Posted on 08/29/2006 6:41:41 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
Lotus has released details about the new bio-ethanol-powered Exige 265E - the most powerful road version of the Lotus Exige ever, which we covered briefly yesterday. And we've driven it -- see links below.
The research vehicle is a true Lotus -- it weighs just 930 kg unladen -- and is called the Lotus Exige 265E: 265 indicates the approximate horsepower and is consistent with the naming strategy of other one-off and limited run Lotus variants such as the Lotus Sport Exige 240R. and the E indicates the environmentally favourable bio-ethanol E85 fuel containing 85 per cent ethanol alcohol and 15 per cent petrol.
Bio-ethanol can be made from plant crops such as cereals, sugar beet, sugar cane and wood. As these plant crops grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which then partly offsets the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced during the burning of the bio-ethanol fuel in the car's engine.
Key to this performance is a slightly modified version of the 2ZZ VVTL-i supercharged and intercooled high revving 4-cylinder engine from the standard Lotus Exige S. This now gives an estimated set of performance figures that would thrash the majority of super-unleaded performance cars:
In fact, the Lotus Exige 265E is probably the world's quickest road-legal E85 bio-ethanol car.
(Excerpt) Read more at pistonheads.com ...
I didn't think the Exige was road-legal in the first place. THe last ad I saw for it indicated that it doesn't come equipped with headlights.
That's road-legal in the UK. We missed the lighter first-generation Elise-based lineup (Elise/340R/Exige) because of stupid US laws and regulations.
But they do sell the S2 Exige over here, so there is hope.
Got to drive a buddy's Elise last year while at the Sebring race, just out the gates, around the corner and back. Very fun little car, for sure. And I only got it up on the cam once. It's a go-cart in the turns.
And that right there, car fans, is why various the Loti over the last 4 decades have had lfe expectancies measured in months, not years. They are not made for American highways.
That is a Toyota engine that's already in plenty of Toyotas in this country, although it has been tuned by Lotus to produce more power. And I can tell you from experience that even the first-generation Elise (with a far inferior engine) did fine on the Autobahn with an average speed of 100-120 mph.
They are not made for American highways.
Lotus road cars have never been about top-end speed, but about light-weight and handling. BTW, I know somebody with a 70s Elan that's still running fine, and it has a Ford engine.
And just think, you were probably driving the Americanized lard-ass version that's a few hundred pounds heavier than the original
And you had inferior suspension unless your friend got the sports kit. The first Elise had neutral handling, which required skill to drive. You could steer on the turns rather precisely using the gas pedal.
As time went on, and more went into the second-hand market that non-driving young-uns to afford, people started crashing a lot because they were used to the understeer and poor handling of their ricer cars. So, Lotus dumbed down the suspension and thinned the front tires for the new Elise, giving it understeer, making it an option to get the good suspension back.
Of course, none of this applies to the Exige, which is just a street-legal race car.
Texoga Safe Fuel
One blew by me last Saturday..
Remember that joke warranty card for purchase of an F-15? It was full of questions that the purchaser had to answer just as if they'd bought a new TV. Among the questions was "What made you decide to purchase this product?" and one of the answers was "Was attacked by one."
Well, that's what got me interested in the Elise, after one passed me and five other cars on a small mountain road in one shot.
I doubt I'll be in the market for one. Don't get me wrong, I think they're an awesome car.. People should understand these are hardline sports cars that view human comfort as secondary to the task at hand.
My little G35 coupe is sporty enough for me. And I got that with the sport package, which I've since decided I'd rather not have...
The really funny thing is that you say that about the S2 Elise, which has added comfort and lower sills over the original Elise. It was apparently quite a talent for a woman driver in a skirt to exit the original Elise with top on without showing off too much.
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