Nice siting!!!!

DP944 · 06-10-2005, 10:38 PM

I was driving home from the beach today and I see a little red lotus elan convertible. Naturally, I like the car because it looks fast and light. So anyways, my friend drives a 2004 jetta GLI VR6 and we kind of pull up next to him and hop on the throttle a little bit. At this point, I would have killed to have the 944. But anyways, after doing 95 next to the guy for about five minutes we drive past a mint condition 968 cabriolet. I knew something good was going to happen when they got next to eachother. We decided we would pull into another lane and get out of their way. So they both slow down, probably 3rd gear and both cars just take off... We kept up but I couldnt really get a good look at who won. One of the best things Ive seen on public highways in a while though. Just thought I'd share. Anyone know which one is faster? acceleration? top speed?

vs

AaronM · 06-10-2005, 10:44 PM

Elan is cute, but the 968 shouldn't have had any trouble at all putting it away. IIRC the Elan is even FWD.

Aaron

onewhippedpuppy · 06-11-2005, 05:28 AM

FWD?! Colin Chapman is a true sports car purist, I don't believe he'd allow it! Elan is RWD, I don't know of a Lotus that's a front driver.

ronniebaldino · 06-11-2005, 07:14 AM

Elan is DEFINETLY fwd. Also touted as the best handling fwd made. Hell, it even has an Izuzu motor. Only Lotus could put that all together and end up with something impressive.

AaronM · 06-11-2005, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
FWD?! Colin Chapman is a true sports car purist, I don't believe he'd allow it! Elan is RWD, I don't know of a Lotus that's a front driver.

The 1960's Elan is RWD.

The newer Elan is FWD. Note the engine orientation in the following picture:

Aaron

bigyagi · bigyagi's Garage

yes they truly are nice cars! one of my friends back in scotland, had an older model elan, the 130s, or was it an "m". really went like the clappers, but around town, at lower revs, the plugs would foul up a little, and he would have to open it up, to keep the engine breathing . i would put its handling in the same class as my "84" 944. btw, the lotus was a 1980 model. ha ha, just remembered, he had the same problems with his "pop-up" headlights like most of us do with our cars.
bob.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-11-2005, 05:32 PM

Totally my bad, I was thinking of the old ones. I didn't realize they changed it around later, still shocks me though, FWD seems very anti-Lotus.

Taz's Master · 06-11-2005, 06:43 PM

Funny, I remember a sports car comparison Car and Driver did, and they threw the FWD Elan in the mix because Porsche couldn't get them a 968 in time. They indicated that the Elan was in over its head with the competition, but the 968 would have been more comparable to the other cars.

strath44 · strath44's Garage

remember the 944 are womens cars thread?

well I'm wanting to move on from my 84 NA after the summer and want an S2 but I'm having difficulty getting a nice one in my price bracket (In the uk they are either rough with the rust starting to bubble the sills or minted and over priced there isn't much mid ground although a few have come up recently!) Anyho have seen a few Elans and have been in a nice one. They are bigger than they look but still think they are quite girlie not like a 968 (which is way out my budget) or a 944. A bit like the 924/944 was vw/audi parts bin I think the Elan has a few rover or similar parts interior wise as a result build seemed a bit rattley. Anyway looked like it handled very well and didn't hang about!