Lotus 2-Eleven?

[Pooh]

Back on topic, please tell me more about your 211, it looks like a pretty serious piece of kit.

[the ronin]

Pooh said:

Back on topic, please tell me more about your 211, it looks like a pretty serious piece of kit.

My car is a 680 whp Lotus bd car, started life as a 2005 Elise and just morphed into this over the last 9 yrs.

You can read about the project and enjoy the fine avatars and pretty pictures here, join in...
http://www.lotussport.org/viewtopic.php?f=26&t...

[sone]

I've been looking into the possibility of a 2-11 as a track/ hooning car. I've driven one on occasion on the road and always impressed by its composure. I've owned several Lotus and they generally found the earlier Exiges to feel underpowered and lacking grunt. Not so the 2-11 the one I drove was an absolute blast. Oh and the brakes are amazing.
Didn't fancy an Atom as I've seen my pals under steering and over steering all over the place in theirs.
Honestly don't think you can go wrong with a 2-11 and I think they're a safe bet with regard depreciation.

Interesting video.
http://youtu.be/ZSrdzXDH04M

[Pooh]

the ronin said:

My car is a 680 whp Lotus bd car, started life as a 2005 Elise and just morphed into this over the last 9 yrs.

You can read about the project and enjoy the fine avatars and pretty pictures here, join in...
http://www.lotussport.org/viewtopic.php?f=26&t...

That sounds insane, I will have a look at the thread and site.

[Pooh]

sone said:

I've been looking into the possibility of a 2-11 as a track/ hooning car. I've driven one on occasion on the road and always impressed by its composure. I've owned several Lotus and they generally found the earlier Exiges to feel underpowered and lacking grunt. Not so the 2-11 the one I drove was an absolute blast. Oh and the brakes are amazing.
Didn't fancy an Atom as I've seen my pals under steering and over steering all over the place in theirs.
Honestly don't think you can go wrong with a 2-11 and I think they're a safe bet with regard depreciation.

Interesting video.
http://youtu.be/ZSrdzXDH04M

The 2-11 is definitely top of the list, it is just a question of when I will change, I am very much enjoying the Maser at the moment,

[Toilet Duck]

Ej74 said:

Interesting post

I went from a R35 GTR to a 2-11

2-11 handles with finesse and the Atom is a ham fisted job in terms of handling.

http://youtu.be/VIpS5VrSCLE

However the Atom is faster both draw looks and attention.

The 2-11 suspension can be set for road use which makes it more compliant. I have yet to encounter a speed bump I couldn't get over - I also drive it into London and to work on occasions.

Thinking of changing to a Granturismo S MC Shift - how did you get to grips with the gearbox...cost of ownership are they really high ?

Looks like we maybe moving in opposite directions

That's one of my videos

Are you the chap I took out for a passenger ride that day with the orange 2-11 in the garage next to us?

The Atoms suspension is also fully adjustable for road/track use, I have 10 way adjustable Bilsteins which is a factory spec option. As with your 2-11, speed bumps aren't an issue.

From an Atom owners point of view, I'd echo a lot of what has been said. Short wheelbase plus all the weight at the back is not "ideal." However, if the cars geometry has been CORRECTLY set up, then they do "handle" - but not as good as a 2-11 etc. There have been a lot of changes to the geometry and set up since the early Atoms, almost a work in progress type affair; they aren't the "widow makers" that they used to be

When I first bought my Atom, I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew. My first track day in it was terrifying. With my limited experience, driving anywhere near the limit (mine not the cars) was a complete knife edge, I thought that I would never be able to "drive" it. Driving on the road or anywhere at 7/10ths was fine, but pushing those last 3/10ths the car is a tricky animal.

I came to see this as a challenge, and now that I've had the car a while and gained a lot more experience, I love it. I've had the geometry set up correctly, which made a MASSIVE difference to its handling. Atoms aren't the sort of car you can get in and drive quickly straight away, they take a long while to understand, and I think this is the problem. If you don't tread very carefully to start, they will bite you. Once you understand them and learn to work with the weight at the rear, they are very rewarding to drive.

I wouldn't say the handling is "ham fisted" as quoted above (maybe my driving is though ), but they do lack the finesse of a 2-11. 300+ bhp and the torque from the supercharger in something lightweight means that you end up "fighting" with the car if you try to exploit that all the time. Personally, I love the challenge of trying to use it, but it all boils down to what you want. When you look at group tests between Atoms/2-11/Caterham etc, there isn't much in it between the overall lap times, its the way they drive that is the biggest difference. If you are chasing outright lap times, don't buy the Atom . If you want something "easier" to drive, don't buy the Atom. If you want one of the most bonkers cars you can get, well, have a look at the Atom

[Ej74]

Yes Mate - cheers for the ride !

A very aggressive driving style but its how you get the lap times you want

The difference is minimal between the track day specials on offeer

[Toilet Duck]

Ej74 said:

Yes Mate - cheers for the ride !

A very aggressive driving style but its how you get the lap times you want

The difference is minimal between the track day specials on offeer

You're welcome, this is the video from when you were a passenger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oltv7tj9CgE

Look forward to a passenger ride in your 2-11 next time My mate you took out was impressed by its handling!

Cheers

[the ronin]

RS211 at play...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IScCfJOIOcc&fe...

[RobM77]

Here's mine:



I’ve had it for a couple of years now, having bought it from PHer ‘Stephanie Plum’. It’s a great car and everything you’d expect from an ‘extreme’ modern Lotus: fast but not scary, stable, prefers an accurate driving style, noisy (with a loud exhaust like I have), lovely steering and controls. The biggest surprise when I test drove it, and still to this day if I drive another Lotus then go back to the 2-Eleven, is how different it feels to any other Lotus. I had originally been looking for an Exige S when I bought it, and test drove it straight after driving a standard Exige S and an RGB, but it felt completely different – much more of a racing car feel than a well sorted road car feel. I don’t know the roads around where you (the OP) live, but I live in the sticks and yes, it’s quite bumpy and occasionally scrapes its splitter on C roads, but B and A roads are fine and being a Lotus it’s a nicer ride than you’d imagine for the lack of roll it has, although it’s still very firm (it does have adjustable dampers though – comp and rb). To be honest, I find it a bit fast for the road; much like a quick Caterham you relax for a few seconds and enjoy it round a bend or two and you’re doing license losing speed. I really bought it as a track car because I quit racing and missed track driving, and at that it excels. On the road it tends to feel a bit held back – it’s not as easy to relax at low speed and enjoy the feedback like you would in an Elise or even a 7.

There are a few downsides. Firstly, it has a very tail heavy balance and a consequential tendency to overheat the rear tyres a bit after 10 or 15 laps of quick lapping (and I drive very smoothly and gently; I have raced on road legal tyres and generally go longer than others before they overheat). In terms of pace it’s usually the quickest thing on a track day unless you’ve got pukka race cars there (and even then..), but it’s very visible and people get out of your way quite easily. In answer to your question about road driving, it doesn’t hide itself like a Caterham and everyone sees you coming, so it’s quite safe in that respect (it’s quite a large car, especially for a lightweight). Another downside is the lack of rear three quarter visibility, so lane changing on motorways can be tricky, as if anyone’s hovering in your blind spot you just can’t see them. All these things are fairly minor gripes though and I view them as features of the car rather than anything I really worry about. There is one thing that’s quite annoying, and that’s the headrests – they’re perfect without a helmet, but with a helmet on they push your head quite far forward and it’s uncomfortable. Thinking of helmets, I find rain a right pain in the arse as there’s not sufficient airflow to clear it off your visor – it can actually be quite dodgy at times and I don’t enjoy driving in the rain for that reason. Oh, and like me it likes a drink! On track I’m deep into single figures mpg wise – it uses fuel at an absolutely shocking rate. I’ve heard people complain about the gearshift, and mine has a Letsla linkage to cure that – it’s ok, but still nowhere near the shift in a CTR for example. One thing worth mentioning is that it has no boot or storage at all, so if you’re going on a track day with a friend and have water, food, tools etc there’s nowhere really to put them and if you’re taking helmets you’ll have to wear them (not a bad idea anyway without a windscreen).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.



Here's a trackday video for you: http://youtu.be/v2zeMU3VeSo

Edited by RobM77 on Friday 12th September 15:20

[Pooh]

Thanks for the very comprehensive reply, the car sounds like a lot of fun but the total lack of storage space would be a pain.
A couple of questions:
What sort of mpg does it get in road driving?
How does the interior cope with getting wet, if it was left out in a shower of rain, would that be a problem?
Thanks,
Robert.

[RobM77]

Pooh said:

Thanks for the very comprehensive reply, the car sounds like a lot of fun but the total lack of storage space would be a pain.
A couple of questions:
What sort of mpg does it get in road driving?
How does the interior cope with getting wet, if it was left out in a shower of rain, would that be a problem?
Thanks,
Robert.

My estimates have been very rough, but I think it does about 20mpg on the road and about 3 to 4 on track. Very rough though.

The leather seats are what I worry about most, as everything else is bare aluminium (but no drain holes). I should imagine it'd be ok if you dried it off afterwards, but the Lotus shower cape that I have is very easy to put on and keeps it completely dry.

[Pooh]

I am surprised about the fuel consumption, it is hardly any better than my 4.7L, 440BHP 1800kg Maserati.
The shower cape sounds good, I would definitely want one of those.

Edited by Pooh on Saturday 13th September 08:59

[RobM77]

Pooh said:

I am surprised about the fuel consumption, it is hardly any better than my 4.7L, 440BHP 1800kg Maserati.
The shower cape sounds good, I would definitely want one of those.

Edited by Pooh on Saturday 13th September 08:59

I do drive quite fast though and enjoy the acceleration when I can. Being open, I suspect it has quite a poor drag coefficient and it's quite a wide and large car.

[alicrozier]

Fuel Economy:
On road at a motorway cruise 40mpg is just possible (keeping the speed legal).
20 mpg if pushing on the backroads but that is a bit extreme.

On track sub 10mpg is to be expected in the dry.
Spa my 'worst' to date at 5.1mpg

At the Ring (closed track) I managed 6 laps which is about 10 mpg but had to trundle the last half lap (oops). 5 max is recommended!

Luggage:
Very small amount of space behind the seats but a struggle 2 up. I've done big 3 week euro trips 1 up with tools etc in the passenger footwell and seat.

[RobM77]

alicrozier said:

Fuel Economy:
On road at a motorway cruise 40mpg is just possible (keeping the speed legal).
20 mpg if pushing on the backroads but that is a bit extreme.

On track sub 10mpg is to be expected in the dry.
Spa my 'worst' to date at 5.1mpg

That seems much better than I'm getting. The only differences I can think of are potentially the exhaust and factory ECU upgrade to 260bhp (which I presume you have?).

[alicrozier]

Yup 260 and completely standard exhaust (although I have run 2bular sports cat and silencer with no difference).

I can't see why it should be radically different.

edited to add: Cruising at anything significantly above UK NSL really impacts the mpg.

Edited by alicrozier on Monday 15th September 14:15

[RobM77]

alicrozier said:

Yup 260 and completely standard exhaust (although I have run 2bular sports cat and silencer with no difference).

I can't see why it should be radically different.

edited to add: Cruising at anything significantly above UK NSL really impacts the mpg.

Edited by alicrozier on Monday 15th September 14:15

To be fair, my estimates for track use have been about 4mpg, which isn't far off your worst (and they are estimates, so I may be a bit out with that) and I do drive it absolutely flat out on track (probably 90-95% of my race pace).

On the motorway I may often be running late for early morning track day starts... Nothing silly, but I'm certainly not cruising at 0.7 leptons, more usually a typical lane 3 speed for early rush hour. The poor aero of the car would explain your findings there and it doesn't surprise me.

I can't comment on back roads as most of my driving is as above; it only gets an occasional outing on B roads just to gently warm it through and keep it ticking over. Speed limits are too low and traffic levels too high for me to really enjoy road driving enough to do it for the sake of it, thus the 2-Eleven aimed at track use rather than an Elise, Caterham etc.