Car And Driver: Lotus Elise and Exige Dead in U.S.

Mr. Nice

Mr. Nice

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Lotus Elise and Exige Dead in U.S. This Summer, Leaving Only Evora Until Reinforcements Arrive

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Because Toyota has stopped making the 2ZZ-GE four-cylinder engines that power them, U.S. versions of the Lotus Elise and Exige as we know them will cease production this summer. We?re also told the cars don?t meet new, stricter stability-control regulations, but the lack of engines seems like a pretty solid death blow?re-engineering the cars for new ones wouldn?t be cheap and, despite what CEO Dany Bahar says, Lotus doesn?t have money to burn. (Unless it?s on C-list celebrities.) The company will continue to build and sell models with the smaller, 1.6-liter 1ZR-FAE engine elsewhere.

Lotus?s grand plan calls for several new models in 2014 (Elan, Elite, Esprit), followed by a new Elise coupe for 2015. Reality, however, may call for something else entirely.

Either way, as of July, the only Lotus model in production will be the Evora. The larger 2+2 is sprouting derivatives, including a higher-power S model and an automatic-equipped version. If you?re a fan of the two-seat, unassisted-steering Lotii, now?s a good time to start stockpiling. Lotus plans three ?Final Edition? models to close out the cars? U.S. runs.
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Full Article
 
I'm sure it is, but compared to an Elise, I doubt it, which was the point of my reply: as an Elise replacement, which is what he was implying, the Tesla has different enough priorities that it's not comparable.
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Until you've been for a ride in a Tesla, do not assume it can only go in a straight line, I can assure you it is very capable.
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No one said it's not but its noticeably heavier than the Elise/Exige and the TG test of the Tesla showed pretty graphically what difference that weight makes.
 
LeVeL said:
Cant they just stick an F20 or F22 from the S2000 in there? Oh wait, that's dead too :(
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Also not FWD, the motor worked well because it was an FWD motor they'd have to do some mods to the F20/22
 
They could just put in the K24 and six-speed from the Euro Accord/TSX. Oh well, too late now.
 
prizrak said:
Also not FWD, the motor worked well because it was an FWD motor they'd have to do some mods to the F20/22
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The Ford 4.6 was offered in a transverse package... :whistle:
 
:'( Those Lotuses come with adequate stability control, dammit. It's the knob in the driver's seat.
 
Stability control regulations, how does that work then?

Lotus build some of the most stable cars in the world - low centre of gravity, light body all the weight in the engine and running gear. Are these designed for 4 x 4s by any chance.

Or...

Someone say pork?
 
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:cry:
 
Cobol74 said:
Stability control regulations, how does that work then?
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Every.car.must.have.stability.control.

Coming soon: Manditory rear view cameras, screens in the dash.

Notice all my cars are from the 1990s? Its gonna stay that way until i die.
 
All Yupe cars should have a limiter to 155 mph - yea that has happened. ...

What has been turned on can be turned off.

Still, two more cool cars the US does not import then.
 
Do the Euro versions use a different engine? Can we have those, plz? Thanks.

Sell it as a kit car if you have to.
 
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