RE: Frankfurt: Lotus Plays It Fast (And Safe?)

[k wright]

Current Exige owner, really like the new car. The elongated tail looks great, the fact that it allows fitting a V-6 makes it even better.

[toppstuff]

infradig said:

I think the statement 'Lotus won the WRC in 1981' is a bit like saying Ford won the F1 World Championship in 1979!
Talbot won the Rally Championship using a Lotus engine,Lotus the F1 championship using a Cosworth Ford engine.

I don't understand that statement.

Lotus used Cosworth engines ( as did many others) but winning F1 was because Lotus kept innovating with amazing chassis and aero technology.

Back in the day, Lotus were even more ahead in the excellence and innovation of their F1 car design than Red Bull are today under Adrian Newey.

To extend the same analogy, while Red Bull use Renault engines ( and Lotus used Cosworth in the 80's) no one doubts that it is the car and it's aero design that makes the big difference.

[dave stew]

Loving that Sunbeam Lotus! Always been a sucker for the classic rear drive Group 4 beasties...

[cathalm]

toppstuff said:

I don't understand that statement.

Lotus used Cosworth engines ( as did many others) but winning F1 was because Lotus kept innovating with amazing chassis and aero technology.

Back in the day, Lotus were even more ahead in the excellence and innovation of their F1 car design than Red Bull are today under Adrian Newey.

To extend the same analogy, while Red Bull use Renault engines ( and Lotus used Cosworth in the 80's) no one doubts that it is the car and it's aero design that makes the big difference.

Um, mate, I think you missed his point.

[cgt]

"...new rear-drive GT category that will form part of the existing WRC championship next year." = Music to my ears. Proper drifts, in proper cars!
I just can't excited watching a Citroen DS or Ford Focus, etc, , how ever good and clever they might be, being raced on Rally Stages.....

Edited by cgt on Wednesday 14th September 10:36

[AllNines]

dave stew said:

Loving that Sunbeam Lotus! Always been a sucker for the classic rear drive Group 4 beasties...

I think it was Group 2, as per the sticker on the door...

[AllNines]

infradig said:

I think the statement 'Lotus won the WRC in 1981' is a bit like saying Ford won the F1 World Championship in 1979!
Talbot won the Rally Championship using a Lotus engine,Lotus the F1 championship using a Cosworth Ford engine.

I don't think that Lotus have actually said "we won the WRC in 1981`" but they are certainly making the most of having provided (and developed specifically) the 908 engine for the Sunbeam Lotus rally car (and the 911 engine + other features for the road cars). It was certainly the Talbot team that won the championship but they couldn't have done it without the support from Lotus, and I think it's entirely fair that they have added "1 WRC title" to their achievements.
And I quite like the fact that they chose to base the livery of the launch car R-GT on that of the Sunbeam parked next to it. And didn't the old girl look superb, too?

ETA: Companies like Michelin and Sparco like to make the most of how many championships 'they' have won as well, just to put the Lotus claim into context.

Edited by AllNines on Wednesday 14th September 15:46

[AllNines]

cathalm said:

anybody got any interior pics/info on the GTE/Exige s? Hoping either the Exige is liveable or the GTE is not totally stripped out....

Exige pictures are on the Exige V6 thread in the Lotus section. Here's one of the Evora GTE:

[GTRene]

wow, nice interior.

[The Wookie]

beez said:

GKP said:

Nice arse!!!!

The car's not bad either, fnar!

[British Beef]

At half the price of the GTE and with a better power to weigh ratio, and equally stunning looks, does the new Exige not piss on the parade of the GTE??

I absolutely love the Evora GTE (+/-£120k), BUT inlight of the Exige (+/-£55k), it actually makes the Exige look like a Bargain.

£55k for an exige seems very expensive however £55k for a mini Evora GTE / Porker GT3 actually makes the Exige look like good value!!

[Dodgey_Rog]

Surprised no ones commented on the black nose badge yet? I wonder if the performance models will have the black badges and the road cars stick with the traditional versions?

[bobsan]

try PH.com instead of .co.uk

[C43]

it rally trim it will probably be up against a Caymann S which should be interesting, although obviously the Porsche will be lighter than the road version whereas the rally version of the Exige will probably be heavier.

C43

[vintageracer01]

LOVELY STUFF !!!!!

[British Beef]

Prices for new Exige V6:

Lotus Exige S MSRP £49,900

Premium Pack £2000
Premium Pack Sport Suedetex £1500
Carbon Pack £1500
Race Pack £2000
Convenience Pack £350
Air Conditioning £1100
Rear Parking Sensors £350
Heated Seats £350
Contrast Stitching £245
Trofeo Tyres £800
Crossbar & Harness Mounts £700
Metallic Paint £600
Premium Paint £1200
Motorsport Paint £1800
Diamond Cut Wheels (18/19", Cast) £350

[Dodgey_Rog]

This might tide me over til the new wave comes through;



I'm actually really liking it, reminds me of the GT1 car for some reason.