EVO's top 100 driver's cars of all time - LotusTalk

MickOpalak · 09-09-2009, 06:51 AM

EVO magazine has compiled a list of its top 100 driver's cars of all time. Some interesting entries:

87 Vauxhall VX220
53 Lotus 2-Eleven
36 Lotus Exige
34 Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350
31 Lotus Evora
19 Lotus Elise
6 Lotus Elan S1
4 Lotus Seven
2 Lotus 340R

Not a bad showing for little Lotus, 9 out of 100 with three in the top 10.

Sideoiler · 09-09-2009, 07:16 AM

That's an outstanding compliment for Lotus and everything Lotus stands for.

Colin would be proud. 3 of the top 10 of all time is something to be very proud of.

RichS · 09-09-2009, 07:19 AM

Did they say why the Elise got 19 and the Exige 36? Was it because the S1 Elise was so cool?

fpitas · 09-09-2009, 07:22 AM

The VX220 is more or less a Lotus anyway:

The Lotus Elise S2/Vauxhall VX220 design was based on the Elise chassis, modified to accept a GM engine in preference to the Rover K-series engine used by the Elise.

Produced by Lotus at their Hethel, Norfolk factory, the VX220 carried the Lotus internal model identification Lotus 116 and the code name Skipton for the 2.2N/A version and Tornado for the 2.0 L Turbo.

Vauxhall VX220 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

texige · 09-09-2009, 07:24 AM

Weird list. So an Evora is more of a drivers car than a 211?

PECivil · 09-09-2009, 08:34 AM

Wow I didn't know of the Vauxhall/Opel !

The Vauxhall front reminds of an MR3 and the rear looks very Lambo "ish" to me

The elise looks better at both ends to these, but the rear is kinda cool looking with the stacked exhaust
not bad for the evora @ 31st

I keep seeing an evora as a good replacement for a M3......

paulhastings · 09-09-2009, 08:38 AM

What makes the Elise more of a "drivers" car then the Exige?

lotus69f2 · 09-09-2009, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickOpalak

EVO magazine has compiled a list of its top 100 driver's cars of all time. Some interesting entries:

87 Vauxhall VX220
53 Lotus 2-Eleven
36 Lotus Exige
34 Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350
31 Lotus Evora
19 Lotus Elise
6 Lotus Elan S1
4 Lotus Seven
2 Lotus 340R

Not a bad showing for little Lotus, 9 out of 100 with three in the top 10.

I wonder how many of the others may have had "Handling by Lotus" but it was never divulged due to the confidentiality arrangement.

rcollum · 09-09-2009, 09:49 AM

I saw this issue. The orginal Toyota MR-2 was another Top 100 car. As I recall, that was a model Lotus abandoned due to lack of money, and Toyota picked up. Including that car, I figured there were 9.5 Lotus in the top 100 list...

Kyle, I'd be amazed if there weren't at least 8 or 10 more of these cars they consulted on. At one point several years ago, I heard that 1 in 10 cars sold in Europe had engines designed (or fettled) by Lotus.

BTW - didn't Lee Noble used to work at Lotus?

metalxiii · 09-09-2009, 09:52 AM

I'm the happy owner of Number 2

...m... · 09-09-2009, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulhastings

What makes the Elise more of a "drivers" car then the Exige?

...open-air visibility; factory ragtop targa with a rear window offers a more intimate connection to the driving environment...

MickOpalak · 09-09-2009, 12:42 PM

OK, here's the entire list with a few notes from the magazine:

100 Toyota MR2 mk1
99 Ford Puma 1.7
98 VW Corrado VR6
97 Ford Sierra Cosworth
96 TVR Cerbera Speed Six
95 Jaguar XKR
94 BMW E60 M5
93 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta
92 Aston Martin Vanquish S
91 Bugatti EB110
90 Ford Escort Cosworth
89 VW Golf GTi mk1 & 2
88 Jaguar XJ220
87 Vauxhall VX220
86 Nissan 350Z
85 Audi Quattro
84 Lancia Integrale
83 Aston Martin V8 Vantage N400
82 BMW E34 M5
81 Bugatti Veyron
80 Ford Escort RS2000
79 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
78 Lancia Fulvia HF
77 Weismann GT MF5
76 Mini Cooper S modern one
75 Peugeot 106 Rallye
74 BMW E39 M5
73 Porsche 959
72 TVR Tuscan mk2
71 McLaren F1
70 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R
69 Koenigsegg CCX
68 TVR Sagaris
67 Mini Cooper S original
66 Ferrari 250 GTO
65 Porsche 993 GT2
64 Audi RS4
63 Peugeot 306 Rallye
62 BMW E92 M3
61 Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup
60 Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 VT
59 Gumpert Apollo
58 Ferrari Enzo
57 Alfa Romeo Alfasud
56 Jaguar E Type
55 Renault Alpine A610
54 Lamborghini Gallardo
53 Lotus 2-Eleven - The supercharged Elise-based track-day special has a power/weight ratio of 338bhp/ton. The upshot is that it feels almost hilariously rapid in a straight line, but its the way it corners and stops that takes your breath away. As in an Elise, the front of the car feels light and readable - only more so. It allows you lean on a phenomenally grippy, poised chassis without fear of any unexpected nasties.
52 Porsche Boxster S
51 Subaru Impressa STi
50 Porsche 968 Club Sport
49 Porsche Carrera GT
48 Honda NSX
47 Noble M400
46 Porsche 911 Turbo
45 Mercedes CLK63 Black
44 Aston Martin Vantage V12 RS
43 Toyota MRS
42 TVR Griffith
41 Porsche Cayman S
40 Ariel Atom
39 Ford Focus RS mk2
38 Porsche 997 Carrera S
37 Porsche 964 RS
36 Lotus Exige - We'd take the mk1 - flawed but rather fabulous. Perhaps unsuprisingly, it drives like a noiser and faster Elise. The power's there all right but it's peaky and hard to reach. Keep the engine spinning above 5000rpm and there's shove aplenty. The chassis is quite something too; all of the Elise's precision and agility allied to barely believeable levels of grip in the dry. Makes a brilliant track day car.
35 Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ-360
34 Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350 - Criminally underrated. The V8 is super light and compact so you have the benefit of a mid-engine car without the mass of a big engine. Absolutely brilliant balance adjustable by a tweak of the foot and the merest touch of steering makes it one of the most involving driver's cars ever. Light overall too, which gives it good performance. Shame there isn't anything like it today.
33 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV
32 Subaru Imprezza P1
31 Lotus Evora - the most important car for Lotus - and for fans of British performance cars - since the Elise. Fortunately for all of us, its every bit as good as we dared hope it would be, with all of the Elise's intimacy and abundant feel translated into a genuinely rapid and refined baby supercar. As we found in our group test, drive an Evora after you've driven a Cayman, and its as if you've just taken off a 75lb rucksack. The Evora feels that light, that delicate, and the steering's so full of feel, its as if layers of filtering have been stripped away. Simply irresistable.
30 Renault Clio Williams
29 Honda NSX Type-R
28 Porsche 911 2.7 RS
27 BMW M3 CSL
26 BMW E30 M3
25 Renault Clio V6
24 Ferrari 288 GTO
23 Peugeot 205 GTI
22 Honda Integra Type-R
21 Nissan GT-R
20 Ferrari 550 Maranello
19 Lotus Elise - The Elise posses an immediacy and connectedness you simply don't experience with other sports cars. Drive one and very few other cars will seem remotely as direct. The steering in particular, is sumlimely pure and precise. And you don't need to drive it fast for it to feel special. That comes from the immediacy of the controls and the sensational ride, almost racer-firm yet supple. S1 is a modern classic.
18 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale
17 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
16 Audi R8
15 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
14 Ford GT
13 Subaru Imprezza RB5 PPP
12 Ferrari F40
11 Porsche 997 GT3 RS
10 Mitsubishi Evo VI Makinen Edition
9 Mazda MX-5 Miata
8 Ferrari F50
7 Renaultsport Clio Trophy
6 Lotus Elan S1
5 Renaultsport Megane R26.R
4 Lotus/Caterham Seven
3 Porsche 996 GT3
2 Lotus 340R
1 Pagani Zonda F

The top 10 has pages and pages of notes so I won't try to copy them here. Go out and buy the magazine. Its a great read.

I don't fully understand their rating process though. How is Miata more of a driver's car than a 2-Eleven? I assumed the top ten would be stacked with stripped out, light weight pure sports cars like the Ariel Atom, 2-Eleven and such.

Seb · 09-09-2009, 02:20 PM

That list is bull****. McLaren F1 was below Integra Type R?

...m... · 09-09-2009, 04:52 PM

...i like the ford GT below the MX5!..

DeanG · 09-09-2009, 05:49 PM

Needs more Lotus and the lack of any Fiat is unconscionable. The Lotus 11, type 14, type 23, Europa, Turbo Esprit. Fiat 500, 800.

Simba · 09-09-2009, 07:06 PM

Nonsense list splacked together with heavy use the usual auto-journo "gotta have it" rank skewing.

Seb · 09-09-2009, 08:55 PM

I bet some illiterate chav wrote that list. How the **** did those French hunks of **** end up on that list? Clio, 106, 306, the lot of them.

lwein · 09-09-2009, 09:23 PM

not that it matters,but it was not an Elan S1,it was an Elan S3 coupe that was 6th.

Tracktimeplz · 09-10-2009, 06:21 AM

I have another problem with this list, but its hard to really argue considering ive only driven MAYBE 1/4 of whats on there

No s2000?

Might be a little biased now that I own one, but its definitely more a drivers car than at least a dozen of those on there

logo29a · 09-10-2009, 07:18 AM

I'm currious as to why the 997 GT3 RS is below the 996 GT3.

09-09-2009, 06:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
MickOpalak Prez: The K.G.B. Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 5,303	EVO's top 100 driver's cars of all time EVO magazine has compiled a list of its top 100 driver's cars of all time. Some interesting entries: 87 Vauxhall VX220 53 Lotus 2-Eleven 36 Lotus Exige 34 Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350 31 Lotus Evora 19 Lotus Elise 6 Lotus Elan S1 4 Lotus Seven 2 Lotus 340R Not a bad showing for little Lotus, 9 out of 100 with three in the top 10. __________________ 2007 Exige S265 - Krypton Green - Gotham 265 ECU - Volk TE37s - Toyo R888s - B&M Shifter - QuickSilver exhaust - stripes - harnesses - Pagid pads - Green air filter 2002 Jaguar XKR convertible 2000 BMW 528i President - Lotus Limited Southeast http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/LLSE/

09-09-2009, 07:19 AM	#3 (permalink)
RichS No, it's only an N/A Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 3,285	Did they say why the Elise got 19 and the Exige 36? Was it because the S1 Elise was so cool? __________________ Useful links to vendors removed at Nadeem's request. "Nice avatar by the way, I doubt Colin Chapman would have followed the herd as I have seen many here do. --Nadeem"

09-09-2009, 07:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
fpitas User, Registered Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Leesburg, VA Posts: 1,827	The VX220 is more or less a Lotus anyway: The Lotus Elise S2/Vauxhall VX220 design was based on the Elise chassis, modified to accept a GM engine in preference to the Rover K-series engine used by the Elise. Produced by Lotus at their Hethel, Norfolk factory, the VX220 carried the Lotus internal model identification Lotus 116 and the code name Skipton for the 2.2N/A version and Tornado for the 2.0 L Turbo. Vauxhall VX220 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia __________________ Francis 2006 Chrome Orange Elise: LSD/TC, Nitron SAs with 425/650 springs, BWR 7/8" Front Bar, Eliseparts bumpsteer kit, VF Stage 2, 2bular Header + Sport Cat + 8x24 GT3 Muffler, ECU Tune by Jermaine, Smaay's fuel rail, ACT XT clutch, Saikou Michi dual catch can, Moroso pan, Manly's mount inserts & FF Engine Damper 2000 Black Integra Type R: - 213,000 miles...running again!

09-09-2009, 08:34 AM	#6 (permalink)
PECivil Engineer of Record Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SandyEggo Posts: 197	Wow I didn't know of the Vauxhall/Opel ! The Vauxhall front reminds of an MR3 and the rear looks very Lambo "ish" to me The elise looks better at both ends to these, but the rear is kinda cool looking with the stacked exhaust not bad for the evora @ 31st I keep seeing an evora as a good replacement for a M3...... __________________ 02 Phoenix Yellow M3 (fast and fun) 06 Autumn Gold Elise (faster and funner) 07 328iT (wifey's car)

09-09-2009, 09:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
rcollum We're usin' code names! Join Date: May 2006 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 262	At Least One More... I saw this issue. The orginal Toyota MR-2 was another Top 100 car. As I recall, that was a model Lotus abandoned due to lack of money, and Toyota picked up. Including that car, I figured there were 9.5 Lotus in the top 100 list... Kyle, I'd be amazed if there weren't at least 8 or 10 more of these cars they consulted on. At one point several years ago, I heard that 1 in 10 cars sold in Europe had engines designed (or fettled) by Lotus. BTW - didn't Lee Noble used to work at Lotus? __________________ --Bob _____________________________________ '07 Ardent Red Elise/Biscuit - Hardtop, touring, LSS, black nose badge, AD07s. Thanks, Arnie!

09-09-2009, 07:16 AM	#2 (permalink)
Sideoiler Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Posts: 525	That's an outstanding compliment for Lotus and everything Lotus stands for. Colin would be proud. 3 of the top 10 of all time is something to be very proud of.

09-09-2009, 07:24 AM	#5 (permalink)
texige Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: austin texas Posts: 839	Weird list. So an Evora is more of a drivers car than a 211?

09-09-2009, 08:38 AM	#7 (permalink)
paulhastings Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego native Posts: 604	What makes the Elise more of a "drivers" car then the Exige?

09-09-2009, 09:52 AM	#10 (permalink)
metalxiii Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Paris - France Posts: 45	I'm the happy owner of Number 2 __________________ Elise R (2007 ) - 340 R #281 (2000)

09-09-2009, 12:42 PM	#12 (permalink)
MickOpalak Prez: The K.G.B. Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 5,303	OK, here's the entire list with a few notes from the magazine: 100 Toyota MR2 mk1 99 Ford Puma 1.7 98 VW Corrado VR6 97 Ford Sierra Cosworth 96 TVR Cerbera Speed Six 95 Jaguar XKR 94 BMW E60 M5 93 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta 92 Aston Martin Vanquish S 91 Bugatti EB110 90 Ford Escort Cosworth 89 VW Golf GTi mk1 & 2 88 Jaguar XJ220 87 Vauxhall VX220 86 Nissan 350Z 85 Audi Quattro 84 Lancia Integrale 83 Aston Martin V8 Vantage N400 82 BMW E34 M5 81 Bugatti Veyron 80 Ford Escort RS2000 79 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 78 Lancia Fulvia HF 77 Weismann GT MF5 76 Mini Cooper S modern one 75 Peugeot 106 Rallye 74 BMW E39 M5 73 Porsche 959 72 TVR Tuscan mk2 71 McLaren F1 70 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R 69 Koenigsegg CCX 68 TVR Sagaris 67 Mini Cooper S original 66 Ferrari 250 GTO 65 Porsche 993 GT2 64 Audi RS4 63 Peugeot 306 Rallye 62 BMW E92 M3 61 Renaultsport Clio 200 Cup 60 Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 VT 59 Gumpert Apollo 58 Ferrari Enzo 57 Alfa Romeo Alfasud 56 Jaguar E Type 55 Renault Alpine A610 54 Lamborghini Gallardo 53 Lotus 2-Eleven - The supercharged Elise-based track-day special has a power/weight ratio of 338bhp/ton. The upshot is that it feels almost hilariously rapid in a straight line, but its the way it corners and stops that takes your breath away. As in an Elise, the front of the car feels light and readable - only more so. It allows you lean on a phenomenally grippy, poised chassis without fear of any unexpected nasties. 52 Porsche Boxster S 51 Subaru Impressa STi 50 Porsche 968 Club Sport 49 Porsche Carrera GT 48 Honda NSX 47 Noble M400 46 Porsche 911 Turbo 45 Mercedes CLK63 Black 44 Aston Martin Vantage V12 RS 43 Toyota MRS 42 TVR Griffith 41 Porsche Cayman S 40 Ariel Atom 39 Ford Focus RS mk2 38 Porsche 997 Carrera S 37 Porsche 964 RS 36 Lotus Exige - We'd take the mk1 - flawed but rather fabulous. Perhaps unsuprisingly, it drives like a noiser and faster Elise. The power's there all right but it's peaky and hard to reach. Keep the engine spinning above 5000rpm and there's shove aplenty. The chassis is quite something too; all of the Elise's precision and agility allied to barely believeable levels of grip in the dry. Makes a brilliant track day car. 35 Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ-360 34 Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350 - Criminally underrated. The V8 is super light and compact so you have the benefit of a mid-engine car without the mass of a big engine. Absolutely brilliant balance adjustable by a tweak of the foot and the merest touch of steering makes it one of the most involving driver's cars ever. Light overall too, which gives it good performance. Shame there isn't anything like it today. 33 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV 32 Subaru Imprezza P1 31 Lotus Evora - the most important car for Lotus - and for fans of British performance cars - since the Elise. Fortunately for all of us, its every bit as good as we dared hope it would be, with all of the Elise's intimacy and abundant feel translated into a genuinely rapid and refined baby supercar. As we found in our group test, drive an Evora after you've driven a Cayman, and its as if you've just taken off a 75lb rucksack. The Evora feels that light, that delicate, and the steering's so full of feel, its as if layers of filtering have been stripped away. Simply irresistable. 30 Renault Clio Williams 29 Honda NSX Type-R 28 Porsche 911 2.7 RS 27 BMW M3 CSL 26 BMW E30 M3 25 Renault Clio V6 24 Ferrari 288 GTO 23 Peugeot 205 GTI 22 Honda Integra Type-R 21 Nissan GT-R 20 Ferrari 550 Maranello 19 Lotus Elise - The Elise posses an immediacy and connectedness you simply don't experience with other sports cars. Drive one and very few other cars will seem remotely as direct. The steering in particular, is sumlimely pure and precise. And you don't need to drive it fast for it to feel special. That comes from the immediacy of the controls and the sensational ride, almost racer-firm yet supple. S1 is a modern classic. 18 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale 17 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 16 Audi R8 15 Ferrari 430 Scuderia 14 Ford GT 13 Subaru Imprezza RB5 PPP 12 Ferrari F40 11 Porsche 997 GT3 RS 10 Mitsubishi Evo VI Makinen Edition 9 Mazda MX-5 Miata 8 Ferrari F50 7 Renaultsport Clio Trophy 6 Lotus Elan S1 5 Renaultsport Megane R26.R 4 Lotus/Caterham Seven 3 Porsche 996 GT3 2 Lotus 340R 1 Pagani Zonda F The top 10 has pages and pages of notes so I won't try to copy them here. Go out and buy the magazine. Its a great read. I don't fully understand their rating process though. How is Miata more of a driver's car than a 2-Eleven? I assumed the top ten would be stacked with stripped out, light weight pure sports cars like the Ariel Atom, 2-Eleven and such. __________________ 2007 Exige S265 - Krypton Green - Gotham 265 ECU - Volk TE37s - Toyo R888s - B&M Shifter - QuickSilver exhaust - stripes - harnesses - Pagid pads - Green air filter 2002 Jaguar XKR convertible 2000 BMW 528i President - Lotus Limited Southeast http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/LLSE/

09-09-2009, 02:20 PM	#13 (permalink)
Seb <3 QR25DE Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 753	That list is bull****. McLaren F1 was below Integra Type R?

09-09-2009, 04:52 PM	#14 (permalink)
...m... Denuo Volatilis Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,715	...i like the ford GT below the MX5!.. __________________ 2005 Federal Elise \| Touring \| Storm Titanium ...73,000 miles and aging beautifully... 2000 New Beetle \| Turbo \| Reflex Silver ...107,000 miles of steadfast service...

09-09-2009, 05:49 PM	#15 (permalink)
DeanG Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 723	Needs more Lotus and the lack of any Fiat is unconscionable. The Lotus 11, type 14, type 23, Europa, Turbo Esprit. Fiat 500, 800.

09-09-2009, 07:06 PM	#16 (permalink)
Simba 2/3 hp to the paws. Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: NY Posts: 497	Nonsense list splacked together with heavy use the usual auto-journo "gotta have it" rank skewing.

09-09-2009, 08:55 PM	#17 (permalink)
Seb <3 QR25DE Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 753	I bet some illiterate chav wrote that list. How the ** did those French hunks of ** end up on that list? Clio, 106, 306, the lot of them.

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09-09-2009, 09:23 PM	#18 (permalink)
lwein Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 196	Lotus Elan not that it matters,but it was not an Elan S1,it was an Elan S3 coupe that was 6th.

09-10-2009, 06:21 AM	#19 (permalink)
Tracktimeplz Race lines on the mind Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Northwest Florida Posts: 1,085	I have another problem with this list, but its hard to really argue considering ive only driven MAYBE 1/4 of whats on there No s2000? Might be a little biased now that I own one, but its definitely more a drivers car than at least a dozen of those on there __________________ 2003 Honda S2000 - Suzuka Blue 2005 Magnetic Blue Elise Forcefed 275 turbo - Sold 05/20/09

09-10-2009, 07:18 AM	#20 (permalink)
logo29a Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 842	I'm currious as to why the 997 GT3 RS is below the 996 GT3.