RE: Lotus Elise Sprint

Author
Discussion

Striple

162 posts

140 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
I will have a lotus one day. Didnt realise these were so expensive brand new, how do people buy these, huge deposit and finance? that gearstick is nice but i just imagine the crumbs i would end up with if its anything like my current daily!!

C.A.R.

3,967 posts

187 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
That interior looks great, for a car which has function > form.

I wish they'd extended the nice alcantara (?) covering to the instrument binnacle / cowl area though, when they've gone to so much effort making the gearshift surround look that good, only to leave the big hunk of plastic above / around the steering wheel, where your eyes are drawn to!

suffolk009

5,344 posts

164 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Lefty said:
Too expensive still.

The s1 was £18k in 1996. 20 years of CPI inflation takes that to about £27k. At £30k this would be a lot more attractive than it is at £37k.
Fourth post in. Nice one. Perhaps you could mention second-hand Porsche for a full house.

I think there's a post further down about the cost being more or less bang on comparable.

I think it looks great, wish I had the funds.

saaby93

32,038 posts

177 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Whats the legal requirement on the height of the third brake light?It doesnt have to be as high up as it used to be?

Frimley111R

15,533 posts

233 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
leglessAlex said:
Lefty said:
Too expensive still.

The s1 was £18k in 1996. 20 years of CPI inflation takes that to about £27k. At £30k this would be a lot more attractive than it is at £37k.
I'm not sure. This article indicates that the Elise was £18,990 in 1996, and using the Bank of England inflation calculator that gives £32,712 in 2016. Seems ok to me when this claims the current Elise Sport costs £29,900 today.

Sure, faster or lighter versions are more, possibly too, expensive, but it seems the most basic Elise you can buy is much the same cost as it was 20 years ago once inflation has been taken into account, possibly a little cheaper.
That was the S1 though, the model here, whilst fundamentally the same, is hugely improved in every area.

kambites

67,460 posts

220 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Tickle said:
IIRC the ‘s’ in the 111s also stood for Sprint; it was originally called the Elise Sprint but Mercedes objected due to their Sprinter vans in the late 90’s.
You may be right but it would be rather odd, given that the "S" in 111S denoted the "luxury" version.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Ah the answer to the good old "How can we charge more for less" question...... ;-)

Fonzey

2,056 posts

126 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Step in the right direction, but from the perspective of a 10yo S2 Elise owner I can't imagine putting my money into a newer version of my car whilst the fundamental flaws still exist such as questionable toe-links, plastic radiator endcaps and suspension that looks like it's from the deck of the titanic after 20 road miles.

I love my Elise to bits, but my £30k would be spent on an S2 project in which all the above has been rectified. Oh, and with a Honda engine.

Actus Reus

4,229 posts

154 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Absolutely agree - and that was my point earlier. It's a lovely car, but has it moved the game on much from the s2? I really don't see it, save for a slightly smarter interior and that glorious looking gearshifter.

Nevertheless, good luck to Lotus - I hope the marque begins to prosper.

Tickle

4,879 posts

203 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
kambites said:
Tickle said:
IIRC the ‘s’ in the 111s also stood for Sprint; it was originally called the Elise Sprint but Mercedes objected due to their Sprinter vans in the late 90’s.
You may be right but it would be rather odd, given that the "S" in 111S denoted the "luxury" version.
EVO S1 buyers guide:

Of the various special editions and Sport versions offering more power, the 111S was the best, using the Variable Valve Control K-series with 143bhp. It was to have been called Elise Sprint after the hottest Elan, but Mercedes scuppered that, claiming it would cause confusion with the Sprinter van. Incredible but true.

What ever the 'S' stands for, I would not call the 111s luxurious, certainly not the S1 anyway thumbup

gregelvis

37 posts

127 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
benjiwengy said:
This is obviously a far better product than the original s1. If you don't mind the extra 41kg, knock £5000 off, and it will still be better at more or less the same price. Yes, ideally we want everything cheaper. Perhaps this Lotus should be, but they'll have a better idea about marginal returns than us. If people bought Lotus in the same numbers as Porsche then they would be cheaper. It's a Catch 22. Lotus needs to be profitable in order to make desirable product. Maybe Elise2 will crack it.
I googled 'Elise 2'

Not what I was expecting - but it does have two motors apparently!

kambites

67,460 posts

220 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Tickle said:
What ever the 'S' stands for, I would not call the 111s luxurious, certainly not the S1 anyway thumbup
Actually with the S1 you may be right, I was thinking of the S2 where the "111S" was the better equipped (it had carpets!) version of the "111" which was the base VVC car.

Lotus' naming conventions are nothing if not inconsistent. biggrin

Cold

15,207 posts

89 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Tickle said:
EVO S1 buyers guide:

Of the various special editions and Sport versions offering more power, the 111S was the best, using the Variable Valve Control K-series with 143bhp. It was to have been called Elise Sprint after the hottest Elan, but Mercedes scuppered that, claiming it would cause confusion with the Sprinter van. Incredible but true.
Yet Mercedes were quite happy to use the name Esprit as a trim level. Funny folk over at Mercedes.

MrTappets

881 posts

190 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Am I the only one thinking the price is actually pretty decent, bearing in mind a 4C starts at over £50k?

framerateuk

2,730 posts

183 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
Lovely stuff.

The 1.8 version looks great on paper. This is the only sort of thing I could bring myself to replace my Caterham with. That said, my garage is *really* small and I think fitting it in and opening the doors might be a struggle!

kambites

67,460 posts

220 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
framerateuk said:
Lovely stuff.

The 1.8 version looks great on paper. This is the only sort of thing I could bring myself to replace my Caterham with. That said, my garage is *really* small and I think fitting it in and opening the doors might be a struggle!
If you're reasonably limber you can always climb over the doors.

They're not that much higher than the sills anyway. hehe

Frimley111R

15,533 posts

233 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
kambites said:
framerateuk said:
Lovely stuff.

The 1.8 version looks great on paper. This is the only sort of thing I could bring myself to replace my Caterham with. That said, my garage is *really* small and I think fitting it in and opening the doors might be a struggle!
If you're reasonably limber you can always climb over the doors.

They're not that much higher than the sills anyway. hehe
Yep, I just drove mine into the garage with the roof off and hopped out over the doors.

HeMightBeBanned

617 posts

177 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
framerateuk said:
Lovely stuff.

The 1.8 version looks great on paper. This is the only sort of thing I could bring myself to replace my Caterham with. That said, my garage is *really* small and I think fitting it in and opening the doors might be a struggle!
Just push the car in and out of the garage. The garage at my old house was pretty narrow so I used to push my S1 in and out of it. No problem.

Vroom101

828 posts

132 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
I've got to say, if I had £40k burning a hole in my pocket, I think I'd get one of these. Not even the supercharged one - I'd go for the little 1.6.

A car like this, with a small footprint, modest power and light weight makes far more sense on our congested roads than any other new 'fun' car I can think of. Obviously, a car with heaps of power is fun in a 'sledgehammer to crack a nut' kind of way, but seriously, the occasions when you can actually use all that power are so fleeting, and cars now are so insulated from the road, that to get the sensation of going 'fast' you are really in with a chance of losing your licence if caught.

I'll have mine in that lovely sky blue please smile

Derek Chevalier

3,942 posts

172 months

Friday 17th March 2017
quotequote all
leglessAlex said:
Lefty said:
Too expensive still.

The s1 was £18k in 1996. 20 years of CPI inflation takes that to about £27k. At £30k this would be a lot more attractive than it is at £37k.
I'm not sure. This article indicates that the Elise was £18,990 in 1996, and using the Bank of England inflation calculator that gives £32,712 in 2016. Seems ok to me when this claims the current Elise Sport costs £29,900 today.

Sure, faster or lighter versions are more, possibly too, expensive, but it seems the most basic Elise you can buy is much the same cost as it was 20 years ago once inflation has been taken into account, possibly a little cheaper.
Are you sure BOE inflation is a suitable comparison? In 1996 a 911 Carrera was around 65k. Today the range starts at ~78k.
£37k is an extraordinary amount of money for something that would be way slower than a decent hot hatch in a straight line/round a circuit.