RE: Lotus Exige Race 380
Discussion
kambites said:
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?
I agree with this. People have been giving me grief for replacing an S54 with an LS3 despite it weighing less, being smaller, further back and having almost double the power. It really is a nonsense. 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
kambites said:
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
FFs Lotus slaters
Its a racing car for £120k designed to race in specific classes. You cant really compare it to anything other than cars eligible for the same class. I bet there are not many Ultimas that would be eligible for the same classes
Set up your race team as a VAT registered business and the car will be 20% cheaper
Its a racing car for £120k designed to race in specific classes. You cant really compare it to anything other than cars eligible for the same class. I bet there are not many Ultimas that would be eligible for the same classes
Set up your race team as a VAT registered business and the car will be 20% cheaper
Awesome car, probably an amazing drive. Had a chat with a guy driving in a team with a GT4 spec exige, he was VERY impressed with the car, for them it was a bargain compared to other cars they chose from with regards to speed and running costs.
People here obviously havent noticed what race cars actually costs. Even a clio R3T will probably cost you right under 100k€, a cayman GT4 well north of that.
People here obviously havent noticed what race cars actually costs. Even a clio R3T will probably cost you right under 100k€, a cayman GT4 well north of that.
In fairness, the press release should have talked more about the Lotus Cup series, as this is what the car is for. The advantage of the Evora is that it is GT4 car and can be used in a far wider range of prominent events. However, you could still use the Exige in other amateur series like Britcar, GT Cup, CSCC etc. where they follow a simple class structure of engine size / power / weight.
With the clever ABS and traction control it is a great car for someone looking to get into racing; it's just not the cheapest route of club racing. The advantage is Lotus Cup gets big grids whereas many series struggle to get 15-20 cars together.
With the clever ABS and traction control it is a great car for someone looking to get into racing; it's just not the cheapest route of club racing. The advantage is Lotus Cup gets big grids whereas many series struggle to get 15-20 cars together.
RobM77 said:
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...If lotus produce a car beyond this then the cost of replacement falls upon them. As a company thats not exactly rolling in cash it would be foolish to put such an engine into their higher volume cars.
A 3-11 Race is over the HP limit and so Lotus would have to cover anything but its probably manageable on such a low volume car.
ukaskew said:
Couldn't they have built one before launching it? That render is worse than you'll find on a games console.
I would think they have built one but it will likely have been thrashed, pulled apart, rebuilt and thrashed again several times over and may not be looking too pretty at this point in its life. It's also not the sort of car they're likely to build for showroom stock.I doubt that anyone seriously thinking of buying a race car would give two sts that the press release used a rendering. They'd generally fall into the going out and having fun demographic rather than the whinge about stuff on the Internet demographic. I can't see persons working in the Lotus marketing department loosing any sleep.
Edited by donteatpeople on Friday 13th January 17:41
RobM77 said:
The Esprit's V8 was a custom built engine for a sports car, designed in house at Lotus for the Esprit. The Exige's V6 was designed by Toyota for a people carrier.
Which begs the question as to why Lotus think they can ask £120k for a car with a people carrier engine then ?CTE said:
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.
I'm not questioning as to what the car is like to drive, or even if it needs more power. What I'm questioning is how Lotus can get such a small amount of power of out an engine that size with a superchager bolted on to it.Lotus used to be very good at taking small engines and getting a lot of power (i.e. 300bhp from a 2.2 4-cylinder) and yet 25 years later they can only manage to get 376bhp from a 3.5 V6.
snuffy said:
RobM77 said:
The Esprit's V8 was a custom built engine for a sports car, designed in house at Lotus for the Esprit. The Exige's V6 was designed by Toyota for a people carrier.
Which begs the question as to why Lotus think they can ask £120k for a car with a people carrier engine then ?TVR managed to sell plenty of cars with the engine from a van amongst other things,
snuffy said:
RobM77 said:
The Esprit's V8 was a custom built engine for a sports car, designed in house at Lotus for the Esprit. The Exige's V6 was designed by Toyota for a people carrier.
Which begs the question as to why Lotus think they can ask £120k for a car with a people carrier engine then ?As for the cost of this car, it will be the potential customers who will decide whether or not the origins of its engine are a factor in writing out a cheque. Some might even consider its proven reliability and longevity to be bonus for racing.
snuffy said:
I'm not questioning as to what the car is like to drive, or even if it needs more power. What I'm questioning is how Lotus can get such a small amount of power of out an engine that size with a superchager bolted on to it.
Lotus used to be very good at taking small engines and getting a lot of power (i.e. 300bhp from a 2.2 4-cylinder) and yet 25 years later they can only manage to get 376bhp from a 3.5 V6.
That engine is capable of 460 bhp - Komotec will do it for you.Lotus used to be very good at taking small engines and getting a lot of power (i.e. 300bhp from a 2.2 4-cylinder) and yet 25 years later they can only manage to get 376bhp from a 3.5 V6.
Err.... the 918 was twin turbo. Mine produced 385bhp with sports cats and decent air filters. And was very reliable.
This Exige is a great car. Most of the critics have never experienced true Lotus dna.
Anyway, how about my Excel, presently receiving a 1UZ-FE Toyoya V8. 1100kg and 300bhp. See Readers Cars!
This Exige is a great car. Most of the critics have never experienced true Lotus dna.
Anyway, how about my Excel, presently receiving a 1UZ-FE Toyoya V8. 1100kg and 300bhp. See Readers Cars!
donteatpeople said:
ukaskew said:
Couldn't they have built one before launching it? That render is worse than you'll find on a games console.
I would think they have built one but it will likely have been thrashed, pulled apart, rebuilt and thrashed again several times over and may not be looking too pretty at this point in its life. It's also not the sort of car they're likely to build for showroom stock.I doubt that anyone seriously thinking of buying a race car would give two sts that the press release used a rendering. They'd generally fall into the going out and having fun demographic rather than the whinge about stuff on the Internet demographic. I can't see persons working in the Lotus marketing department loosing any sleep.
Edited by donteatpeople on Friday 13th January 17:41
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