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I just got back from being the first (I think) to test drive Chriswell's silver/hard-top/touring elise. This is my portrait taken just afterwards:
I'm not sure when the grin will go away, but suffice it to say the wait for my car will be worth it.
Anyway, Tim was great. It was also his first time out, so he drove around a little while first to warm up the engine to its operating temp etc. (It won't let you onto the cams before then). Riding around as a passenger wasn't as bad as I thought/remembered based on the 111s drive, altho the window sticks cut down on the view.
The ride is firm, but the combination of a super-stiff chassis, lotus nailing the damper setting just right, and god knows what other wizzardry resulted in a very composed ride. The chassis wasn't unsettled at all by bumpts etc.
Anyway, we pulled into a metro station to swap sides, and I got behind the wheel. There is a _huge_ difference to the 111s which was somewhat gutless till you got to redline. Not at all so in the fed car, which will push you around in the seat all day long. Anyway, we drove around some nice swoopy freeway ramps for a while (and I won't even mention the speed I attained without realizing it before I took a glace at the dash), and then into a new/empty commuter parking lot, where we proceeded to test out the autox abilities of the car.
The car was very easy to drive in tight corners, you can have a blast pushing the back out with the throttle, its very easy to catch.
Lets see, what else, oh the brakes are pretty amazing too. The pedal feel probably is a little softer at first than I would have gone for, but thats more a matter of recalibrating my foot a little bit more than anything else. In sneakers I didn't have any problem with the brake/gas pedal, but finding a place for my left foot to rest was a little awkward.
My only complaint is that with my height and the lack of a tilt wheel, I couldn't see the top of the tach very easily. There has been some talk of tilting the seat back with washers, maybe that would help adjust my sight line.
Anyway, I've definitely put all other cars out of my mind now, there is simply no comparison. And for all this praise, I doubt I got past 75% of redline (altho see note above regarding sight line).
Anyway, Tim was great. It was also his first time out, so he drove around a little while first to warm up the engine to its operating temp etc. (It won't let you onto the cams before then). Riding around as a passenger wasn't as bad as I thought/remembered based on the 111s drive, altho the window sticks cut down on the view.
Anyway, we pulled into a metro station to swap sides, and I got behind the wheel. There is a _huge_ difference to the 111s which was somewhat gutless till you got to redline. Not at all so in the fed car, which will push you around in the seat all day long. Anyway, we drove around some nice swoopy freeway ramps for a while (and I won't even mention the speed I attained without realizing it before I took a glace at the dash), and then into a new/empty commuter parking lot, where we proceeded to test out the autox abilities of the car.
Lets see, what else, oh the brakes are pretty amazing too. The pedal feel probably is a little softer at first than I would have gone for, but thats more a matter of recalibrating my foot a little bit more than anything else. In sneakers I didn't have any problem with the brake/gas pedal, but finding a place for my left foot to rest was a little awkward.
My only complaint is that with my height and the lack of a tilt wheel, I couldn't see the top of the tach very easily. There has been some talk of tilting the seat back with washers, maybe that would help adjust my sight line.
Anyway, I've definitely put all other cars out of my mind now, there is simply no comparison. And for all this praise, I doubt I got past 75% of redline (altho see note above regarding sight line).