Dare DZ

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JonRB

Original Poster:

74,389 posts

271 months

Sunday 14th July 2002
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I thought this might be a better place to continue the discussion in In the News > RE: JENSEN UPDATE

quote:
Jon, you are not alone - the crowds that queued to see the DZ at the 98 Show made me (and Ivor Walklett) think at the time that this was a real winner. Sadly, Ivor between you and me took notice of those who told him the car was way to radical to be a success.

That's a pity. I thought it superb, although unfortunately I also thought it was overpriced. Or perhaps I should instead say that it was more money than I was prepared to commit to a car of it's type.

I was sorely tempted when the ex-demonstrator blue gull-wing came up for sale on their website for £18k, but I'd bought the Chimaera by then!
Talking of their website, I must update my page to link to it.

So do I take it that you have one, dandarez? Your profile doesn't mention your car. How about an entry and photo?

quote:
Have you ever wondered why the Lotus 340R suddenly came to fruition for the 98 Motor Show - look at the original drawings of the 340R and it's front wing...
I could go on... (superb reviews of the car appeared in a couple of independent mags, while Autocar damned it as did Auto Express - the latter with a liabelous statement). Smell a rat? You certainly did!


What did Auto Express say? I didn't see that one.

I certainly did wonder why the DZ didn't get more press attention. Whay was that?

quote:
How about opening out this contentious subject, possibly via your web page to a much wider audience?

I think it would be better to open it up here.

Anyone care to comment?

>>> Edited by JonRB on Sunday 14th July 17:46

jamesc

2,820 posts

283 months

Monday 15th July 2002
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Dandarez is a respected Ginetta historian and very rare Ginetta owner. He was also the very first scribe to test the DZ.

James

JonRB

Original Poster:

74,389 posts

271 months

Monday 15th July 2002
quotequote all
Thanks James.

Isn't PistonHeads great? Where else could the ordinary enthusiast rub shoulders (virtually, at least) with people in the know like this?

dandarez

13,244 posts

282 months

Tuesday 16th July 2002
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Guessing time. No prizes.

Which quotes about the Dare DZ are from the mainstream motoring press (no 'praising and selling' here) and which are from totally independent motoring press? It's really hard to believe they are talking about the same car.

A). The tiny steering wheel which scrapes a layer of skin from your shins as you get in, now sits somewhere up near your chest ... it doesn't have the ride quality of the Elise.. bigger bumps can throw it off line... it feels too light at speed... Dare plans a more conventional car soon; we wish it well and hope it learns from the DZ's failings. (PS the guy who tested the car got his father to return the car to Dare!)

B) It broke down - twice. (and this mag also mentioned that - twice!). They didn't 'say' why it broke down because this was not a 'praising and selling' article - if it were a Lotus, then they would tell you why it broke down but add, 'don't worry we are assured this will be rectified on production cars'.
Oh, incidentally, I found out why it broke down, twice, a coolant hose had come loose!!

C) ...by the time you've adjusted to seeing each front wheel bounding about in the corner of your eyes, you are going very fast. You'll also be aware that the car, for all it's kid-glove pretentions, doesn't scare you at full chat. It's all down to the quality of the chassis. There's no bouncing off uneven surfaces, or short-wheel-base joggling. ...years of chassis design experience have produced a car that responds beautifully to steering and throttle inputs... undulations are absorbed and the car retains immaculate poise... we were hampered by wet weather, but we reckon cornering speeds in the dry should be miraculous. ... a vehicle weighing 680kg with 195lb ft of torque to get it going... we've done the maths: it's 313 bhp/ton.

D) The DZ behaves impeccably under braking and loves to go in any direction you wish to point it... school kids' jaws drop with amazement, young guys almost break their necks trying to get a good look and old people point in amazement... by the time I returned to the office...this car was seriously growing on me. The car looks odd, granted. But when you see someone else sitting in the car it looks great. The icing on the cake for me was when I was watching our guys race it up and down... that's when I fell in love with it completely. At speed it has an incredible look and sounds spectacular, something you don't get from within the cabin... there's no denying it, this is an all-round fantastic car...Once I hit the main road, it was time to open it up and see what this baby could do. Was I in for a surprise. Putting my foot to the floor blasted both the car and myself from the go with tremendous acceleration, but I was not fully aware of how hard we really were picking up speed. The quality of the ride is such that you do not feel overwhelmed by the power of the engine and although the Dare really shifts, it feels immensely stable too. 0-60 is achieved in a paltry 4.7 seconds... This car is seriously small but my 6ft frame felt very comfortable in the cabin...

Endpiece. I'm lucky. I've driven one. If it had a Lotus badge on the front it would have sold like hot cakes, but then Lotus couldn't build anything like this. They tried (with Autocar, alias Lotus Weekly) and ended up with the overweight 340R beach buggy, that cost 35 grand. It weighs 25 kilo MORE than the DZ which is weathertight , yet the 340R is stripped out and fills up like the proverbial bathtub! Lotus, the experts in light weight - think again.





JonRB

Original Poster:

74,389 posts

271 months

Tuesday 16th July 2002
quotequote all
I agree that its a huge shame that the DZ wasn't better received.

I'm confused as to why though. You've hinted at some sort of conspiracy theory, but what agenda would the major car mags have for ignoring this car? I don't understand.

Jondare1963

2 posts

23 months

Sunday 29th May 2022
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Just searching through threads for Dare DZ and thought you might like to see mine... a bit late! smile