[BrianK]

For Sport Compact Car, they tested a different car with Yoko 038 tires and sport suspension and got better results. 4.2s 0-60 and 12.5s 1/4mile.

the car in SCC was not powered by a run of the mill Honda motor - it was a brand new Spoon motor with head work (Spoon is a big Japanese tuner of Honda motors - they are known for pulling really impressive numbers out of their engines).

Also to note is that the car in the article was putting out 192 hp *at the wheels* - so it's running closer to 220 hp at the crank as opposed to the Toyota's 190 at the crank.

I will be pleasantly surprised if the Toyota powered elise can put a 1/4 mile down in under 13 seconds... I'm not saying it's impossible, but I am skeptical. (crossing fingers that Lotus proves me wrong).

 

[BrianK]

My car and the Car and Driver test car and the SCC car all have the Spoon engine.

I'm green with envy.

I looked into purchasing one of the Sun cars but was scared away by people saying that they weren't 100% legal. Glad to hear that you haven't had any problems.

 

[BrianK]

I have a US spec Vin, CA smog sticker, registration plate etc. Its registered as a Specially Constructed Vehicle, along with things like Cobra replicas and kit cars. CA allows 500 cars/year under this program. You have to marry an engine and body that don't originally belong together to qualify.

*sigh* .. and I was proud of myself for doing as much research as I did - getting the track record of Sun, speaking with people who have done work for them, finding out what Lotus had to say about Sun, etc. Never thought to speak to their cusomters. That sure is a beauty you have there!