[Craigy]

OK so the elise from the story is older but it's in the same ballpark as the new one for engine power....

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/features/0205scc_coblot/

Craigy

 

[Thomasio]

The title of this thread had me worried... figured it was a Mustang fan swatting the hive... I was relieved to find that I was wrong.

Thomas

 

[Lotus F1]

Wishful thinking unfortunately. The US Elise will not have the power/weight ratio of the Elise in the article. Note: The Sun Power Elise is 192 "rwhp" at 1629 lbs. I don't know how much drive-chain losses their will be with the new Lotus Elise/Toyota setup, but considering the usual, I would say the 190hp US Elise will be roughly 160 "rwhp" at 1850lbs. I doubt it will be able to even break into the high 12's in the 1/4 mile. This will be a low, to mid, 13 second car. Thats almost a full second slower in the 1/4 mile, which by the way is a substantial difference. Boy, mid 12's! That would have been awesome!!

RWHP Power/Weight Ratio
Sun Elise 8.48
US Elise 11.56

My Turbo Miata 8.88 (High 12's)

Looks Like I just bought a Lotus to go slower, lol (well at least in a straight line

 

[BrianK]

In addition to the fact that the Sun Elise has a higher power to wieght ratio than the federal Elise, that particular engine was modified by Spoon - it has some head work and a more aggresive cam if I remeber correctly. Those details were "overlooked" in the artcile.

 

[Thomasio]

With some engine mods and a moderate weight-loss diet, that kind of performance should be attainable out of the federal S2.
1850lb is in the ballpark, as is 190 rwHP. Nothing a couple of thousand bucks shouldn't be able to fix!

Thomas

 

[pcpacker]

If the 190 hp engine will only put 160 to the rear wheels, How many hp are going to the rear wheels with the 156 rover engine?

 

[Craigy]

If you're happy with the $15-$20K cost, there are a couple of compaines out there who will fit the 2.0L K20A engine from the new acura integra to the elise (currently this is only the S1 elise but I kno there's development of the S2 version) - with a few mods the engines are supposed to put out over 250bhp - the car only weighs about 30Kg more after fitment versus the rover engine.

It povides the car with the ability to do 0-100mph in about 8.5 seconds. Power to weight is in the 300bhp/tonne region.

Hmmmm... Time to phone the bank manager!

Craigy

 

[John Stimson]

A mid-engined car will have a lot less drivetrain loss than a front-engined (rear wheel drive) car. I would estimate about half.

This is part of why the MR2 Spyder's dyno numbers are closer to the manufacturer's specs than the Miata's, even though the specs are almost identical.

I would guess that the Elise would put closer to 170-175HP to the wheels if it has 190HP at the flywheel.

 

[apkom]

I thought the same thing and was proven wrong after dyno-testing my car. The shop where I did it does a lot of work on turbo MR2's so they have good idea where stock numbers should be. Mine topped at 167RWHP (STD correction) - 17% loss from 200HP at the engine.

A mid-engined car will have a lot less drivetrain loss than a front-engined (rear wheel drive) car. I would estimate about half.
I would guess that the Elise would put closer to 170-175HP to the wheels if it has 190HP at the flywheel.

 

[LarryB]

That type of loss is typical for the MkII MR2. So mid-engine in of itself doesn't mean low loss. Alex, welcome to the lighter side, I'm turbo2 on the MR2 board.

 

[AutoXJunkie]

Keep in mind, troops, that wasn't a SVT Mustang, it was a Cobra R, which was an ultra-rare track car that just happened to be street legal. The new, supercharged, iron-block cobras are faster in a straightline, but are even more nose heavy, understeering pigs.

I'd pay twice as much for an Elise rather than buy a Mustang of any flavor.

 

[apkom]

Yeah. Also it depends much on the gear (mine was in 3d).
Thanks Larry. Are you in Bay Area as well?

That type of loss is typical for the MkII MR2. So mid-engine in of itself doesn't mean low loss. Alex, welcome to the lighter side, I'm turbo2 on the MR2 board.

 

[LarryB]

Alex, yeah, typically the '2 is dyno in 4th gear. Am in Sunnyvale, been waiting on the Elise since Feb, #11or so at Silicon Valley Bently (Los Gatos). Are you still in the info gather stage?

 

[apkom]

I wonder if we met at MR2 events before.
I did put a deposit past Saturday (#50 or so)
at the same place. The sales (Joe) said thed'd
get 75 cars per year.

Alex, yeah, typically the '2 is dyno in 4th gear. Am in Sunnyvale, been waiting on the Elise since Feb, #11or so at Silicon Valley Bently (Los Gatos). Are you still in the info gather stage?

 

[Rigel]

As a former owner of a '98 Cobra Convertible, I couldn't resist this post.

Very nice article - American muscle meets British finesse. It highlighted the differences in the cars very nicely, and has given me a better idea of what to expect. The only thing not mentioned in the comparison was gas mileage. The Cobra gets 19-20, and it looks like the Elise should get 30+.