RE: Lotus Exige Race 380
Discussion
RobDickinson said:
snuffy said:
How do they manage to squeeze so little power out of a 3.5 litre V6 ? It's only 25 ponies more than the 3.5 V8 Esprit I used to own which was built 18 years ago.
Emissions I guess, that has been reducing power/capacity for a while...
Cold said:
Ah yes. The 918 twin turbocharged V8 engine. Pretty mush used as a benchmark for reliability and problem free motoring these days. The OED uses it as a synonym for clockwork.
Problem With the 918 it was developed on a shoestring leading to the liner sealant issue, lots weren't looked after correctly or were modified and they were built in very few numbers. You are never going to get a decent yardstick of reliability with an engine like that.What I would say though, there are cars out there that have had the care required and are reliable. (This, after the liner sealant had been rectified).
RobDickinson said:
snuffy said:
How do they manage to squeeze so little power out of a 3.5 litre V6 ? It's only 25 ponies more than the 3.5 V8 Esprit I used to own which was built 18 years ago.
Emissions I guess, that has been reducing power/capacity for a while...
e with a liking for crack and anal. RobDickinson said:
snuffy said:
How do they manage to squeeze so little power out of a 3.5 litre V6 ? It's only 25 ponies more than the 3.5 V8 Esprit I used to own which was built 18 years ago.
Emissions I guess, that has been reducing power/capacity for a while...If Mercedes can squeeze a reliable 380 hp out of 2 litres ........
Who gives a monkey`s what the power per litre is, within reason...you saddo prejudiced fools ought to get in one of these cars...if you`ll fit, and try driving one...they are great cars and extremely exciting to drive, even if they do not have all the latest gimmicks and technology.
On the plus side they are reasonably economical and bomb proof!
You wont get a 1000hp Ultima for that money, unless of course you build it yourself. You will get a 700hp one though and I was tempted a little while back, but the long lead time put me off. Plus the test drive in the demo car which to be fair had the old iron block engine in proved the car to be even less practical than the Exige and very noisy, which is saying something, although no doubt sound deadening can be added during the build.
On the plus side they are reasonably economical and bomb proof!
You wont get a 1000hp Ultima for that money, unless of course you build it yourself. You will get a 700hp one though and I was tempted a little while back, but the long lead time put me off. Plus the test drive in the demo car which to be fair had the old iron block engine in proved the car to be even less practical than the Exige and very noisy, which is saying something, although no doubt sound deadening can be added during the build.
HeMightBeBanned said:
RobDickinson said:
snuffy said:
How do they manage to squeeze so little power out of a 3.5 litre V6 ? It's only 25 ponies more than the 3.5 V8 Esprit I used to own which was built 18 years ago.
Emissions I guess, that has been reducing power/capacity for a while...e with a liking for crack and anal. kambites said:
Would an Ultima be eligible for clubman type racing series? It's a bit of a moot point if not.
It certainly wouldn't be for the one make championships that most of these Exiges will be raced in, obviously. As for more open championships, there may be one or two (Castle Combe GT?), but they're not that common. The engine size would need to be unlimited for starters. I can't recall ever seeing an Ultima racing to be honest. Hillclimbs may be more receptive to them.Besides, mentioning that the Ultima is faster for the same outlay is already a bit of a moot point because in cars in general and certainly in motorsport, cost and performance have a very weak correlation. If you want to go fast you can buy a Formula 3 car and race in the F3 Cup for probably similar or less money than racing a Lotus, and obviously you'll be going massively quicker. Obviously there's Formula Jedi, Superkarts etc that cost even less and are again faster than the Exige.
Lotuses, and especially racing cars, are about more than performance per pound.
kambites said:
Personally, I'd far rather have 380bhp from a supercharged V6 than 380bhp from a turbocharged i4.
Engine characteristics aside, the lowly origins of the Toyota engine hamper its potential to make competitive bhp/litre outputs.If you prefer a V6, then Merc have a superb twin turbo 3.0 litre with 367 hp and 384 ft/lb torque ...
Edited by GranCab on Friday 13th January 09:40
GranCab said:
Engine characteristics aside, the lowly origins of the Toyota engine hamper its potential to make competitive bhp/litre outputs.
Only if you consider bhp/litre to be a "competition". I don't, personally and I certainly wouldn't want to see anything with a turbocharger in the Exige. I can see the point in comparing power to weight ratios of engines, and power to size ratios for that matter; but power to capacity ratio seem about as relevant as the colour of the timing belt to me. If they could get a 10 litre engine of the same weight and size as this V6 producing the same torque curve and the same economy, why would it be a worse engine?
Edited by kambites on Friday 13th January 09:47
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