This car may be good, but it won't be a good Lotus.
This car may be good, but it won't be a good Lotus.
You don't even have to go that exotic. Since when have American cars (Corvette and Viper) become the light weights? Compared to a Lotus?
And it's not even a real 4 seater for that weight, it's described as just a 2+2. A Mustang GT weighs less and gives you 4 full seats. Granted there's a bit less power, but it also costs a heck of a lot less if this is aimed at the 6 series.
This is worse than a porsche SUV. This is... wrong.
Big cities suck
"Not putting miles on your Ferrari is like not having sex with your girlfriend so she'll be more desirable to her next boyfriend." -Napolis
Yeah it's heavy. It's not an elise or exige. Its more in the Esprit line of lotus. Hopefully they do come up with a successor to the lightweight hornet themed cars, since this isn't, but I think on it's own, it's a worthy car.
I dont if I'll make home tonight
But I know I can swim
under the Tahitian moon
They are supposedly moving upmarket, so the lightweight cars of the past may be going by the wayside. Sad times indeed. Hopefully they keep a model or two light for the pure and Locust...isti.
I was hoping they were making a new Esprit... a new light weight super car... something like a Gallardo/458 Italia competitor, not a big GT... kinda disappointed.
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Big cities suck
"Not putting miles on your Ferrari is like not having sex with your girlfriend so she'll be more desirable to her next boyfriend." -Napolis
Which is heavier and available with a lot more luxury items than earlier models. Plus I'm not convinced the next model will survive as well as this one. I think the fact that this engine isn't compatible with the PDK may have helped the cause.
Edit: Also, the 911 hasn't really made a huge move upmarket, and the GT3 has been the homologation model for a while. Which probably helped dampen the corpusculence a bit.
Last edited by wwgkd; 09-20-2010 at 11:30 PM. Reason: added thought
Big cities suck
"Not putting miles on your Ferrari is like not having sex with your girlfriend so she'll be more desirable to her next boyfriend." -Napolis
As Wouter's article says, it's a rival for the 6-series, which is about the same weight. Hardly heavy for its class, and a god-damn miracle for a hybrid.
And then look at it in perspective and you'll realise how anal you're all being:
The Elise S2 is 65% heavier than the Lotus Elan S1.
The new Elite is 57% heavier than the previous Elite.
Yes. New cars are going to be heavier (Safety, Emissions regs etc etc). Because of these regulations it is unavoidable. And yes, a car with a 600bhp engine is going to be heavier than a car with a 2-litre engine. You can't make a sports tourer with a tiny little torqueless engine because of the compulsory weight of airbags etc etc. And unfortunately there isn't a market for a sports tourer which has little torque, a 120mph terminal speed and a slightly over-average acceleration (ie. hot hatch, low-end saloon territory) when in the same bracket you can get a 180mph German luxury car.
Making a lightweight sports tourer today would result in a car which was below average in every field. And not making a sports tourer at all would put Lotus in the same predicament as TVR.
Last edited by :Exige:; 09-21-2010 at 05:18 AM.
Never let the facts get in the way of nostalgic bollocking, :Exige:.
Nothing will ever be as good as it once was, back in my day, etc...
<cough> www.charginmahlazer.tumblr.com </cough>
My letter box isn't in my front door, but now my phone bill is all soggy and suspiciously warm.
Thanks for that.
<cough> www.charginmahlazer.tumblr.com </cough>
That's one way of looking at it.
Another way of looking at is comparing contemporary Lotuses (Loti?) with competition. Offhand, I'd say the Elise is quite light compared to it's competition, the Elite is well... Probably light for a GT hybrid, but compared to straight up non-hybrid GTs? Not ultralight.
Also, consider that the S1 Elan began production in 1967, while the old Elite Type 75 began production in 1974, when cars were getting fatter. I don't know if that's a fair comparison is what I am saying.
I see your point, but it isn't so clear cut I don't think - I would say there are flaws in my argument as well. I mean, I can understand why people are upset about this.
The idea that Lotus is moving upmarket, away from their tradition is not what the Lotus faithful want.
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