Stiggy Mills Your next design?
Discussion
jamesG20V6 said:
I think this concept has mileage, the attraction will be making a waterproof alternative car on a daily basis.
What i don't get though is why graft the front and rear of an elise on to it? It is only ever going to look like a bad copy of an elise? Designing a good bespoke front and rear could make this a real winner. Look at the Ginetta G40....
I don't want to diminish anyone's hard work and enthusiasm, i know it takes a lot to get to where you are, but i do think - this is meant as constructive criticism btw - that there is limited life in something so close, but so far from an elise. Why not just buy an elise?
I feel the same about it. It's a good looking car, but it hasn't got an identity of it's own. It doesn't need to look like something else, Ginetta and TVR have great looking cars from standard round lights or sometimes production car parts (Mk3 Fiesta rear lights on a Cerbera, or THAT rear end on a Tuscan What i don't get though is why graft the front and rear of an elise on to it? It is only ever going to look like a bad copy of an elise? Designing a good bespoke front and rear could make this a real winner. Look at the Ginetta G40....
I don't want to diminish anyone's hard work and enthusiasm, i know it takes a lot to get to where you are, but i do think - this is meant as constructive criticism btw - that there is limited life in something so close, but so far from an elise. Why not just buy an elise?
). I'm too tall for an MX5 anyway 
, sat in one as a passenger once, never again. spaximus said:
I saw this at Newark and it is a good idea for a water proof car. I would add an opening tailgate window as I could not see how you would use the space in there otherwise.
wants lowering to make the wheel to arch proportions better but for many it will appeal.
Well I went to Newark with the intention of looking at this with interest.wants lowering to make the wheel to arch proportions better but for many it will appeal.
Maybe I was expecting too much? But it just didn't work for me.
I can't see how you could make a practical opening luggage area without massively re-engineering the rear clam.
As standard the car sits way too high. I know you could lower it but anyone who's done this to an mx5 will know you loose some of the "5" magic by doing this.
Then there's the elise influence? Original design would have been much better.
Think about it if your keeping the majority of the mx5 you need to buy the best base car you can. Let's call it £1.5k.
Add in the kit £3k inc VAT, Add a decent paint job £1.5k, Some wheels and a few other bits. and your talking £6k plus.
Ok maybe you'll sell a few mazda bits for £500 but still there is some very tasty cars around for £6k.
Elise, VX220, Boxster, S2000, 350z, mint mx5, and so on.
Really sorry to say this as I'm a massive fan of most of your work but I think the mevx5 is a fad.
To paint a small car it costs between £400 and £1200 depending on how you present it and what finish you require and on the paint shops profit.
The MEVX5 kit costs £3000 inc vat plus say £1000 paint plus wheels say £500.
If you could buy a Lotus for that money then you would get a car with virtually no luggage space, a cramped cockpit, an offset steering wheel and a massive sill to climb over on the way in, very expensive insurance compared to the MEVX5 and totally different dynamics. The Evora is about £50k.
Using a decent MX5 would be a waste as you only need pay £500 for a lowish milage tatty looking one, check the sills/rear arches though or they may need weld/plates b4 conversion.
The Mazda seats fold forward and you can easily reach the back of the car without needing a hatch. No doubt some will fit a thicker panel and glass type hinges and a lock but I didn't see the point.
The wheels are 17" and could be considered a little tall.
The original wheels were 14"
All MX5 race cars that are properly set up are lowered to improve the handling but that is up to the builder.
Styling is a personal taste issue, those that don't like it could look at all the other coupe kits available! There were plenty of folk who loved it at Newark and as it is inspired by a familiar form it is accepted very easily.
General opinions were that it looked like an expensive car not a kit.
I have just got a few tweaks to do and will include light covers in the kit.
We now offer a conversion. Bring us an MX5 and we convert it and paint it for £5000
Looks like we'll have to agree to disagree on a few items.
Like I said, perhaps i was expecting to much.
Good luck with it I really hope it is a success, just please keep developing your other cars.
ps. My impression of Saturday at Newark was that the mevx5 got very little attention compared to the frankly excellent Exocets, which were swamped all day.
Like I said, perhaps i was expecting to much.
Good luck with it I really hope it is a success, just please keep developing your other cars.
ps. My impression of Saturday at Newark was that the mevx5 got very little attention compared to the frankly excellent Exocets, which were swamped all day.
I can see what Paul's saying and it's exactly because the car is "inspired by a familiar form" that people will make comparisons with the cost of buying the "inspiration" rather than do the conversion.
I can't believe you'd have stuck 17" wheels on with a different overall rolling diameter to the 14's (you didn't did you?) so that's a non argument in which case it does need lowering. That said 35mm drop springs are only £130 odd though so no biggie.
For a drive in/out conversion then (guessing you'd fit the lowering springs) you're looking at total +-£6k -that's allowing £700 odd for the car assuming you don't want something with dogged interior, unknown quantity engine, no history etc.). So you end up with new gleaming, pratical, mechanically sound Elise type car probably 1993/94?
Flipside: an "excellent" 1999 2 owner Lotus Elise (admittedly S1) with 55K miles and full history sold yesterday on fleabay for £6,756 (and it's peak value time of year for them).
Bottom line is if someone likes the look of MEVX5, they will by default, also like the look of an Elise. From the photos it does look really nice. I guess your customer will have to be one who always wanted an "Elisey" thing but couldn't live with the lack of practicality - here the MEVX5 is clearly outright winner. It may just be a bit over familiar for it's own good though - I can see this getting called, rather cruelly, a "poor man's Elise" and comparisons to MR2 355 kits and the Banham "TT" which would be a real shame, unfortunately it only takes one idiot to stick a Lotus badge on it and it's simply a matter of when, not if, that happens.
I can't believe you'd have stuck 17" wheels on with a different overall rolling diameter to the 14's (you didn't did you?) so that's a non argument in which case it does need lowering. That said 35mm drop springs are only £130 odd though so no biggie.
For a drive in/out conversion then (guessing you'd fit the lowering springs) you're looking at total +-£6k -that's allowing £700 odd for the car assuming you don't want something with dogged interior, unknown quantity engine, no history etc.). So you end up with new gleaming, pratical, mechanically sound Elise type car probably 1993/94?
Flipside: an "excellent" 1999 2 owner Lotus Elise (admittedly S1) with 55K miles and full history sold yesterday on fleabay for £6,756 (and it's peak value time of year for them).
Bottom line is if someone likes the look of MEVX5, they will by default, also like the look of an Elise. From the photos it does look really nice. I guess your customer will have to be one who always wanted an "Elisey" thing but couldn't live with the lack of practicality - here the MEVX5 is clearly outright winner. It may just be a bit over familiar for it's own good though - I can see this getting called, rather cruelly, a "poor man's Elise" and comparisons to MR2 355 kits and the Banham "TT" which would be a real shame, unfortunately it only takes one idiot to stick a Lotus badge on it and it's simply a matter of when, not if, that happens.
Edited by smash on Monday 20th June 17:57
Brilliant! I was waiting for Lightening Macqueen to pop up, I nearly did mine in red but lost my bottle!
Why a price comparison to the S1 Elise? Not at all relevant.
The boot uses the space normally taken up by the folded hood now that bit is removed plus the standard boot without the boot lid, so it is a taller space.
Why a price comparison to the S1 Elise? Not at all relevant.
The boot uses the space normally taken up by the folded hood now that bit is removed plus the standard boot without the boot lid, so it is a taller space.
stiggy mills said:
To paint a small car it costs between £400 and £1200 depending on how you present it and what finish you require and on the paint shops profit.
The MEVX5 kit costs £3000 inc vat plus say £1000 paint plus wheels say £500.
Stiggy, just where do you get cars painted?????The MEVX5 kit costs £3000 inc vat plus say £1000 paint plus wheels say £500.
My Minari (smaller than an MX5) cost £1500. And it's not a great job and really needs to be done again! Unfortunately the painter responsible is located in Cornwall (miles from me) and we "might be able to come to an arrangement". (There are some other issues with the paint that are not down to the original job, so an arrangement is probably fair.)
If I thought that there would be somewhere closer that I could get a decent job done for c.£1000 (or less!) I'd probably bite their hand off to save the time & expense to get the car back to Cornwall!
My car is currently with Arden (doing a sterling job!) and they have recently had another Minari through their place and AIUI, the paint job on that one cost £3.5k, and the claim is that the paint shop didn't make any money on it and wouldn't do one for that price again!!!!
Are you being just a little bit optimistic about your estimated paint costs?
We offer a bring your MX5 to us deal, we strip it, fit the kit and paint it for £5000 inc the kit. My Transit van was painted for £400 at a body shop across the road from MEV HQ. It was a very tatty faded white ex BT van, it's now a nice gloss black. Interestingly £5000 is far less than most kit cars cost even when you do it all yourself. £1000 for paint is a realistic figure in my town.
I have to agree with Stiggy on paint price - I have a guy local to me who resprayed my cobra for £625 in metallic and yes it was actually a nice job. He did my mates Chimeara - colour change to a custom pearl for £700 including paint!
So, erm, Why a price comparison to the £50K Evora? . . .
Don't get me wrong, as I said it does look really nice in the pics - BBR version would be entertaining but that really would end up at S2 money
stiggy mills said:
Why a price comparison to the S1 Elise? Not at all relevant.
I did say admittedly S1 in bold - OK, OK...I couldn't find an Elise S2 cheap enough to suit my argument, there you go So, erm, Why a price comparison to the £50K Evora? . . .
Don't get me wrong, as I said it does look really nice in the pics - BBR version would be entertaining but that really would end up at S2 money
Edited by smash on Monday 20th June 23:09
Stiggy, trying to get back to the positives of the car.
Do you think it would be possible to modify the kit to have a proper opening hatch?
Maybe something like this?
I know you've talked about an opening window, but that's not really practical, for everyday use, having to lift luggage over the high rear of the car.
Do you think it would be possible to modify the kit to have a proper opening hatch?
Maybe something like this?
I know you've talked about an opening window, but that's not really practical, for everyday use, having to lift luggage over the high rear of the car.
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