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My Lotus Diary September 2002Previous Entry | Diary Index | Next Entry4th September 2002My local radio station, Vibe FM is running a competition to win a Type 72 Elise S2. Failed to get through to the last 100 key holders so far but here's hoping.
After a bit of experimenting with the AP22, the best I've managed in the Scooby is 6.2 seconds 0-60mph. It is incredibly difficult to get a clean start and perfect gear change, which was one of the things I've always complained about with the Impreza Turbo. Had a go in a massive thunder storm though and managed 7.45 seconds in a about ½" of standing water, which is pretty impressive. Been very busy recently and haven't managed to keep the diary as up to date as I would like. There are some very interesting rumours doing the rounds about a new Lotus car, which should appear at the Motorshow in October. I've got no real details but it may be a federalised Elise with a Proton engine or a new larger car based loosely on the Elise to step in and replace the current Esprit model. Either way, I will be there to have a look round. Some interesting bodywork upgrades are appearing for the Elise, including front and rear diffusers. The faked pictures of an S2 Exige are still doing the rounds and I get a copy of these pictures sent fairly regularly to me. Still no closer to getting my next Elise as my industry sector is rock bottom and job security is more of a worry than ever. I've got practically worthless shares and plenty of worthless share options but haven't we all! 5th September 2002Still failed to get through on the VIBE FM competition! Lotus have produced a sample S2 Type 49 car with a view to launching it as a new model but there are no firm plans yet.I had time to get used to Elises going past over the last 18 months and I've come to the conclusion that the S2 shape has dated already and that I much prefer the S1 shape. It wasn't perfect but rounded curves always seem to age better than sharp edged cars, may be because they are already kind of pre-aged by being slightly retro to start with. I really hope the Elise S3 has the better looking parts of the S1 and the dynamics and modern parts from the S2. 6th September 2002Failed to get through on the VIBE FM competition again but at least Nikki Elise (yes it's an amazing co-incidence) gave me a mention and the web site too, on her show.Both Auto Express and EVO magazine feature a new 200bhp VX220 soon to be launched by Vauxhall. Project Tornado results in a modified VX220 with 190lb-ft of torque and 0-60 well under five seconds. Limited to about 400 cars and due early next year, orders are being taken now and the really amazing bit is the £26,000 price. Quicker than an Elise 190 and about the same price as a Sport 135! 26th September 2002Autocar (25th September) has an interesting article on 0-100-0mph and features a Elise S2 S135 up against an Impreza WRX Sti and an EVO RS Sprint. All cost about £26k which is the reason for the comparison. The Elise takes 5.40 secs to 60mph, well behind the other two and 100mph comes up in 15.68 seconds (EVO 11.10 and STi 13.77). This kind of confirms my belief that the Elise is quick to 60mph but needs something more at higher speeds. Still, it is slightly quicker than the Focus RS and two seconds quicker to 100mph than a Civic Type R (which beats a standard Elise). Interestingly the Elise S135 is also beaten by a sub-£10k Sylva Striker and my brother was keen to point this out to me (he's got a 130+bhp Striker that cost £6200 to put on the road). The idea of a kit car is something I'm starting to look into and Sylva are just finalising a new mid-engined kit called the Mojo 2, which has more appeal to me than the Striker.
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