Vixen weight

[tomtrout]

I have a Vixen S2 owners manual (if you could call it a manual!) which states that the unladen weight of the car is approximately 762kg (dry). Now I knew this was a light car but having looked up the weight of a Lotus Elise(924kg) and even a plastic Smart roadster, with its tiny three cylinder engine, which comes in at porky 790kg, I was very surprised.

Is the Vixen really that light, or is the quoted figure an under estimate? Has anybody out there put their car on the scales? Apart from a 7, there can't be much out there that's much lighter?

[Sonus]

Mine's rather chubby at 980kg



Then it does have 260kg Daimler V8 in the front and a boat anchor Jaguar 4HU diff in the rear.

[tomtrout]

20% extra weight is quite a penalty for enjoying an engine that sounds nice

[ephemera]

I corner weighed my xflow Vixen S2 at 768 kg. After replacing the engine and gearbox with a vauxhall redtop + type 9 gearbox and some little changes it still weighed only 780kg. Interestingly the corners were not that front biased as you might expect in this latest configuration: RF 205, LF 196, RR 195, LR 184 kg. An Elise S1 started out much lighter than the current Elises. Engine, gearbox, comfort and safety items are the main items that increased the mass. Actually a Vixen chassis is only marginal heavier than an Elise one. The Vixen bodywork is much heavier than Elise bodywork.

[TA14]

tomtrout said:

Now I knew this was a light car but having looked up the weight of a Lotus Elise(924kg) and even a plastic Smart roadster, with its tiny three cylinder engine, which comes in at porky 790kg, I was very surprised.

It was probably considered heavy in its day with the MG Midget at 720kg and the Mini at 600kg

[Mr Tiger]

I've often wondered about the weight of these cars. Any ideas where you can get a car weighed - both whole and each corner?

The only info I have if what I found in magazines and the occasional handbook.

I'd started to make a list to take comparisons from - but this became pointless as different sources use different standards of measurement e.g. full tank and all optional extras, fuel for approx 50 miles, as tested with two people etc.

Just out of interest though, the lightest I did find is a Ginetta G4, tested by Small Car in May 1965. They state it weights 1289 lbs 'as tested'.

Chris

[jesfirth]

Council tips have weigh bridges. Our local one in south bucks weighs a car for £10

[SportsCarShop]

A fully trimmed Griff 200 road legal racer that I looked after was nine hundred and something complete with an all iron 289V8 (updated with 375bhp!) so you're probably about right.