The Sprint came out in 1970, with the performance claims that Harry quoted. Daytona was 1968 to 1973.
To be fair to Harry, he was quoting out of a magazine. Don't think he wrote the article. But yes, quite obviously false. Moretti's car was much faster.
The Sprint had bigger valves, slightly hotter cams, and increase compression ratio - the CR increase probably made the biggest difference in power (126bhp quoted, vs 115 I think). But they were a bit heavier, so not much faster than the S1/S2 - about 7 seconds 0-60 is probably closer to the mark. And a Daytona wouldn't see which way it went on something like the GAD.
I call bs on that Lotus drivers think their cars handle so well.... They don't, they just feel like they do. Sig www.pless.com.au/mechanics.htm
Well a case in point where the number plate is worth more than the bloody car. It's spelled 'noice' BTW
I had one struggling to keep up with me in tassie once....it finally ran off the road and into an embankment trying. I was driving Simon's old 308 GT4
Not "it", "he" ran off the road. Do a lap of your favourite circuit in the 308, then hop into... any Lotus and give it a try.
You are so far off the mark, it doesn't even deserve a retort. I can only conclude you just like trolling people because only a fool would say a lotus, particularly a modern lotus, handles poorly. My V6 Exige was easily the best handling car I've ever owned, and by an extremely wide margin. In fact my 355 wouldn't even make it into the top 5 of the best handling cars I've owned, so to say a 308 out handles a (most) Lotuses is just absurd. The only crap one I've ever driven is an Esprit, which have a reputation they don't come close to deserving.
I had a friend in Adelaide that owned a yellow 1970 Lotus Europa s2 and an red 1985 Esprit Turbo. I thought they both handled and gripped brilliantly. Firstly, let me get some definitions down and let’s see if we agree. I always considered handling to be the manner a car transitions from one state to another state given the road it’s on. So a car that has a wide neutral band during most conditions and would transition to understeer or oversteer in predictable linear fashion at the limit or from slight understeer to progressive oversteer in a consistent fashion handles well. Naturally, feedback (through steering and/or seat of the pants) plays a big role in this. Of course, good handling doesn’t mean it has great grip. Some cars grip averagely but handle great. Some cars grip like limpets but handle poorly on the limit. And some cars grip and handle phenomenally. ok. Now back to Lotus. When PP compares ‘Simons’ ex GT4 against an Elise, I’m not surprised the Ferrari showed the Elise up. The Elise is a comprised mid engined car, much like the Ferrari. Both use transverse engines - so they take advantage of a mid engine weight distribution but not the low centre of gravity of having a pukka north-south/longitudinal engine-gearbox set up. Given PP’s driving superiority, of course an Elise would struggle as they probably handle and grip similarly. Actually, on reflection, I’d say an Elise might handle a bit better due to better torsional rigidity. Nonetheless, logic suggests that PP assertion regarding the handling of a Lotus Elise would be fair - that is, it’s a pretty good car but it doesn’t leave every other car spread eagled on the road for grip and handling. This is especially so for the early cars. An Esprit Turbo against a 308? Hmmm. Here are some facts. An Esprit has less weight, equally good suspension design, similar torsional rigidity (ok, that’s a presumption), wider track, wider rear tyres (235 vs 225 for a QV) and a ‘proper’ mid engined layout with an engine as far forward as possible with a gearbox hanging out the back rather than underneath the crankshaft raising the center of gravity. In this scenario, I’d expect an Esprit to handle and grip better than a 308. I’ve never done a back to back comparison but I’ve owned one and driven the other. The Lotus certainly FELT the grippier and quicker car - based on memory in the early 90s and recent ride last year. Again, I don’t mean to sound contradictory but if someone told me they preferred the handling of the 308, I would understand that logic given it feels more of a quality product. A car mostly made from steel is certainly more tactile than a car mostly made from plastic. And handling is ultimately a tactile experience. Like sex, we all have our preferences. Ultimately most modern exotics follow the Lotus Esprit route rather than the 308. if you didn’t read the post because it was too f..ing long, completely understand.
I’ve been on numerous rides and a few drives in an early Lotus Europa (Kerrari’s first car llove?) and when the rear suspension was set up right, it was scary quick up in the Adelaide Hills (or at least by the standards of the day). When the owner was driving it, he would absolutely fly past cars and keep up with the 2 stroke RGVs and TZRs bikes of the day. The owner was also disparaging (in a joking way) of X1/9s and MR2s, saying they weren’t ‘proper mid engined cars’. I understood what he meant though. He admired them but the purist in him meant that he saw transverse mid engine cars as compromises.
