check out the specs!!
http://www.suninternational-usa.com/pr_els03.html

 

lotus using the type-r engine... Are they saying the type-r engine is better than anything lotus can make?

 

I think they get Rover engines stock....we all know tha the B18c is sooo much better

 

I read somewhere it had to with the original engine (Euro-spec) not meeting U.S. emissions so rather than spending money making the engine pass inspection they dropped one in that already passed. I could stand corrected.

SoCal98ITR

 

is there any sites on the internet regarding getting that new Elise? A friend of mine is really interested, but he can't find info on importing or anything.

 

I believe that Sun International is the only place you can get it (since they're the ones that did the engine conversion). According to a recent Autoweek the car is priced around $55k.

SoCal98ITR

I found this contact e-mail on their site, elise@suninternational-usa.com


[Modified by SoCal98ITR, 8:51 AM 7/20/2001]

 

I have heard on this board that people have seen the new Elise (and quite a few of them actually) already imported here...I don't remember who said it, but there was more than one.

 

The Elise is not street-legal in the US but for some reason that car is. Some kind of loophole allows it to be street-driven. If I had 60K in the bank I'd get one in a heartbeat.

 

The Brits can't make a good car on their own to this day! Ford owns Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Bentley. And without Honda's help Rover would have gone under in the 80's! The Type R Elise is awesome!!! And yes the B18C5 is far better than anything Lotus produces. Included is the underpowered 350hp Twin Turbo 3.5 liter V8 found the the new Espirit. And Honda the underdog as usual!!!

 

I work for Auto Europe in Birmingham, Mi. and we are a Lotus Dealer. The Elise is not street legal with K-series rover motor but we did import 6 of them last summer (june 2000) they all have California plates on them. (Don't Ask). I have driven them on the track as well as the street. Amazing handling, will put a stock R to shame, however the Rover motor is something that could be improved on. Due to the price of the Elise and the Love of my R I will keep the R

Matt Jensen
Auto Europe Motorsport Manager
(248) 645-6300 X20

 

That's correct. I read the same off of Sport Compact Car. They hit two birds with one stone on that one though. Not only did they meet emissions standard, the improved on the numbers.

"If you can't beat them, Join them"

 

Yeah, SCC had a good article a couple of months ago. I don't think it is worth 50,000+. Then again the performance is nice!

 

I read an article about that car almost a year ago in a German magazine family sent me from Frankfurt.Oddly enough they were comparing it to a Viper acr.The particular road course they were testing the cars at the lotus was consistantly beating the Viper by up to two seconds.That is pretty damn impressive.

 

Car and Driver has an article about this car. This is the hottest car in the world (other than the real type R).
http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caran...lotuselise.xml

 

It's absolutely worth the 50,000. The Elise is a great car even with that base Rover 1.8. With a B18C5 it's gotta be spectacular.

 

Don't knock british cars just because we are underfunded. Lotus make some of the best handling cars in the world and are often called upon to design the suspension systems of other sports cars. While I am at it, i feel a criticism of american cars comming on: They are just tanks on wheels. Your way of going faster is to put a bigger engine in and be done with it. lmao.

Even your mighty mustang gt handles like a sack of potatoes on wheels.

 

What I gathered from the German mag that I read was that the rover engine was a boat anchor at best.They seemed very happy with it once it recieved the b18c5 treatment.Yes the British make good handeling cars.They are very good at making light cars.I think they lack a little in the engine design dept.If you have ever talked to a mechanic that works on lotuses most of them will say the engines are ****.Atleast the mechs at the Lotus/Jaguar dealer here say that.

 

heh peteyplunk has a point. Say what you will about British cars; American cars are worse. Trouble is, what's a true British car nowadays with globalization? One of the last independent British carmakers happens to turn out some of the best-performing cars in the world - TVR.

 

Don't the TVR'shave pushrod v8's?If so,Yuck

 

Oh Lotus are some of the best handling cars made in the UK. The reason there is not alot HP in the K series motors is because it doesn't need to it move out.
Think about it with only 118bhp engine the Lotus Elise runs 0-60mph in 6.1 sec which is on par with the ITR and not quicker. Also with the new Lotus Elise Evo has 120bhp and runs 0-60 mph in 6 sec's flat if not under 6 secs. Now if you have the Elise Sport 160 it runs K series motor with 158 bhp and does 0-60mph in 5.2 sec's

The reason for the B18C being in the Lotus Elise is becasue there is loop hole. As the car being of one make with another engine dropped in or not of the same car. The car can be registered as a kit car atleast here it can be. This means not safety test except for USA lament regulated shatterproof windscreen which is normally used in all Euro models as well. The normal Lotus Elise won't pass emission unless some heavy tweaking if done to the car which would put the power way down which is not good. Also I do not know if it would pass safty std here but it has passed Euro stds. Now Lotus owner have new option with TT supercharger dealer add on. Dependin on the verison you own you can pull 190+bhp to 215+bhp which translates to 0-60mph in the 4.4 sec range.

So with just normal Lotus this car can keep up with ITR on the track and if it had the 190+bhp we had OMG it would pull on you like there is no tomorrow. I love the new Lotus Elise Evo..the body styling is just plain awsome. This car handles like a race car right out of the box.

 

Maybe the older TVR engines but whats wrong with push rod? Hell I loved my Mustang GT it made a sweet sound and could run 0-60mph in like 5.5 sec's.

Some may not like the TVR's the the entire car is handbuilt which is not heard of here in the US unless it's a Panoz car. Some can say the same about the AC Cobra but it's not about control in these cars as much pure power and torque and driven correctly can be drifted in almost every type of track.

 

Heh I forgot to mention the fact that lotus use a k series engine in the elise... God only knows why, but you have to admit the elise is one hell of a drivers car. I personally have an integra Type R (stock, in white) and the only car (that i have driven) that i think can compete on handling has to be the elise. I've never pushed the elise as far as my integra but the elise seems to give a feeling that you are totally in control where the integra starts to feel like you might need to take (slight admittedly) correcting action. Maybee i'm wrong, this is personal experience after all but it settles it in my mind that raw horsepower is not everything and it takes a good handling car to make it a true sports car.

When i was in North Carolina a few months ago i got the chance to drive or ride in a mustang gt and a probe gt. They both feel very fast in a straight line but as soon as you hit corners, especially ones with bumps and uneven surfaces the archaic chassis and suspension design of both cars becomes all to aparrant. They just can't cope with going fast in anything but a straight line. Cornering in one of these beasts is like driving a supercharged tractor around silverstone. It just feels like the car is in control, not you.


I'lll stop blabbering now as i think i've made my point. I find it offensive that people criticise british cars when they are still making some of the best sports cars in the world - with outside infulence and financing yes - This seems even more ludicrous because the american way of building cars is so utterly crude and inefficient. I guess that's a by-product of cheap fuel (gas) and lots of straight roads



[Modified by peteyplunk0r, 10:44 PM 7/21/2001]

 

Racerx,I have no problems with a pushrod v8.That is, until it is in a car that costs as much as a TVR.It is just my opinion but I would expect a little more technology for that kinda $$$$.

 

TVR's aren't about technology in principle. That's not the point of them.

 

Yes, I understand that but sometimes it's not about technolgy of the engine as of just rawness of it. And thats what TVR is making coachbuilt mean machines that doesn't look like anything on the road. Mustangs lost there appeal with me when they went to modular engines maybe there more fuel effienct but they lost the sound and meaness of the engine. Drive 94 Mustang Gt against a 98 Mustang GT and you will see and feel the difference. It still makes me mad after 95 they pulled the 5.0 litre engine. Yeah it sucked gas but nothing compared to it and making hp for 302 engine. Hell with a vortech supercharger you can make 700-800bhp and drive it daily! And Saleens at the time with twin turbos where doing 1,000hp #'s and driven daily..but I would not drive it in a down pour rain as you will probably spin and end up in a ditch somewhere. I've spun my GT with just 230bhp..so it's easy to get the car out of hand if you panic.