After seeing War of the Worlds yesterday this car was parked in the car park. It is badged as a Lotus X100 which is an early testbed car - I didn't know there was actaully one driving around on the roads over here.
This site may shed some light on things: http://www.impactsites2000.com/autozone/lotus.htmTimMullen said:It was, after all, pretty much designed by Lotus for Toyota...
I did not know that.Joetz said:This site may shed some light on things: http://www.impactsites2000.com/autozone/lotus.htm
I kinda suspected that it wasn't entirely a japanese project since the car was dynamically superior to anything that came out of Japan. I have always felt that when it comes to steering and suspensions, the Europeans have always been light years ahead of the japanese._JD_ said:I did not know that.
Actually, Lotus sold their engineering prototypes (including the real X100) a few years ago. These included the Etna mockup and the Active Suspension test mules.etypeiii said:Personally I think it's a wag having some fun. I doubt Lotus, or any other company, would ever sell their engineering prototypes or test beds to the public, if for no other reason than liability concerns.
Interesting, this disagrees with everything I have read since the early 90s about who designed the MKI MR2. I understood it was done in house, with Lotus being brought in to consult on the suspension. Lotus had also previously been involved with Toyota on engine development.Joetz said:This site may shed some light on things: http://www.impactsites2000.com/autozone/lotus.htm
MikeGalos said:Actually, Lotus sold their engineering prototypes (including the real X100) a few years ago. These included the Etna mockup and the Active Suspension test mules.
Randy Chase said:Interesting, this disagrees with everything I have read since the early 90s about who designed the MKI MR2. I understood it was done in house, with Lotus being brought in to consult on the suspension. Lotus had also previously been involved with Toyota on engine development.
Sold to collectors. It's amazingly unlikely that any of them (and most were just mockups) ever see roads.etypeiii said:But, sold for private, daily driving use? In the U.S. no less?
Actually, that site, while fun, is also pretty wildly inaccurate.Joetz said:This site may shed some light on things: http://www.impactsites2000.com/autozone/lotus.htm
If I remember correctly, the Etna was just a chassis - no engine or running gear. The Active Suspension test mules had the hydraulics replaced with regular suspension.etypeiii said:But, sold for private, daily driving use?
I am pretty sure that it is referring to the second-generation Impulse like the one below. Both that and the M100 Elan were similar in that they used the same engine and were both FWD. IIRC, the GEO Storm of the day was also in the same gang, being based on the Impulse. Whether the chassis was the same for the Elan, I don't know. I would tend to doubt that, though. You are correct, however, the FIRST-generation Impulse was designed by Giugiaro. I still remember being pissed at how closely that car resembled my VW Scirocco 16V.etypeiii said:I also had questions about that article. Regarding the Isuzu Impulse, my understanding was that it was engineered by Isuzu (and styled by Giugiaro/ItalDesign.)
Lotus was brought in to tune the handling, hence the plethora of "Handling by Lotus" badges found on Impulses. But they didn't design the car itself - my memory is vague on this but I seem to remember the Impulse shared a lot of parts with the Chevette (as Isuzu and GM were/are affliated.)
DLY
You'd be right to doubt that.Icedog_16 said:Whether the chassis was the same for the Elan, I don't know. I would tend to doubt that, though.
Thanks for the info! FWIW, I was able to get oversteer at will in my Scirocco. It was actually quite fun!MikeGalos said:You'd be right to doubt that.
The M100 Elan had a chassis that was, although the last classic, Lotus backbone chassis, one of those little works of art that Lotus Engineering does as a demonstration of their skill. It has the engine on a separate sub-chassis, called a raft. The raft is dynamically attached to the main chassis in such a way that as suspension forces change, the raft adjusts to make the dynamics of driving similar to a RWD car. In fact, it is possible to steer the M100 on the throttle using trailing throttle oversteer. Frankly, something that had always been thought impossible for a FWD car.
There's a reason that the M100 is still considered the best handling FWD car ever made.
Andrew Barron is a neighbor of mine and I can say he does indeed still have the M90. He is in the process of doing a frame up restoration and it was just recently that I helped him mount the body onto the chasis.BMJM100 said:I know Andrew Barron from Texas bought the M90 which was the early prototype of the M100 Elan. I think he still has it. I know he was thinking of selling at one point, not sure if he did.
The car pictured above looks clearly to be an MR2.
Bruce