RE: Lotus Elise S1: Spotted
Discussion
Bought myself a Supercar Experience at Silverstone not long after these came out.
£500 all day and the cars were. Lotus Esprit V8, which was the main reason I bought the experience. Just wanted one.
F355, Dodge Viper GTS and 911.
Drove all three apart from the Esprit as when my turn came the brakes were cooked so they put them away. I was somewhat peed off.
So they bought out a S1 Elise.
Despite not having the grunt of the bigger cars once I got in ( an event in itself let alone the rollcage fitted) it was by far the most enjoyable thing to drive of the day.
Super little car.
£500 all day and the cars were. Lotus Esprit V8, which was the main reason I bought the experience. Just wanted one.
F355, Dodge Viper GTS and 911.
Drove all three apart from the Esprit as when my turn came the brakes were cooked so they put them away. I was somewhat peed off.
So they bought out a S1 Elise.
Despite not having the grunt of the bigger cars once I got in ( an event in itself let alone the rollcage fitted) it was by far the most enjoyable thing to drive of the day.
Super little car.
I had a mustard yellow 1998 S1 Elise bought second hand from SGT taplow my first real sports car had it for about 4 years. Loved every minute of it. Had to get rid of it as my commute meant I had to drive on motorways.
Now I commute on the train I have now got myself a caterham 7, which is even more focused.
- Pete
Now I commute on the train I have now got myself a caterham 7, which is even more focused.
- Pete
LewisR said:
What I thought was unacceptable in my '02 Elise (in 2005) were:
The roof leaked.
The radio reception was often non-existent.
The ventilation wasn't up to heating the car or clearing condensation/ frost from the screen.
Refilling the washer bottle required the front panel to be un-bolted and removed.
The front-end nod when driving on undulating roads.
I certainly do prefer GT cars to track-day ones.
I suppose the only two of those that hadn't been fixed by 2004 when mine was made were the radio reception (which I don't care about because commercial radio drives me mad and BBC radio is mostly rubbish) and the front-end bobbing around which I actually like. The roof leaked.
The radio reception was often non-existent.
The ventilation wasn't up to heating the car or clearing condensation/ frost from the screen.
Refilling the washer bottle required the front panel to be un-bolted and removed.
The front-end nod when driving on undulating roads.
I certainly do prefer GT cars to track-day ones.
I've never taken my Elise on track and probably never will - IMO the Elise is not a very good track car without substantial modification. I'm not particularly a track-day enthusiast anyway, I bought my Elise because it's the best daily-usable road car I've ever driven.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 4th August 19:08
kambites said:
LewisR said:
What I thought was unacceptable in my '02 Elise (in 2005) were:
The roof leaked.
The radio reception was often non-existent.
The ventilation wasn't up to heating the car or clearing condensation/ frost from the screen.
Refilling the washer bottle required the front panel to be un-bolted and removed.
The front-end nod when driving on undulating roads.
I certainly do prefer GT cars to track-day ones.
I suppose the only two of those that hadn't been fixed by 2004 when mine was made were the radio reception (which I don't care about because commercial radio drives me mad and BBC radio is mostly rubbish) and the front-end bobbing around which I actually like. The roof leaked.
The radio reception was often non-existent.
The ventilation wasn't up to heating the car or clearing condensation/ frost from the screen.
Refilling the washer bottle required the front panel to be un-bolted and removed.
The front-end nod when driving on undulating roads.
I certainly do prefer GT cars to track-day ones.
I've never taken my Elise on track and probably never will - IMO the Elise is not a very good track car without substantial modification. I'm not particularly a track-day enthusiast anyway, I bought my Elise because it's the best daily-usable road car I've ever driven.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 4th August 19:08
kambites said:
The early cars didn't have radios from the factory, did they? Or was it a cost option?
The Radio Fitting Kit was a cost option and included the aerial, two rear bulkhead mounted speakers, the harness and a hole in the dash which meant slightly different dash cappings. You then had to supply your own radio/cd player. Miss my S1 Sport 135 - S65 FGP where are you now?!? That said chopping her in for a V8GT was very exciting at the time...albeit a very expensive relationship!
The delicacy of the feedback is what i miss most, especially now I spend too much time in a german family wagon renound for no steering feel.
The delicacy of the feedback is what i miss most, especially now I spend too much time in a german family wagon renound for no steering feel.
I put a deposit down in 1996 and waited until '98 to get my car. It's still the best car I've ever owned. When driving I felt connected to the car and the road. Someone in an earlier post referred to the delicacy of feedback, which is a perfect description.
I bought it as a weekend toy, but ended up using it as my daily driver for over two years. This was a mistake, because I began to think less about the pleasure of driving it, and more about the noise, the leaks, etc.
In hindsight, it's the only car I ever regret selling.
Edit. To correct stupid misleading iPhone spell check.
I bought it as a weekend toy, but ended up using it as my daily driver for over two years. This was a mistake, because I began to think less about the pleasure of driving it, and more about the noise, the leaks, etc.
In hindsight, it's the only car I ever regret selling.
Edit. To correct stupid misleading iPhone spell check.
Edited by SpudLink on Tuesday 4th August 21:01
I love my s1 elise, 2000 model with some nice suspension and brake upgrades and putting out 130bhp. With a decat and larini exhaust it also sounds really good for an old rover lump although noisey and wearing on long journeys that just adds to the whole experience for me and its great for scaring passengers!!! An RS4, M3 etc can't frighten someone like an s1 elise at full chat! I have been lucky enough to have driven and owned some fine machinery but the s1 is just great. It will keep up with some serious stuff when pressing on and when I fitted the Yoko A048s it was AMAZING!!! I know its glued together ali and made out of plastic but for pure driving it is perfect!
Such a beautiful and pure design. When I look at the S1 I get daydreams of a harmonious and stress free life where I am winding through the roads of Napa Valley on a perfectly clear, warm sunny day wearing the biggest s
t-eating perma-grin to ever be stretched about a man's ecstatic face!
Such a simple want in such an overloaded world.
t-eating perma-grin to ever be stretched about a man's ecstatic face!Such a simple want in such an overloaded world.
Edited by ESOG on Wednesday 5th August 04:16
My S1 is an utterly brilliant, engrossing car to drive. It's got a few choice upgrades which I think only add to the experience (Nitrons, B&C 170 engine kit, Eliseparts short shift & toe link kit) and every time I drive it (which is not enough) it never fails to stun me how it dances along the road. It's unbelievably light on its feet-I described driving it the other day as the clouds clearing and the sun shining through. The clarity of feedback and positivity is astonishing.
Sure it's not the quickest thing in a straight line (although it competes well and makes the most of a brilliant engine) but around a circuit on various track days, not a lot comes past (even on a "power" circuit like Silverstone!). It's just so efficient at what it does best-going around corners. It's the perfect modern expression of Colin Chapman's core values.
The niggles and foibles would utterly irritate the hell out of me if I used it everyday, but on a sunny Sunday morning the fact the roof leaks a little and the heater is like a smoker with a straw, don't matter.
For the money, they're wonderful little things, and the S1 is starting to climb in value-it's a modern classic already IMO. It's comforting to know I've got something with that much ability to entertain which is costing me buttons to keep.
Sure it's not the quickest thing in a straight line (although it competes well and makes the most of a brilliant engine) but around a circuit on various track days, not a lot comes past (even on a "power" circuit like Silverstone!). It's just so efficient at what it does best-going around corners. It's the perfect modern expression of Colin Chapman's core values.
The niggles and foibles would utterly irritate the hell out of me if I used it everyday, but on a sunny Sunday morning the fact the roof leaks a little and the heater is like a smoker with a straw, don't matter.
For the money, they're wonderful little things, and the S1 is starting to climb in value-it's a modern classic already IMO. It's comforting to know I've got something with that much ability to entertain which is costing me buttons to keep.
On another thread three years ago I wrote,
"It's noisy, difficult to get into, uncomfortable, the paint fades, the front numberplate gets knocked off all the time, the windscreen cracks if you lean on it, the windscreen wiper is useless, the washer jets even more so, the towing eye post rusts away, the engine blows up every now and again, you can't get anything bigger than a sports bag in the boot, it leaks, the carpets are made out of the same stuff they make j-cloths with, the speakers are from a 1950's dancette but more crackly, the radio only works if you are outside the BBC, the windows fall out of the frames, the roof requires prestuds allen keys guy ropes and clips, the heater only works in the summer, the clutch hose fails, the rad fan fails, interior storage is a fishnet stocking and the horn sounds like a wet fart.
I've had mine for 3 engines, 6 windscreens, 8 numberplates, 2 retrims, 120,000 miles, 20 countries and 13 years."
Up to 135k and 16 years now. I think I'll get it painted in the next year and keep it as a classic rather than a blatter.
"It's noisy, difficult to get into, uncomfortable, the paint fades, the front numberplate gets knocked off all the time, the windscreen cracks if you lean on it, the windscreen wiper is useless, the washer jets even more so, the towing eye post rusts away, the engine blows up every now and again, you can't get anything bigger than a sports bag in the boot, it leaks, the carpets are made out of the same stuff they make j-cloths with, the speakers are from a 1950's dancette but more crackly, the radio only works if you are outside the BBC, the windows fall out of the frames, the roof requires prestuds allen keys guy ropes and clips, the heater only works in the summer, the clutch hose fails, the rad fan fails, interior storage is a fishnet stocking and the horn sounds like a wet fart.
I've had mine for 3 engines, 6 windscreens, 8 numberplates, 2 retrims, 120,000 miles, 20 countries and 13 years."
Up to 135k and 16 years now. I think I'll get it painted in the next year and keep it as a classic rather than a blatter.
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