football team!!!

You and I riding around in an Elise would be quite a sight!!!

 

Yeah, the other lawyer I was working with this summer is a Nigerian guym 6'3", 275 and looks like a Mr. Olympia contender. His little brother was even bigger. The three of us would go out and people literally would stop us and say, "hey, do I know you guys from somewhere? What do you do?" thinking they were footballers (lots of athletes live in Vegas off-season).

 

Have you made a decision? Here is some inspiration :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIJXEmWIsVk

 

The Elise is great!
So much bang for the money.
The optional sport exhaust is very cool.
You can get it to brake loose easy and it will slide on you but it feels ohh soo right.
Turbo would make it to a super car status. IMHO

Only complaints:
Trying to look cool when getting out with the top on. (everyone is watching)
On the air, feels like it needs a faster blower speed.

 

..........but totally different in philosophy to italian cars. Let`s open an ELISE-chapter..

.......and now back ro the bulls!!!

ciao!
walter