Bought an 05 Elise

[Breck]

Hey All,

I just picked up a 2005 Lotus Elise on Saturday! I have wanted one of these for a while (I actually was looking for either one of these or a Viper back in 2020 & I ended up with my Viper) and this is my first time with any sort of hands on Lotus experience; I hadn't even sat in one until I was over 8 hours away from home ready to buy it. I drove it 580 miles back home and I am thrilled with it.

I also cannot express how grateful I feel to be able to have this alongside the Viper. Both cars are incredible but so so different from each other.

What is everyone's experience with these?

Elise.jpg
Elise rear.jpg
Elise Interior.jpg
Viper and Lotus.jpg

[StrokerAce]

Congrats! No experience with them other than knowing some guys who owned those and the Exige. Cool cars. Not a lot of frills but hey, you're used to that already. Any plans for it or drive as is?

Hope you get miles and miles of enjoyment from it! I still want a late Esprit V8 Turbo.

[13COBRA]

Fun go cart!

[Aevus]

damn, talk about VERY different cars! haha

Yes I had the chance to drive a '06 for a week, the lightweight feeling is absolutely amazing (the braking!) its FUN, makes you smile. The problem, after a little while, is how underpowered that car is. Makes you wish for more and then, you end up with a Porsche 981 lol

[finalleaf]

damn, talk about VERY different cars! haha

Yes I had the chance to drive a '06 for a week, the lightweight feeling is absolutely amazing (the braking!) its FUN, makes you smile. The problem, after a little while, is how underpowered that car is. Makes you wish for more and then, you end up with a Porsche 981 lol

I think the exige S/Supercharged elise is plenty power! 220-260 hp with under 2000 lbs, pretty comparable to 981 S in speed.

[AZTVR]

damn, talk about VERY different cars! haha

Yes I had the chance to drive a '06 for a week, the lightweight feeling is absolutely amazing (the braking!) its FUN, makes you smile. The problem, after a little while, is how underpowered that car is. Makes you wish for more and then, you end up with a Porsche 981 lol

You definitely can hit a golf ball farther with a 3 iron than you can with a 9 iron.

[Aevus]

I think the exige S/Supercharged elise is plenty power! 220-260 hp with under 2000 lbs, pretty comparable to 981 S in speed.

not sure what the power weight ratio is but I had a 981 BGTS tuned (+/- 360bhp) and it was a great balance. But nothing beats the feeling of a super lightweight car; braking, weight transfer, steering feel

the ultimate in that is probably a Mclaren 600LT, 765LT or whatever they have now

[Arizona Vipers]

Congrats! I got an Exige but haven't been able to track it yet. These things are FAST on track. There's a 230whp one that is only 2 seconds behind my monster at Chuckwalla.

[13COBRA]

Congrats! I got an Exige but haven't been able to track it yet. These things are FAST on track. There's a 230whp one that is only 2 seconds behind my monster at Chuckwalla.

That doesn't shock me too much...Chuckwalla definitely isn't super friendly to the high horsepower cars.