OK, this car has one very big problem. It is preventing me from working or doing anything else productive. All I can do is drive around in this little beast. SERIOUSLY!
I have owned several sports cars recently. Of note would be:
Porsche 993 coupe
Porsche 993 cab
BMW M5
Porsche 996 Turbo, 500+ HP
Ferrari F355 cab, Tubi Exhaust
Through friends I also have quite a bit of experience with other sports cars and exotics such as the more recent Ferrari's (Maranello, 360) and Lamborghinis, and Porsche GT2, GT3, and RUF (Porsches).
Bearing that in mind, in my opinion this little Elise is the most entertaining car to drive of them all. While the uniqueness ("wow" factor) probably won't last once people realize they're not looking at a rare, $150,000+ exotic, the visceral feeling the Elise brings out is unmatched.
The experience of the Elise is most comparable to that of the Ferrari 355, from the sound (the Elise exhaust is very similar to the Ferrari with Tubi, although a bit lower pitched) to the acceleration (very close), ride quality, and the handling (advantage: Elise). I don't know if it's the ride height or the short overhang of the front end over the front wheels, but I have yet to scrape the Elise whereas it was a common occurence in the 355.
The seats are extremely comfortable and supportive. How or why, I don't know, but they absolutely trounce the comfort and ride quality of the Porsche sport seats and I will even venture to say the Porsche GT3 seat (as seen in the Carrera GT).
I drove the car this morning with the soft top on, and in 90 degree Texas heat the air conditioning worked great (not such a large space to cool), although at 6'1", exiting the car with the top in place is not something you want to do in a very public place. Need that gullwing roof from Sector111 ASAP!!
Negatives:
Needing to press the alarm key button prior to starting the car. Why is this? If you lose your alarm key, or the battery dies, are you out of luck?
Sound at idle. It's almost Lexus like (ya ya I know). Would like a bit more "roar" at idle, but above 3,000 rpm's she sings beautifully.
Availability of power/performance upgrades. Coming from a 996TT, I'm a modaholic. Seems there would be more options as this is not a new engine.
There's gotta be more....I just can't think of em
That's all for now. Gotta go. Lots of "work" to do.
Oh ya, headlights need to be adjusted up. and probably will go with PIAA replacements.
I have owned several sports cars recently. Of note would be:
Porsche 993 coupe
Porsche 993 cab
BMW M5
Porsche 996 Turbo, 500+ HP
Ferrari F355 cab, Tubi Exhaust
Through friends I also have quite a bit of experience with other sports cars and exotics such as the more recent Ferrari's (Maranello, 360) and Lamborghinis, and Porsche GT2, GT3, and RUF (Porsches).
Bearing that in mind, in my opinion this little Elise is the most entertaining car to drive of them all. While the uniqueness ("wow" factor) probably won't last once people realize they're not looking at a rare, $150,000+ exotic, the visceral feeling the Elise brings out is unmatched.
The experience of the Elise is most comparable to that of the Ferrari 355, from the sound (the Elise exhaust is very similar to the Ferrari with Tubi, although a bit lower pitched) to the acceleration (very close), ride quality, and the handling (advantage: Elise). I don't know if it's the ride height or the short overhang of the front end over the front wheels, but I have yet to scrape the Elise whereas it was a common occurence in the 355.
The seats are extremely comfortable and supportive. How or why, I don't know, but they absolutely trounce the comfort and ride quality of the Porsche sport seats and I will even venture to say the Porsche GT3 seat (as seen in the Carrera GT).
I drove the car this morning with the soft top on, and in 90 degree Texas heat the air conditioning worked great (not such a large space to cool), although at 6'1", exiting the car with the top in place is not something you want to do in a very public place. Need that gullwing roof from Sector111 ASAP!!
Negatives:
Needing to press the alarm key button prior to starting the car. Why is this? If you lose your alarm key, or the battery dies, are you out of luck?
Sound at idle. It's almost Lexus like (ya ya I know). Would like a bit more "roar" at idle, but above 3,000 rpm's she sings beautifully.
Availability of power/performance upgrades. Coming from a 996TT, I'm a modaholic. Seems there would be more options as this is not a new engine.
There's gotta be more....I just can't think of em
That's all for now. Gotta go. Lots of "work" to do.
Oh ya, headlights need to be adjusted up. and probably will go with PIAA replacements.
