You don't happen to think that the Lotus' actually compete with the big boys do you? They can surely handle great, but with all the downforce they used to get the handling they suffer from a major speed disadvantage. The top speed is a mere 150mph, which can be exceeded by faster cars thus nulifying the 3-4mph edge that the Exige MAY have had through the turns. The only time this won't happen is on tighter courses, which are few and far between in the U.S.

For the same money you could get a Z06 or a 996. I'd save some cash, blow by the Lotus race car, and then drive home without changing anything other than maybe tires. At that price range you're also looking at Noble M12 territory, which starts at $70k, weighs a mere 100lbs more and has 70 more hp and a much broader powerband; it's also street legal. I'm sorry but in terms of performance value the Exige 240R is not anywhere on my list. Now the $/fun unit may be a different situation, but $/performance is simply not there.

 

I believe that it's 150 mph with 190hp. With 250 hp it will probably be higher.

 

Racing parts and high performance parts? Not the way that they're available for Porsches, Vettes, and some of the other more common and popular racecars. That includes brakes (rotors, pads, and calipers), better cooling system, aerodynamic upgrades, engine upgrades, and suspension upgrades. The Lotus is using only Toyota powertrain and even that is tweaked. The rest of the car is not Toyota.

Toyota isn't a roadracing powerhouse with near-stock vehicles. In Japan they're popular but not here in the USA, so racing parts aren't nearly as available as the others.

 

The Lotus Cup Car (240R) has a top speed of over 160...remember, it's not 190 horsepower it's 240. Additionally, MSRP is 79k.

 

There are suspension mods, but why would anyone want to ruin the suspension? There are plenty of brake pads out there. The cooling system works briliantly as it is. Engine upgrades don't do a damn due to the ECU if you leave it stock...but there's currently 5 or so supercharger/turbocharger alternatives (more than the S2k I believe)

Honestly...leave a good thing alone.

 

Everything that I can read about the 240hp version says that the top speed is still 155mph. My guess would be that with the extra power they added even more downforce.

 

I'm not talking just talking mods, I'm talking replacement parts as well.

In case you didn't notice, there isn't a Lotus dealership in every city...but you always get a Chevy dealership, for instance. Service is easy and parts are readily available. Not many Toyota dealerships are going to want to crack open the engine bay on a Lotus race car and risk (at the least) breaking or bending something cosmetic that will cost them more than the service they're performing. It's a huge liability.

A Lotus RACE car is going to a) break more often, b) require service more often, c) require parts more often, and d) potentially require more modifications than the street car on which it is based.

Most people like to try different things on their race cars - "factory" settings and hardware (at this price) are not necessarily the best nor the most cost effective.

Your idea of brilliance compared to the people that actually own and drive them may be completely different. The S2000 brakes are "brilliant" until you run them on a high speed track time after time. Racing brings out the worst in cars and this car isn't exactly brimming with aftermarket RACING support.

Just because you think the car is perfect (as is) does not mean the REAL owners will concur. For myself, I have only raced a Porsche (road and ice) and an RX-7 (ice) and everything that can break does break. We changed so many stupid parts on those cars it wasn't funny - half of them were bastardized or upgraded for better performance and reliability.

Until you regularly own and race a dedicated track machine, you will never realize how much you can and will want to change, regardless of how "perfect" the car is. That's the point - the endless pursuit of (elusive) perfection. What if the suspension is perfect but fails quickly (have to rebuild the shock internals)? Why wouldn't you want to change it out for a cheaper set or a more reliable set (if they offer similar performance)? Ever think of that? Cost tempers "need" for most people....

 

That much downforce (enough to make 1900 lbs x 250HP = only 155MPH top speed) means it will be much, much faster in the corners than 99% of high-end street cars. I'm sure that thing would be phenomenal.

 

You have to remember that downforce on cars like this isn't THAT significant below 60-80mph. So, this car is only going to stick significantly better on high speed corners. At low speeds, cars with more rubber may very well corner just as well (in terms of actual grip) even though they won't be as nimble or agile.

 

[QUOTE=JonBoy,Feb 13 2007, 07:46 AM]Until you regularly own and race a dedicated track machine, you will never realize how much you can and will want to change, regardless of how "perfect" the car is.