Ferrari vs. Lotus-- assistance please

If asked, "Would you prefer to have a Ferrari or a Lotus?"

...the only correct answer is "Yes!"

 

Bravo!!!! I hope that when I am your age I am still driving my Elise and challenging people to races! You are the man!



So there are some interesting posts in this thread, some informed and some misinformed.




I can sum it up with this: Lap times, 0-60 times and meaningless statistics are useless when describing these cars. That goes for Ferraris as well.


The question is: How do you feel when you drive it?




If it was all about statistics, I'd laugh at all these pathetic 360 owners for not opting for a C6 Corvette instead. Hey, maybe there are some things that can't be quantified...



My car.
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So true, are Ferrari owners going to all collectively drop their new Ferraris and run out and buy a Corvette ZR1 because by the numbers it is faster than most.....no!

 

I own two Lotus Elise's and I would say they are not good for daily drivers since they are not easy to get in and out of but on the track they are amazing cars. My latest Elise has been upgraded from 150 WHP to 350 WHP and it can keep up with most anything on the road. The best part is the cost. I am a huge fan of Ferrari but I cannot convince myself to spend that much money on a car.

I'd love to trade a ride with a Ferrari owner at a track event in Florida if interested.

 

Hey, Bavarian! Thanks for the support on my little fun challenge. Oddly, I am shocked to be 61!. I really don't feel that different, but there it is on my driver's license. Older than dirt. Man, does that mean I have to toss the RC helicopter my neighbor got me for Christmas?

Have faith, there is life and fun after sixty. I guess the old thing about growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional is true! But, I REALLY know what you mean. It sure sounds OLD.

Sadly, to get back roughly on topic, it seems that I may get to keep my lunch money, as our own Jack is the only person who has contacted me about coming out in March. And he's bringing a Lotus!

Seriously, I give any Ferraristi credit for putting his car on a track. In my opinion, those that never get on a track are really missing a huge part of what those cars are about. But maybe that's just me.

So, just one final try.

I stepped up to try to defend our little toy cars against the great Ferrari megaforce. Can't the Forza team muster up even one pokey little 355 or something just for fun. Heck, I'll BUY lunch for the first Ferrari owner/driver that even wants to compare times that weekend. Now, what redblooded American in his right mind wouldn't risk a multi hundred thousand dollar exotic for a free burger?

What about if I donate the burger to charity?

 

I'd take you up on that, but I'd buy you lunch instead.



Someone takes this man up on his offer, please! You don't know what you're missing!

 

Apex,
61 and the Lotus is a daily driver? Im 28 and getting in and out isn't exactly easy. Good for you. Please fill us in on how the track challenge goes. Photos are a plus.

 

I have an Elise with the Sports Suspension, and an F430 (manual shift), and they are two amazing cars. I had a 360 before the 430 (also a manual).

Now if you are a serious track driver, I am SLOW. I've been on the track a few times (mostly on sport bikes actually), and had the 430 on the track (wow, that was something else), but while my civilian friends think I'm fast, the instructors at the track made me look like I was in a Prius. I exaggerate a little, but I'm fast enough to amuse myself safely and understand slow in and fast out, but I'm not nearly fast enough to be the definitive answer about any car's ultimate performance.

However, I think a lot of people are probably in the same place, especially people who don't go to the track a lot but like to do spirited driving in the street, and have had the good fortune to learn from those better than them.

That said, me racing against me - I'd slay myself in the 360 if I was driving the Elise, but I'd beat myself in the Elise if I was driving the 430 - I can get more traction and drive out of corners in the 430, and I feel as if I can enter them nearly as fast (the 430 is AMAZING). I loved driving the 360, and it was also a very sweet handling car (at the more nominal speeds I would reach in the twisties in the mountains around here, which clearly aren't near any of these cars ultimate limits). I always felt like I had to tiptoe a bit in the 360 though, I feel a lot more confident in the 430 (and it is faster to boot). Not to slag on the 360, it is a great car, and I still miss it.

I couldn't believe how sharp and stable the 430 was the first time I took it on a tight twisty road. I love it. Nothing turns in like the Lotus, though, and it has amazing pinpoint adjustability. If I get the right line in the 430 though, it can really pick up out of the turns. The brakes are amazing in the 430, and don't upset the car - with the Lotus it doesn't have as much power so I don't brake as much on a twisty road, stringing the corners together on the throttle, whereas with the 430 you gotta use the brakes a lot too. But damn, the 430 is just amazing. I can't speak as much to other Ferraris than those to (actually I can't speak to them at all!)

However, my favorite car to drive is the Elise! Nothing has the same feel, it is raw and simple and they got it so right with the basics that they don't need any fancy stuff on top of the balanced chassis and suspension and incredible steering. I used it as a daily driver for a while too, but I live in sunny California, and coming from a sport bike background, the Lotus ain't no thing for commuting...

Someone scary fast in an Exige 240S (or even an Elise setup for the track) would be unstoppable though.

I also agree with those who posted in this thread saying specs like 0-60 are BS. Those don't represent what a car can do on the track, or in the twisties - and lap times don't represent how much fun a car is to drive (although to be fair I think this thread is about which car is faster, so lap times would put that to bed).

It would be interesting to see Lotus's top suspension guy (Gavin Kershaw?) in an Exige S on the track racing one of the Ferrari test drivers in different Ferraris.

How lucky to live in a world where both of these cars exist.

-- Gordie

 

Gordie-
Nicely written! I have been very stoked about getting an Exige, and sadly a 430 or 360 is just not even close to my finances. But to know I can approach the feeling of these beautiful Ferraris for a fraction of the cost is heartening. My Duc 999 is the only way I get close otherwise. So unless someone is up for trading there F430 for my freshly restored 308 (in progress), the Exige is next on my list!

 

Thank you for the great post :clap: :clap:

 

Gordie,

Come down to Willow on March 1-2 and I'll buy YOU lunch, just because you have had a 360 and a 430 with six speeds. IMHO, those cars are much more fun when you can clank around in that big gate instead of flicking paddles. Besides, I don't like the way the 360 shifts in F1. I do have to admit that the 430 hammers the shifts pretty hard.

Email me at [email protected] if you want entry info.

Hope to see you ,

David

 

No need to mention Top Gear - the atom is way faster than the F430 up to at least 120. The atom will leave the 430 standing. I fired my atom up for the first time in 5 months on Saturday having just been out in the 430 and had a s**t-eating grin on my face the first time I put the boot down. the difference is huge -- to 60 mph, 4 seconds plays 2.8. Not sure about the difference in cornering yet as I've not had the 430 to the limits yet (more worried about the bank balance than the co-efficient of friction)

So why did I buy my 430 two years after my first Atom? My daily driver is a Continental GT which whilst being a pleasure to drive and great for what it is designed for, it's simply not fun. I wanted something that I could go out in for some spirited driving, yet maintain some comfort and safety in all weathers and get in and out of it maintaining some dignity. The Atom is a raw car with no safety aids and no comfort features, not even simple ones like a roof and body work, let alone ABS and CST - it's a sunday toy for summer and one that will bite you badly if you over-cook it. A crash doesn't bear thinking about. I needed something in the middle. A compromise.

I think the Elise fits somewhere between the Atom and the F430 in all respects, but comparing the two is like comparing dating a porn star with dating a super model.

The porn star might well be exciting, the ride of your life, wear you out, challenge your abilities and be very demanding of all your attention, (insert any contrived analogies here, though I did find the Lotus a very tight fit to get in so there are exceptions). On the other hand, although you might tell your friends about the experience, you'd never introduce her as they'd see her as being plastic and just a passing fad. They'd know she'd be nothing but trouble and be a burden on your wallet.

The super model would always be a special occasion to be with, you'd always want to pamper her and take it to all the nice places, you'd be mortally upset if you damaged her, you'd think about her all the time, especially when you aren't riding her, you'd look at her with love and pride, and she would be first in your speed-dial list. And having exhausted the analogies, she would beat the porn-star around any half-decent racing circuit, look and sound better and not break down every two seconds.

Regards
Andrew

 

Hey apexdc,

Thanks for the offer! I would love to make it to Willow sometime, but won't be able to swing it in March. If I head down sometime, I'll definitely ping ya.

I know the paddles are faster, but I love having the shifter and clutch. I love the feel of a shifter and getting to heel and toe, but I can see how people would go for the paddles too.

Andrew - I was at a local dealer in Northern California, and saw someone with a killer yellow/black Ariel. He also had a 430 he had tracked. Maybe you span two continents - or he's your doppelganger! I still have the pics of the Ariel on my iPhone, killer car.

Thanks for the kinds words Bavarian and 308tr6 - when I was a kid my dad had a red TR6 which I loved, and that was right around the time the 308 had come out and it was my dream car. Still beautiful after all these years. Duc 999 is no slouch either, good times!

-- Gordie

 

Modenaboy,

We usually run the first weekend in March and the first weekend in November. There are usually 12-15 Ferraris and a whole assortment of other stuff. Usually about 6-8 Loti, also.

 

How was the weekend???

I had my first track day in my Elise on Friday - sharing the track with Ferraris, Lambos, Astons, and Maseratis! The fastest car there was the Lambo Superleggera - apparently the fastest F430 couldn't make it - next fastest was a Lotus Exige S!

Great day to enjoy great cars - would love one of each!!

 

I also posted on elisetalk.com. Just got back from big Willow. Not too many Ferraris out this time. I never got any reaction to the "challenge" online and certainly nobody came up at the event, although I am an instructor and very visible. About four Loti there. The only semi comparison was a 360 Stradale (YELLOW, I love yellow 360's) that chased me for awhile, but couldn't really keep the pace. I was just giving fun rides and had a passenger at the time.

Again, I give any Ferrari driver credit that takes his car to the track. However, in the real world, a well driven stock Elise has a pretty good chance against any owner driven street Ferrari that might show up.

Ferraris are cool and our cars are cool, but I think ours are more fun!

Hey, you Ferrari drivers! Come out to the next one, November 1-2 at Big Willow. You're missing a lot of fun and the "challenge" still stands! Believe me, it would be a pleasure to buy lunch for someone.

Remember, the next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing!

 

NOVEMBER? I don't think that far ahead

 

I know. But that date is for sure. Just stick it on your calendar and ping me about a month before for entry info.