Development car been spotted testing, wider and longer wheelbase to fit in the 3.5 V6 from the Evora.
So the Exige should get around 276bhp now. 3.5 NA engine provides better mpg than the 1.8 SC (upto 257bhp) it replaces and better emissions.
(Autocar)
TheCrackerCould this not just be a test-mule for something else? - Don't see any reason why Lotus would build a new Exige on the Evora platform, especially not with the old style body. Perhaps it's just an Esprit mule?
There isn't anything wrong with the evora platform itself. It is actually very good. This would most likely be a lighter weight performance focused car as opposed to the evora being closer to the GT side.
I doubt it is just a "test body" as it is way too much work to have made that body fit on to an evora just to test with. All the panels while looking similar to the existing Elise/exige are definitely different.
I think the problem is that Lotus is out of 2zz engines now and their next car isn't due till 2013. They wont survive if they try to last till then with just the evora and the 1.6 litre elise.
If they can shave 100-200kg off the evora and package it with the evora s engine the car will be a rocket.
Sub one tonne sports cars are a thing of the past.
Sub one tonne sports cars are a thing of the past. Given safety regulations and what people in general expect feature wise in their car it is all but impossible to keep the weight as it were.
The evora weighs 1350kg as it is. So shaving off 100-200kg off that isn't all that bad of a weight increase over the previous model.
In reality it doesn't need that much weight shaved off anyway. Not sure on the evora s but the normal evora is on par in performance to the exige. So some suspension improvements and weight reduction will make it a fair bit quicker.
Shaving weight on the evora wouldn't be too hard. Some fixed bucket seats like the existing elise, scrap the trimming behind the seats, get rid of some sound deadening. I'm sure there is heaps that can be done. I've managed to scrap a good 20kg off my elise so far and have still kept the carpets and plastics in the interior.
End of the day, the gtr and the 370z have shown that you don't necessarily need light weight to have amazing performance. Sure it is against what Lotus stands for but they do what they need to do.
The next MX-5 will be under 1000kgs.
No. Mazda said that the target for the next Miata was under 1000kgs, and if you'll recall quite a lot of people thought that was a pie in the sky idea when Mazda said it too.The next MX-5 will be under 1000kgs.
Lotus's own website has the Evora and Evora S at 1385 and 1440kgs. 100-200kgs is a lot to take from a car like this. Those weights are for the 2-seat version, so you aren't loosing much there. Fixed race seats might loose you 20kgs, a bit less trim maybe 10kgs more, 15kgs for the carpets maybe - but then what else goes?
Lotus enthusiasts won't stand for a heavy Exige/Elise, not when other manufacturers can still produce 1 tonne sports cars.
The original Elise had aluminium brake discs. They replaced them with steel as they couldn't make them reliable enough. It was a very brief period Lotus had that ultra light car.
I suppose an Elise should have carbon brakes, but I don't think it's even an option is it?
Carbon braking would not be over-braking as the discs would be tiny. But I have heard the feel is not as good. Could be an option though, especially for track cars.Prohibitively expensive for a car in that price segment i'd say. Also in a car where the driving experience is everything, having brakes that traditionally have a poor pedal feel would take away from that experience. It shouldn't need the kind of stopping power that carbon disks provide, not even at this, relatively, bloated weight. You can quite easily over brake a light car.
Carbon braking would not be over-braking as the discs would be tiny. But I have heard the feel is not as good. Could be an option though, especially for track cars.
Carbon brakes overkill for a track/road car? You've never driven a very new car equipped with carbon brakes on the street before...