Elise vs. Exige
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Originally Posted by RamVA,Sep 14 2006, 11:18 PM
Finally, I believe Lotus approached Toyota, not Yamaha. For one, that's the story,
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http://www.caranddriver.com/previews/7371/...otus-elise.html
"The Elise was designed around the 1.8-liter Rover K-series engine found in the mid-engined MGF sports car, a good choice in 1996 but now getting on in years. Rover has never certified that engine for the U.S., and Lotus judged that a federal emissions program would be too expensive to undertake alone. It looked around for suitable alternatives, engines that were already in use in the U.S. Roger Becker, a veteran development engineer who started at Lotus under Colin Chapman, the company's founder, has been leading the U.S.-certification project. He picked up an old relationship with Toyota (which for three years in the 1980s owned 21 percent of Lotus) and secured a deal to use the 1.8-liter VVTL-i (variable valve timing and lift) engine from the Celica GT-S and its accompanying C64 six-speed gearbox."
Certainly not any kind of proof, though I've seen similar stories elsewhere.
While Yamaha makes the 2ZZ it is chiefly a Toyota design. Yamaha is responsible for the head. Add to that they're also buying the gearbox and that they're now buying the (Toyota-built) 1ZZ. To be honest I doubt that Yamaha would be able to sell the 2ZZ to anyone with Toyota's OK.
I doubt that it matters one way or another, but that's the story that I believe. FWIW I'm no big fan of Toyotas, nor of this lump.
"The Elise was designed around the 1.8-liter Rover K-series engine found in the mid-engined MGF sports car, a good choice in 1996 but now getting on in years. Rover has never certified that engine for the U.S., and Lotus judged that a federal emissions program would be too expensive to undertake alone. It looked around for suitable alternatives, engines that were already in use in the U.S. Roger Becker, a veteran development engineer who started at Lotus under Colin Chapman, the company's founder, has been leading the U.S.-certification project. He picked up an old relationship with Toyota (which for three years in the 1980s owned 21 percent of Lotus) and secured a deal to use the 1.8-liter VVTL-i (variable valve timing and lift) engine from the Celica GT-S and its accompanying C64 six-speed gearbox."
Certainly not any kind of proof, though I've seen similar stories elsewhere.
While Yamaha makes the 2ZZ it is chiefly a Toyota design. Yamaha is responsible for the head. Add to that they're also buying the gearbox and that they're now buying the (Toyota-built) 1ZZ. To be honest I doubt that Yamaha would be able to sell the 2ZZ to anyone with Toyota's OK.
I doubt that it matters one way or another, but that's the story that I believe. FWIW I'm no big fan of Toyotas, nor of this lump.
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From: Easton
Originally Posted by RamVA,Sep 15 2006, 06:18 AM
When Honda was trying to break into F1 in the 60's they approached Lotus (Colin Chapman) about building the chassis. Lotus expressed interest, and they essentially completed the work for the car. As it turned out Chapman was just using Honda for leverage in their negotiations with Coventry Climax, and left Honda in the lurch. Soichiro was pissed. It's been a long time, but Lotus fans speculate that there's still bad blood.
nice history lesson
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From: San Francisco
Originally Posted by curiouz_G,Sep 12 2006, 04:13 PM
the mirror is for a mental effect kind of. all you see if a big black void behind you, therefore it makes you think your going to get swallowed by a endless void. So your only option is to go faster.
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From: SoCal
Originally Posted by RamVA,Sep 14 2006, 10:18 PM
When Honda was trying to break into F1 in the 60's they approached Lotus (Colin Chapman) about building the chassis. Lotus expressed interest, and they essentially completed the work for the car. As it turned out Chapman was just using Honda for leverage in their negotiations with Coventry Climax, and left Honda in the lurch. Soichiro was pissed. It's been a long time, but Lotus fans speculate that there's still bad blood.
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