Drove the new Lotus Elise, Modern 914 Equivalent? I say... yes Options

[Qarl]

Okay I drove this sucker.

It was a European 111S (with the British Rover K series engine.. something like 120+ HP). This car is tiny... like the teener.

Getting in is a bitch. It has MASSIVE longitudinals and door sills that drop off into the cockpit and the seat is like 8 inches lower than door sill. So first, I fumbled getting my big feet over the sill and underneath the steering wheel. Then I plopped down in the seat and attempted to pull my other leg in. Stuck again... Then Fwooomp... Everyone laughts. (oh sure, go ahead and laugh... until YOU try and get in). Anyways, now I'm sitting safe and securely in a non-tilting seat with vinyl sides and velour inserts that looks awfully similar to the vinyl sided - velour insert seats of my 914.

My wife had even more problems "falling in", I mean getting in the car. The passenger seet is nonmovable (hmmm sound familiar?)

Anyways, after in, you feel right at home. Tiny gauge cluster in front of you (Tach and Speedo). Shifter is higher up but in comfortable position. The e-brake is over the center tunnel however.

You start the car by first clicking a button on the keychain (I think it's just an anti-theft device and then you turn the key.) The new Federal S3 version that is coming to the U.S. is supposed to have a push button starter (ala Honda S2000). This car had manual windows winders and the configuration was eerily very 914ish. View through the rear window is about the same as a 914, maybe slightly smaller.

The shifter sucked (sort of vague downshifting and shifting in betwen gears).. Sounds familiar. The pattern was a familar (to the modern Porsche world)

1 3 5
2 4 R


Started the car and notice it has very light thottle. Barely press the gas pedal and it revs. The clutch pedal has very little throw for engagement and disengagement of the clutch and requires very little pressure. After revving the engine too high (because I'm use to the heavy Boxster pedal cluster), we're off.

Peppy little engine with a nice sound. Man, we're sitting low... it reminds me of (well it reminds me of when I drove my 914 last fall before I yanked the engine).

Anyways, we get out onto the highway and I start jerking the steering wheel around and the thing just turns instantly. Whoa!

Anyways, i take the next right turn under part throttle (about 50) and my wife grips my leg and the door and I swing it to the right and it just sticks to the road... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mueba.gif)

We cruised around for about 10 minutes (dealer is limiting the drives to about 10 minutes due to the fact that there are about 6 people at any time looking at the thing).

Overall, I was impressed. It reminded me of a beefed up 2.0L 914 that I drove several years ago. The good news is that the Federalized S3 Elise coming to the U.S. will have 50% more horsepower (190 HP vs 120+ HP) and a 6 speed gearbox both adopted from the Toyota Celica GTS, but with revised induction, exhaust, and modified gearing.

So if I had this much fun in a 120+ HP machine with crappy shifting, I can't wait until the new one hits our shores.

Needless to say, I kept my name on the waiting list...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif)

[Curvie Roadlover]

WOW! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[biosurfer1]

good review...but correct me if i'm wrong, isnt 50% more than 120 supposed to be 180? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) hope you get one and like it...just dont neglect the original mid-engined one!!

[redshift]

Welp! A weenie is born.. reborn!


M

[Qarl]

Okay weenie (I mean biosurfer1)... if I said 120+ HP, then it could very well be 126.66666666666666666666667 HP. A 50% increase would be about 190.

The sales rep wasn't sure... but said it was in the 120s. I do know that they are quoting 190 for the federalized motor... so do your math from there.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[Qarl]

Oh... and I will never abandon my 914... I love these cars! I want more, more, more!!!!

[krk]

Karl,

Thx for posting the first hand report! All I've seen are pics -- and the car looks just a little.. err... like a cartoon? I don't mean that poorly. Like an exaggeration. What was your thoughts when you saw it in person?

kim.

[serge914]

And it just look great. Why isn't Porsche coming up with something like that ?

[Curvie Roadlover]

What are they asking for those? $?

[Qarl]

Yes it is very... uh... WILD.. yeah that's it... wild looking.

It looks better in person than in the magazine photos. Many of the magazine photos are shot from weird angles which I think tends to exagerate it's lines... but none-the-less it is certainly different.

I have to admit, it has grown on me.

MSRP is just under $40K and there is a $1000 Touring package, a $2K Sport package, and a $1500 hard top package (don't have the exact figures in front of me)

[krk]

karl,

Thx for the update. You're on the mark -- magazine photos are aimed to create an effect. It sounds like a cool car and it's good to hear a comparison/evaluation from a 914 dude.

kim.

[drew365]

I'm jealous. I wanted an Elise since I first saw it and still do. My wifes Avalon is ready to be traded, I wonder if she would consider downsizing? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[biosurfer1]

looks kind of like a mini saleen s7 from your picture... you said that their is quite a waiting list for people to look/buy one of these, did they have an estimate on how much the dealer markup would be on these? is there a purchase waiting list?

[Qarl]

Most dealers are selling for MSRP if you put a deposit down. $500 to $2500 depending on the dealer. The MSRP should be on the agreement. The deposit is refundable up until the point when the call you and say... "You're car is coming in the next shipment, what color and options do you want"? You either commit or back out then.

I have my name on two lists. I am 30 on one and 57 on the other. I should get my car next summer (June/July) if I am lucky. Dealer allocations has not been determined. It may be based on dealer loyalty, number of prepurchase orders, or all equal distribution. They are thinking maybe 8 per month.

I do know that most dealers are saying that if someone drops off the list, they won't bump everyone else up, they will just reserve the right to sell the dropped car at MSRP + dealer markup.

Demand is supposed to be high for a short while... until the supply catches up. Lotus is building an entirely new line just to make the US cars.

[redshift]

If things go as planned, these things are going to flood the interstates.


M

[joea9146]

What is the body material.... Any trunk Space ?

[thesey914]

The body is glass...if you open the door and look insdie the front wings it is very apparent. Karl...i know what you mean about those sills -makes one feel very secure inside the cabin.
-James

[rick 918-S]

Targa bar =914, headlights look like futuristic 914 front markers, rear wheel position is like the 914. COOOOL! This is the direction Porsche should have gone with our cars.

[fiid]

Yeah. The Elise really is an updated 914. I bought the 914 because it's basically an 30 yr old Elise. The other motivating factors were that it's smog exempt, and I wanted a sportscar with the subaru 280hp motor in it. I couldn't think of a better combo.

The Europa is also (as a recent thread highlighted) VERY similar to the 914.

The space age materials in the Elise are something else though - it is one of the strongest chassis around and weighs nothing.

That chassis by the way is made out of extruded aluminium which is epoxy bonded (not welded) together. I believe the body is mostly either carbo fibre or fibreglass.

The US spec model with the 190 horse engine ought to be something out of this world.

Karl, what is the deal with trunk space? I've heard it's rather limited.....? That is one thing I really like about the 914 - it does have a lot of haulage room.

Gotta love these mid-engined beauties.

Fiid.

[Qarl]

More pics... Rear trunk is tiny. I didn't look under the front. I don't think there is

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