Saw a Lotus Elise up close and personal today

Ty

Roberta E. Lee
Veteran
A guy at work got a nice white one so I had to take a gander.

Boy, is it small! I wonder how well it handles compared to an NSX (which imo are wonderful to drive!) as it seems quite a bit smaller than even that.

Definately eye catching even if the front is a bit busy for my tastes. I know we have some car fanatics here, anyone get to ride/drive one yet?

I think Sonic at one point was talking about picking one up.
 
Ty said:
I think Sonic at one point was talking about picking one up.
Sonic was looking for a $4K car.
The Elise is a POS, I know, but it cost a few more than that. :p

Oh, and I hate the Elise only because of racing games actually. The Elise, just like the Miata or the 350Z (Sorry Digi) are among the slowest cars in a lot of games.

I have a friend, a financial trader, who bought a Lotus Esprit though... He kept it 3 months or so and then sold it for a BMW. Obviously, he didn't like it.
 
If an Elise is slow then you just don't know how to drive it. :LOL: ;)

As to how well it handles compared to a NSX, well it handles better because it has a lower polar moment of inertia.

Oh btw I saw one today too in Brentwood. It was orange. I also saw a Enzo a few months ago. In fact I was following it in my car down Olympic Blvd to a nearby Ferrari dealership. A couple of weeks ago I saw a F40 in Bel Air on a flatbed and a Murcielago going down Sunset in Bevery Hills. ;)

It's nice working with Hollywood, you get to meet celebs too. 8)
 
PC-Engine said:
If an Elise is slow then you just don't know how to drive it. :LOL: ;)
Blame the game designers of racing games, not me. Don't blame me!
PC-Engine said:
In fact I was following it in my car down Olympic Blvd to a nearby Ferrari dealership.
So, should we add "stalker" to the list of your character flaws? :p
 
I wasn't following it per se. It pulled out in front of me and we were both going in the same direction. :p

Oh btw Madonna or her husband owns a silver/grey Porsche, I saw it when she let me through the gate to her home on Sunset. In fact she was leaving in a limo that day. That's her Beverly Hills home. I believe her other home is in London. 8)

Been to Jon Voight, Brendan Fraser, Jamie King, and Danny Devito's homes too among others. 8)

Jamie King is very cute btw, especially when she doesn't have makeup on. :devilish:
 
PC-Engine, what do you do for a living?

I was looking for a $4k for my own reasons, the least of being because I couldn't afford an Elise, let alone a Gallardo or a Murcielago. Don't assume just because I created a thread about that means that's the kind of car I have to drive.

The waiting list fo ran Elise is too long for me. Something like 2 and a half years from when I first talked to the dealer. Who knows what it's like right now!

The NSX is a very nice handling car, but no way it will outhandle an Elise. Plenty of reasons behind that. And about the Elise being slow in racing games, I would rather have the sacrifice in horsepower on a twisty winding road then being able to go fast in a straight line. And the American lease has a nice 190 HP engine (or 180?) from the Celica so it is plenty quick for how light it is. If it can run the quarter mile a little bit slower or maybe quicker than a Corvette C5 then it is not at all slow. Might not have the top end, but going around the twisties, when do you need all that high speed?

As one who likes going in excess of 150 MPH on a semi regular basis, I love beating the hell out of my cars in the corners just as much.
 
The Elise has a sub 5 second 0-60mph, doesn't it?

I personally find them a bit ugly, but whatever.
 
Nice job. Very nice. Better than the mundane once professional at a big game company here.

The Elise is very sexy, very appealling. I want one so bad, but the wait is just unbearable.
 
Sonic said:
The Elise is very sexy, very appealling. I want one so bad, but the wait is just unbearable.

Yea, the wait...killer. Oh well, maybe I can get a ride from the owner over here. Much better to at least ride in one than just look at them. :devilish:
 
RussSchultz said:
The Elise has a sub 5 second 0-60mph, doesn't it?
Depends on the particular model. I think the standard does 0-60 in about 5 secs (which is fast in my book!) but the sport can do the same in 4.5 secs, which is insane. If anyone needs faster than that then they shouldn't be allowed on the road.
 
John Reynolds said:
I'd love to have a Z4 BMW Roadster. Silver, with a hard top. Damn you, wife, damn you!!!!!!
within (hopefully) the next 2 months she will come to the US, ill have the same problem. So ive decided to spend my, err our, money the best way possible. hehe.

epic
edit: Looking at purchasing the new lexus hybrid.
 
A 0-60 4.5 second time is very respectable. And put that in such a light weight car with AMAZING handling and it will destroy even an EVO MR on the track. At least the courses I go to.
 
The Elise is awesome, but somewhat pricey here in scandinavia. At least the newer models.

I've been drooling over the Opel Speedster/VX220 instead which basically is an Elise with a tarted up body and a bulletproof GM engine. The alternative would be an import Elise, but then the mark 1 with the Rover engine which I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw it. The Speedster looks a (tiny)bit roomier aswell; a constant concern since I could BARELY fit myself into the Z3 or the S2000. :)

speedster7.jpg
 
The American Elise should be rock solid since it is using a Toyota engine. And that is always nice since the gas mileage should be above 30 MPG when just doing every day driving.

The Vauxhalls are very nice.

Anyone looking into the Saturn Sky or the Pontiac Solstice? Those cars will come with a rubo in a year or two, what is the weight of those cars?
 
Sonic said:
Anyone looking into the Saturn Sky or the Pontiac Solstice? Those cars will come with a rubo in a year or two, what is the weight of those cars?

2860lbs says google. That's like 1300kg in proper units? ;) That's quite a bit heavier than the Elise(1975lbs/895kg U.S. version)...

The mark 1 Elise weighed only 725kg(1635lbs)!!

The Solstice looks ...well, fugly IMHO. ;)
 
Weighs too much for me. I'll stick with the Elise.

Oh, how I wish Lamborghini would release a lightweight car for once in its life. The Murcielago is a pig and all that cannot be blamed for AWD. As much as I love AWD it just isn't as good as rear wheel much of the time. Excemt off the road, then it is lovely. But I would never take a Mucielago into the dirt, too much of a risk...
 
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