Compared to a Lotus Esprit, the Viper is common. Not sure how the Ferrari F430 got pulled into the discussion, but the Lotus Esprit is much rarer than the F430 as well. Lotus was a tiny company, near bankruptcy, for years before Proton finally bought them. Dodge uses the Viper engine in a pickup truck, and the interiors are very Chrysler corporate, right down to fake plastic bolts molded into the steering wheel hub. I don't know if they assemble those by hand, but Dodge isn't exactly Bentley when it comes to building cars. You can argue, rightly, that that isn't the most important consideration. But it doesn't make a convincing stand next to the European exotics. OTOH, the Viper is very fast and gets much more attention than the Corvette, and you have a lot more options for servicing the car. Lotus makes Ferrari look like it has an extensive dealer network. There are good reasons to buy a Viper. But, as posted, earlier, the guy wants a Ferrari eventually, and presumably wants something in that vein. The reason several of us have recommended Lotuses was because the OP wants an exotic car, and as good as Dodge makes the Viper it really lacks the heritage, cachet, rarity or universal aesthetic appeal of something like an Esprit. In some ways the Esprit isn't a great car -- the gearbox never really achieved more than competence even as the window sticker surged near six figures during the '90s -- but that stiletto styling, and acre-long windscreen that's almost part of the bonnet, are still stunning. Plus, the early ones were submarines. That's a useful thing.
I would agree with most of this (except the Viper Engine has very little in common with the V10 in the trucks) If the OP wants something to whet his appetite for the future Ferrari the Esprit is it...hands down. Thats the closest he's going to get (but at that point why not get a 3X8 for a couple bucks more ? ). The Esprit is also the only true exotic in this group. If the OP wants the best daily driver with scalpel like handling and can accept the lack of torque...NSX wins hands down. Fantastic sports car but not really an exotic If the OP wants a brutal 60s style muscle car that requires some extra effort to tame the viper wins hands down. Again, fantastic muscle car but not really an exotic. people get so hot under the collar when someone says the Viper or NSX arent exotics...why ? Whats wrong with being a muscle car or a high end sports car ? Its just a different category. The word 'exotic' doesnt mean 'superior'. As for Me, Im a meat cleaver guy not a scalpel guy. Viper trumps all.
Well writ, Bullfighter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enough blathering to defend our personal preferences that may not match the OP's. We could stretch this thread out to 199 pages, and not one pixel will matter compared to what Bounty will experience as he gets a few blocks away from the dealership or private driveway on the test drive and opens it up a bit as he gets the feel of the machine. Will he feel his lower back aching from a seat that doesn't suit him? Will he feel cramped? Will his feet be squished too close together for comfort? Will he experience that rare Automotive Nirvana, the "oneness between horse and rider" of a car that fits him perfectly? Will he feel like the car is a slow old friendly dog or a snarling untrustworthy junkyard dog? Will it feel like a scapel or a hammer? Either way, will he like it? Heck, he doesn't even know which he prefers yet! So let's let him go forth and sample the bounty of modern sportscars available today. Travis, we expect full reports. - Josh
How about a 2002-2003 Maserati Spider? Buy in the high $30s, definately exotic, has a Ferrari engine and a drop dead beautiful interior. Slap a Tubi on there, sounds like a 360. Its really a good starter Italian car. Of the three you mention, the NSX is the best car, the Viper would be the most exiting, and the Lotus.......ummm...well...you would get to know your mechanic really well, so if its a hot wrench chick you've got it made.
I am quite experienced with Esprits. I've owned three and serviced a couple dozen. Here are a few thoughts: Service -- Find the best condition, best maintained, totally unmolested 1988 - 1995 Esprit you can find. The 88-91 cars are the best value combination of performance, quality, and reliability; the later S4 and S4s cars are better in all three respects but also cost more. The majority of any issues with any 88+ Esprit come from improper service, molestation, and neglect. Maintenance costs -- Compared to a V8 Ferrari, the 4-cylinder Esprit has half as many valves, half as many timing belts, half as many tensioner bearings, half as many exhaust manifolds . . . etc. . . Size -- At your size, you are near the limit of fitting comfortably in an Esprit, but the later (1993, maybe? -- check the year) cars have a little more interior space. Footwells are tight and pedals are close together. You will be limited to wearing docksiders, dress shoes, driving shoes, etc.; no athletic, cross trainer, platform soles, etc. Fun To Drive -- You will NEVER tire of any year or version of Esprit, period. You will never tire of its looks, it's cockpit interior, its light and nimble handling, retina-detaching braking, and the eager and intoxicating rumble of the firecracker 4-pot behind you. Immunity to Decay -- Pretty much all Turbo Esprits have galvanized chassis. And of course, the bodies are fiberglass (Giugiaro cars) and a mix of fiberglass and kevlar (Stevens cars). Driving an Esprit is awesome and a one-of-a-kind experience. No car I have ever driven is so addictive, and it has nothing to do with the power. Yes, the later the Esprit the faster it is, but you will never find any Esprit lacking in sheer driving ecstasy.
I love Esprits but the OP never mentioned an Esprit.....he said Elise-NSX-Viper. As far as your heritage,cachet notes there is some validity to that but since the Viper has been on the market since 1991 it has had a very successful and storied racing history, and has on numerous occasions proven itself as a high-performance hand built exotic race car for the street. The only reason Vipers are more common than Esprits is because the Esprits are built like cobbled together kit cars and start to fall apart after a few years.Another thing I have a hard time calling ANY car with a 4 banger an exotic.....whats so exotic about that?? Bullfighter I love Ferrari's, Porsches, Lotus, Maseratis,Lambos etc but I can take my limited production hand built 510 bhp Viper and add $8,000 Paxton supercharger , install and tune it in one day and have over 725 bhp in a 3380lb convertible that pulls more g's on the skidpad than an Enzo!! Sorry but NOTHING in the automotive landscape can offer so much reliable performance for so little money. Like MC Hammer used to say.."You can't touch this". Image Unavailable, Please Login
LOL....I just saw him on a local TV station, he is now a "Pastor" in some church near Fremont. He had a white towel and was sweating harder than Richard Simmons!
I'f we each stop and think about it; the 3 are so different. Its not hard to say that one car does something better then the other. Each one of these cars has a quality which cant be matched by any other car out there. The OP really does need to choose what qualities he really want from his car and go with that.
LOL...Right you are! 5 pages later...duh. I need to those cataracts looked at, I was wondering why everyone was talking about "heavy maintenance" on an Elise? But its still a Turbo 4 vs a V-6 vs a V-10, although the Esprit TT V-8 is definitely much more exotic than an Elise.
This is perhaps the finest community that I have ever had the pleasure in collaborating and communicating with. Thank you all. I take everyone's response very seriously. Are people here keeping in mind that I am 6'3" and 215 pounds. I know that I mentioned this briefly in my post and while I expect a certain level of "sport" feeling...I will be spending enough time in this car that comfort for someone of my size is important for the 2 hour drives home once a quarter. Has this changed anyone's opinion?
If you get a pre cream puff viper which I belive is pre 2001 you can make it a 1000hp car for 15k. These pre 2001 cars have forged internals which can hold more horsepower. I love all cars but turbo vipers are just nasty. http://www.cpeturbos.com/index-sidemount.htm
Ok, after you just posted this I would say stick with getting an nsx or viper then. I think you will be to large for just about any Lotus especially an elise or Esprit. You could probably fit in the new upcoming Lotus Ethos but that is still a year away from these shores.
Did you see my reply at the bottom of the previous page? You are near the limit of being able to fit comfortably in most Esprits. Try a few out and see if you are comfortable, or get in touch with an owner near you -- Esprit owners tend to be easygoing bunch when it comes to giving rides to potential purchasers. Also, check out the section for big and tall drivers on www.lotusespritworld.com. I agree with 95Aero in that the Viper, NSX, and Esprit are incredibly different cars. It's hard to think of three contemporary highline sports cars with more divergent qualities!
bounty - Tony K has sage advice, and as it happens, *thecarreaper's Esprit is on the market. *He's a good guy... even if he does like Lambos [snicker].
You won't fit into an NSX or if you are long in the torso it will be a tight fit in an RT/10 Viper without a seat lowering kit. I can vouch for the NSX and RT/10 issues personally. If cost of ownership is a big deal then drop the Lotus. It is not as reliable as your other choice and expensive to repair. NSX's are great bangs for the buck right now and are great handling cars (when aligned correctly). You have to consider adding a blower if you want any torque in the car. I've driven my 1996 GTS Coupe every single day for the last 12 years and it is bullet proof reliable. Viper's are going to be the most challenging to drive of your choices because of the huge amount of torque and the fact that it comes on a under 1,000 rpm (idle is 550 rpm). If the Viper has the factory alignment, then the front will plow under hard braking and the rear end will kick out under hard acceleration (which is usually why people total about 40% of these cars in teh first 60 days of ownership. The car also has a lot of understeer dialed in from the factory. In order to remedy these attributes you need to get the car aligned correctly. This is essential. Mine has been corner weighted and aligned for an aggressive street/track alignment. If you would like to carry on this conversation off line about the Viper, you can drop me a line to [email protected]. By the way, I have also taken my car on local road racing venues more than 50 times. There are lots of BS artists out there peddling Kool-Aid HP mods for Vipers. Let the buyer beware because 99% of these tuners do nothing to the chassis' as they bump up the performance numbers... which essentially narrows your margin of error when it comes to screwing the pooch. Blowers and turbochargers are stupid mods for Vipers because they make them completely undrivable... they are essentially dyno-queens. Viper out of the box have traction issues under hard throttle. They have no traction control and only the cream puff models have ABS brakes. By the way, I strongly recommend upgrading the brakes to Stop Techs (even if you never drive your car on a track)... some have gone with Gen 3 brakes on their Gen 2 cars, but I have never driven a car with these mods to their limits, so I can't speak to it. I won't bore you with any more details on teh Vipers. Drop me a line if you wish. I wish you the best of luck in your decision. Take care, Brad
