lautll421

i think MB should be band on here as he is a bad influence on the S2K board this will soon be a exige board!!!

Ultra_Nexus

Maybe not, but i'd know it'd be back in the dealer getting fixed 10 mins later

MarkB

I went in a S1 with s S/C Honda conversion yesterday, 315bhp and that was still relatively unstressed.

My n/a car was well under

ge2

How does the S2 drive on track compared to the S1 Mark?

I've only driven S1s on the track and S2s on the road and have got the impression from that and conversations with people that the S1 has the edge in terms of fun.

There's obviously a bit of speculation in there, so what's the truth?

MB

Yup, I got past one of those 211's at Spa - so it's all about the driver.

Mark, I think the beauty of this is all the weight reduction, Ohlins, brakes etc... If you want that sort of thing, and the exclusivity. People will pay it, but not you or I.

I could chuck a few

bigfecker

Thats a

MarkB

Ask a S1 driver, they'll tell you the S1. Ask a S2 driver and they'll tell you S2.

Truth is they're not that different.

The S1 is more nimble. Both my cars have been 190bhp models and the lower weight of the S1 told in terms of accelleration and on the track where it changed direction incredibly well.

The S2 weighs more and it shows a bit on track. However not as much as a lot of people would have you believe. Mine needs a geo. set up done (going in on the 11th Nov) so it wasn't 100% but it felt heavier and back to back with the S1 Elise I passengered in you could feel the difference. The Elise was just a shade quicker to change direction and didn't seem as affected by cornering forces as mine. But at Combe where the circuit is bumpy, the Exige felt more planted than the Elise, so weight isn't always a disadvantage.

So there is a difference, but you can feel the same genes running through both, the S2 was instantly familiar right from the first test drive.

A lot of the ability in an Elise/Exige is locked up in the driver and with all sports GTs smoothness is the key to fast laps, I could lap Combe faster in the standard, heavier car than all the other Lotuses regardless of power in the wet because I know the circuit and water doesn't worry me. In the dry, the 240R was slower but the S/C Honda S1 was quicker than all the Lotuses, leaving me for dead on the long straights. So it's by no means the case that the most powerful S2 Exige is the 'ultimate' Lotus for the track.

There is huge potential locked up in the 111 chassis, whatever series and power output and only a small proportion of drivers ever extract the full potential of their cars, braking into corners especially is an area where most drivers lose out, that much is obvious from the trackdays I've been on.

Which do I prefer?

The S2 is a lot less hassle than the S1 was.
The money I'm spending on it is to improve, rather than to maintain the car. It has it's faults (the wheelarch liner came adrift and is currently tank-taped on) and I'm sure there will be other problems, but it feels and appears to be better built. It's lost a bit of the rawness, and if you really absolutely have to have the ultimate mid engined trackday car, get a S1 Exige and stick a s/c Honda in the back, I guarantee you won't find a quicker car for under

ge2

Cheers, interesting stuff but none of it a big surprise.

I think given the choice of any variant it would be a Honda powered S1 Exige but you just know it's going to be grief.

Hopefully it's a decision I'll have to make one day, I should've bought an Elise when I bought the S and it's an itch that remains to be scratched.