[amcmahon]

I misquoted the braking. It was 114 ft and not 116 ft. Still a little disappointing but I'm sure others will get better results.

I'm posting links to the pages on my site so it's readable. I'm not sure what the max size files are for the site but usually it's hard to read fine print on those pics.

http://www.paintedeye.com/files/MT_lotusp1.jpg

http://www.paintedeye.com/files/MT_lotusp2.jpg



Forgive the dog hair in the scan I don't think there's anywhere in the house they haven't laid claim to.

 

[Randy Chase]

Thanks amcmahon!

A MICRO EXOTIC WITH MACRO ABILITIES
2005 Lotus Elise

We've been anxioulsy awaiting our first test of the 2005 Lotus Elise. All the world-wide hullabaloo surrounding this car (available elsewhere since 1996!) worried us that the Elise we Americans would receive might not live up to it's billing at the test track.

We've never been so happy to report (now and in "Frist Drive," July) that the Elise has arrived, unmolested, and that every word written or uttered regarding this car is true.

 

[Randy Chase]

It's no secret that the key to the exceptional abilities is it's use of lightweight materials. That being the case, one might think the 1979-pound Elise has all the comforts of a go-kart. Not so. Our $40,780 Elise (stereo and air-conditioning are standard) came with the $1350 Touring option (full leather seating, power windows, insulated soft-top, additional sound deadening, and carpet) for a total of $42,130.

Gently driven in traffic, the Elise accelerates smartly from a stoplight. It's Toyota-sourced Lotus0tuned 2.8-liter, 190-horsepower engine feels ideally matched to the car's weight: crips, responsive, and basically civilized. It's aluminum shift lever pops into each gears' invisible slot woth reassuring accuracy. At 12.5 feet long, 5.6 feet wide, and 3.6 feet tall, the view from behind the wheel is intimidating with Miatas looming like much larger Jaguar XK8 convertibles. Similar to riding a motorcycle, one makes allowances for being the smallest car on the road, but the Elise's celebrity status ensures being noticed nonetheless.

A dragstrip launchand shifting at it's 8500-rpm redline awakens the Mr. Hyde inside. Alternate cam phasing kicks in around 6400 rpm and is more evident in the Elise than in Toyotas with the same engine. Having just 10.4 pounds to move with each horsepower enables the Elise to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 5.1 seconds on the way to a 13.5-second 102.9-mph quarter mile. It's no dragster, but still effectively identical to a $59,000 258-horsepower Porsche Boxster S (0 to 60, 5.4 seconds; 1/4 mmile, 13.7 at 102.4). The Elise stops from 60 mph in 114 feet to the Boxster's 110. Where the Elise-versus-Boxster S - or just about anything else - battle is won, is in the Lotus's ultimate handling prowess.

 

[Randy Chase]

Rocketing to a new 600-foot-slalom record for a certified production car, the Eluse made us wonder if we'd inadvertently set up a 500-foot course instead. Nope: While the Boxster S is no slug with it's 70.9 mph best, the Elise's furious 73.2 mph is peerless. While both mod-engine cars exhibit uncanny balance, the Lotus's non-power-assisted mechanical steering offers the kind of feedback and immediacy normally found in race cars. The next closest rival though the cones is a near-track-read $193,000 Ferrari Challenge Stradale (also mid-engine) with it's 72.7-mph slalom speed.

A funny thing happened on the way to that slalom record: We found it pretty darn easy to do. The Elise communicates to the driver every nuance of tire grip, roll rate, yaw, and necessary amount of countersteer required to enter the cone field at an indicated 80mph and yet still exit in full control.


Mind you, there's a $2480 Sport package available, which this test unit didn't have. It sharpens the Elise even further with lighter wheels, grippier tires, and track-tuned suspension. Oh, the possibibilities.

On the 200-foot skidpad, the Elise posted over 1.0g in the counterclockwise direction (driver inboard) and just udner a full g in the opposite direction for an average of 0.99g. Putting all this go, stop, and grip together, the Elise navigated our figure-eight course at 24.8 seconds, gathering a cumulative average 0.75g load. Anything under 25 seconds is spectacular. This performance exceeds the aforementioned Porsche, trails the Ferrari, and is equal to the that of a 405-horsepower Corvette Z-06.

 

[Randy Chase]

 

[Randy Chase]

 

[Randy Chase]

 

[Randy Chase]

 

[Randy Chase]

What all this means is that the purity of the Lotus Elise's no-compromise mission has survived U.S. certification. It is, indeed, the best-handling, most-dedicated, least-apologetic production sports car we've ever tested. Yet even the Elise has its foibles: a feminine name, a tight (size 10) driver's footwell, challenging ingress/egress (with the soft-top installed), and it clomps hard on broken concrete freeways. Still, the Elise can be driven comfortably on workdays as well as driven to autocross victories on weekends.

We're glad it's finally here and think the Elise is one of the best things to come from the British Isle since Frederick William Lanchester patented disc brakes in 1901, John Copper put an engine being the driver in his 1959 Cooper-Climax T51, and Mrs. Hurley gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1965. We salute them all.
-Chris Walton.

 

[_JD_]

Thanks for posting amcmahon and Randy. That slalom speed is outstanding! Car and Driver get 4.4 (make it 4.6 w/o sport pack) seconds and Motor Trend get a full .5 seconds slower to 60?

 

[Derek]

Thanks for posting amcmahon and Randy. That slalom speed is outstanding! Car and Driver get 4.4 (make it 4.6 w/o sport pack) seconds and Motor Trend get a full .5 seconds slower to 60?

Driver skill and road surface can more than account for .5 seconds. But WOW, this car is gonna be awesome... I need my car!

 

[amcmahon]

Thanks for posting amcmahon and Randy. That slalom speed is outstanding! Car and Driver get 4.4 (make it 4.6 w/o sport pack) seconds and Motor Trend get a full .5 seconds slower to 60?

I'm not surprised by this. When they first tested the Evo they had less than outstanding 0-60 and 60' times which I bested in my Evo. They were pulling 2.1-2.3 60' in an AWD Evo!?!? I pulled consistent 1.8's bone stock. I also did this many times with no slippage or worn clutch. It makes me wonder about all of the clutch problems people were having. Can't wait for my Elise!

Randy, damn man you typed all that out!? You're a freak I actually scanned that article at a low resolution so I apologize for the quality.

 

[Randy Chase]

Randy, damn man you typed all that out!? You're a freak I actually scanned that article at a low resolution so I apologize for the quality.

I don't mind. I type very quickly, so it only was about 15 minutes of work and it makes it easier to read and quote and I don't have to scale down the pics.

 

[fitfan]

yeah - you can't really cross compare different test times but so much.... the car and driver article is a good indication of the reference of where the Elise is, basically 2 sec's faster to 100 than an s2000. after a few more more mags test we will see an average consensous start to form

 

[shinoo]

It's always best to compare the test results between cars within a specific magazine. Comparing the results for the Elise between the different magazines will result in more variation.

Thx for posting. Whatta car!

:clap:

 

[James A]

I don't think the 60 - 0 stopping distance of 114' is very meaningful, what I want to know is how much feedback the brakes give you, are they proportional and easy to modulate, and how do they do after repeated hard stops, do they fade does the fluid boil etc. I think the number of feet the cars stops in doesn't mean much unless it's a really big number. 114', 110', 120' who cares it is pavment and tire specific, if you don't like the number put on sticker tires and find more abrasive pavement!

 

[Randy Chase]

Agreed James A.

I can tell you that to me, the brakes felt excellent. Easy to modulate, easy to slam on and pray to the ABS gods. And they felt the same after each back-to-back autox lap.

 

[Vantage]

Randy,
How as the reported abundance of travel in the brake pedal, making it difficult to heel-toe? Perhaps this is more in reference to past Elise iterations and is a non-issue to newcomers.

 

[Randy Chase]

Randy,
How as the reported abundance of travel in the brake pedal, making it difficult to heel-toe? Perhaps this is more in reference to past Elise iterations and is a non-issue to newcomers.

I didn't notice since I never (or very rarely) heal/toe in autocross. I will left foot brake, but that won't matter.

 

[khamai]

Vantage,
I know I've commented in the past about the brakes on the cars prior to the 111S. The UK press loved those brakes. I thought they were heavy, requiring subtantially more pressure to apply the brakes than say the clutch or throttle.

Part of this is personal. I like the pedals to require roughly the similar pressure and distances to application. The older cars had little movement in the brake pedal, it was almost like stepping on a brick.

So, when the 111S and now the 111R came out with the booster, they all complained about the pedal throw and feel. Well, hell yes it felt like mush compared to the brick they were used to standing on!

I had a completely opposite experience. The boosted pedal has more travel, not too much, but more than the non-boosted pedal. There is more of a balance between the clutch, throttle & brake pedal. All requiring similar pressure. Personally I like it. My brain reads two things when I push on the brakes, the pressure and the distance my foot moves. So, for me the boosted brake has better tactical feedback.

As for heel & toeing - no problem in the fed cars I've driven.