Clyde brought a Federal Elise prototype to a Peachtree Miata Club driving event yesterday. It was fresh off the boat and headed to California for testing.
It was the Federal Elise, except for the interior. The interior was still the Euro spec 111S interior, but with seats from the new S2 Exige.
I asked Clyde a bunch of questions (all of which he answered) and he even took me for a short ride. Here's what I can remember.
The front clam shell is updated and the radiator vents on the hood aren't as deep as the original S2 ones, to make that ugly bump disappear. Just like the ones seen on the Euro S2 Exige photos. The two outer air intakes on the sides of the main front air intake are now functional, feeding air to the twin oil coolers.
On the back, Lotus has added twin round chrome exhaust tips to the exhaust hanging out of the bottom of the rear diffuser. I personally think it looks great. Clyde prefered it without them.
On a side note, many of the Peachtree people took a ton of photos of the car, which was Bordeaux Red with black interior BTW, so when these get posted to the Internet, I'll let you know the link.
The ride Clyde gave me was only about 5 minutes, but I could tell the acceleration was very healthy indeed! He said that out of three possible gear ratio sets from Toyota, Lotus picked the one with the shortest gearing to make sure that the engine was easy to keep in it's power band. The ride is not harsh at all, although on a long trip I guess it could get tiring.
The redesigned soft top is indeed a wonderful work of engineering. I watched Clyde put it on and take it off in about 30 seconds and it looks great.
Other news: there will be no fog lights on the Federal model. They're too low to the ground for California regulations, so they're being scrapped. We're also getting a standard tire pressure warning system and a starter button. A four speaker stereo is also standard. No alcantara for the US either. It can't hold up to are harsh sun. Lotus still hasn't decided whether the power windows, carpets and extra sound insulation will be standard or part of an option package. Other possible options include a Lotus designed induction kit which Clyde warned was pretty damn loud and possibly a titanium exhaust system.
A side note about the exhaust system: Clyde stated that the system that Lotus designed for the Federal Elise is so good and helps the Toyota 1.8 have such healthier torque, that he doubts that any aftermarket exhaust can improve on it. That's good news.
Clyde is a super nice guy, very willing to talk cars and Elises and a true enthusiast. It was very nice to finally meet him.
It was the Federal Elise, except for the interior. The interior was still the Euro spec 111S interior, but with seats from the new S2 Exige.
I asked Clyde a bunch of questions (all of which he answered) and he even took me for a short ride. Here's what I can remember.
The front clam shell is updated and the radiator vents on the hood aren't as deep as the original S2 ones, to make that ugly bump disappear. Just like the ones seen on the Euro S2 Exige photos. The two outer air intakes on the sides of the main front air intake are now functional, feeding air to the twin oil coolers.
On the back, Lotus has added twin round chrome exhaust tips to the exhaust hanging out of the bottom of the rear diffuser. I personally think it looks great. Clyde prefered it without them.
On a side note, many of the Peachtree people took a ton of photos of the car, which was Bordeaux Red with black interior BTW, so when these get posted to the Internet, I'll let you know the link.
The ride Clyde gave me was only about 5 minutes, but I could tell the acceleration was very healthy indeed! He said that out of three possible gear ratio sets from Toyota, Lotus picked the one with the shortest gearing to make sure that the engine was easy to keep in it's power band. The ride is not harsh at all, although on a long trip I guess it could get tiring.
The redesigned soft top is indeed a wonderful work of engineering. I watched Clyde put it on and take it off in about 30 seconds and it looks great.
Other news: there will be no fog lights on the Federal model. They're too low to the ground for California regulations, so they're being scrapped. We're also getting a standard tire pressure warning system and a starter button. A four speaker stereo is also standard. No alcantara for the US either. It can't hold up to are harsh sun. Lotus still hasn't decided whether the power windows, carpets and extra sound insulation will be standard or part of an option package. Other possible options include a Lotus designed induction kit which Clyde warned was pretty damn loud and possibly a titanium exhaust system.
A side note about the exhaust system: Clyde stated that the system that Lotus designed for the Federal Elise is so good and helps the Toyota 1.8 have such healthier torque, that he doubts that any aftermarket exhaust can improve on it. That's good news.
Clyde is a super nice guy, very willing to talk cars and Elises and a true enthusiast. It was very nice to finally meet him.
