the "fastest 4-cylinder" topic inspired me to post this:

according to road & track, lotus is expected to finally offer the elise in the US in 2005. in order to meet all the US engine and emmision standards, lotus will use a toyota variable valve 2.2 liter vvt-i (similar to the celica gt-s's 1.8 liter 180hp/130ft-ib) mated to a close ratio 6-speed.

the lotus boards are already going nuts with all the supercharging options available for the celica gt-s engine. with a curb weight around 2000 lbs, i'm a little scared.

i think the US elise will do great in the US market and take big steps in changing the american notion of a sports car. i'm hoping the elise will also inspire porsche to shave more than a few pounds off the next generation of boxster/986.

 

Supposedly 0-60 in 5.1 sec and priced estimated to be around $40K, (and terrific gas milage) the Elise II sure sounds tempting!

 

It was either in R&T or Motor Trend or one of those mags but they had a group of about 10 cars to decide who had the best handling car in the world. Modena, Vipers, 996TT, Vettes, Boxsters...among them the Elise. I dont remember the entire article but I do remember the Elise having an entry and exit speed out of curves that were mindboggling compared to all the other cars. The only thing that held the Elise back was the raw power once exiting the curves. The other cars could goose it and make up pavement on the straights between the curves.

Still, this car means business.

 

The Elise is a great car and the US version sounds to be even better. I would have one if I was willing to put 40 large into a car, but maybe after a few years on them a used one will be in line with my sensibilities.

Besides, I drool too much when I see one. Otherwise the car is what I would want, light wieght, especially by today's standards, good power (even better with the toyo motor) etc. etc.

 

I believe it's ~May 2002 of Road & Track. I have the issue downstairs and have read it about 20 times . BTW, they cover an Elise I, not an Elise II. They basically say it's the best handling car they've ever touched, and the only reason they picked the Ferrari 360 before it was the Ferrari had a bit more power (which could be easily solved with the new motor...).

Anyways...I want one

 

june 2002 the cover is a green lotus there is a promotional car going around to different dealers me and my friend sat in one at dublin ohio the car in r&t was only 120 or so horse power....the us production is supposed to be around 190-200 i think the man working said "its a fair weather car" meaning 40000 for a car that would defintly leak if you got caught in the rain. the suede interior is awesome and the fact that the 120 hp car was getting 1.38 or so lateral g's is awesome and the fact its going to get more power......imagine a turbo engine like the 4 cyl espirit!

 

Is the Viper known to a good-handling car?

 

I have an old R&T Supercar Shootout article with the 993TT, Viper, NSX, Esprit Turbo, and F355. One of the editors comments about how easily the Viper spins. It's not necessarily because the handling is bad, but it definitely doesn't have handling to match its torque output. The front end weight bias probably doesn't help either...

 

Over on the Miata board there are already a few people that have put down their deposites.... I saw a few a the Nuerburgring yesterday. I would love to have one, they are very quick on the track.

 

Hey guys, it's actually coming earlier than 2005. The first scheduled deliveries are on 04/04. There's an article about the US version in the November Issue of Road and Track. Some of the juicy details are:

3000 cars the first year

$39,000

est. 1975 lbs.

190 hp @ 7800 rpm
133 lb-ft @ 6800 rpm

8350 rpm rev-limiter

twin oil-cooler system for better durability
new intake & exhaust manifolds & re-mapped ecu provide better mid-range
center exiting dual exhaust tips below the diffuser

"pulls impressively from 2000 rpm onward"

0-60 in 4.8
1/4 mile in 12.0
141 mph top speeed

Toyota 6-speed w/ un-modified gear ratios

new & custom developed Yokohama tires:
front: 16x5-1/2 w/ 175/55-16
rear: 17x7-1/2 w/ 225/45-17

Comes standard with:
Blaupunkt Stereo
A/C
power windows
airbags
ABS

As for the comment about the roof leaking. The new softtops are supposed to be vastly superior the the older ones. Alot of people on the British Elise Boards drive their Elises every day and have zero problems with leaking. There is also supposed to be an optional hardtop($1500 from dealer) that provides better protection.

 

Very very impressive,

I can't wait to buy a used one.....

 

A lightweight 4-cylinder sports car - too bad Porsche never thought of that...oh, uh, oops, that's how they got their start in this market 50 years ago - too bad the current boneheads have forgotten it...Put the Porsche name on a lightweight affordable similar concept and the company wouldn't need SUVs to maintain their bottom line.

I think the Cayenne is a great product. But I maintain that it's a direction the company wouldn't have needed to go in, if they weren't so committed to making bloated cars to appeal to the luxury market, cars that less and less seem like "sports" cars. To me this seems like common sense but it's amazing the number of folks who will debate it. Now's the cue for those folks to chime in...YMMV Al

 

Too bad A/C is standard. Knocking another 50-100lbs off an already light car is pretty significant. And do you really need A/C in an Elise? I'd be driving it open every chance I got.

Bryan

 

You're right, and it's a big topic of discussion on the Elise boards. There are rumors that there might be an AC delete option. But who knows. Lotus is not being very forthcoming with information.

 

I'm delighter this car is finally coming to the US.

A few folks mentioned SC kits and so on. Well... a company in Germany has stuffed the 450 bhp engine from an Audi RS6 into an Elise. Think about that - ~2,200 lbs curb weight (the RS6 motor is heavier than the Toyota motor) and 450 bhp...

Here's a few pics:




Karl.