Turn 10 Car of the Week: Lotus Elise and Exige
By J. Mason
Images courtesy of seriouswheels.com
Up until now this column has been a platform for P. Rodriguez and I to wax poetic about all of the cars we love, to share a story or two about life at Turn 10, and get paid for writing overly wordy articles about whatever we damn well please, as long as it’s automotive and contains a modicum of truth. For this week I thought I’d change it up a bit and put the hippy lovefest on pause. I also want to occasionally talk about what’s WRONG with the automotive world, because let’s face it, there’s some wrong stuff going on. Let’s start with the Lotus Elise and its hardtop brother, the Exige.
Now let’s get one thing straight – I love the Elise and Exige. I have no problem whatsoever with the cars themselves. I think they’re beautiful cars that fit a need for enthusiasts who can’t get what they want from other manufacturers. They offer great power in a lightweight package with great balance, track worthy handling, blistering acceleration and fantastic looks. Sounds like a winning package to me, yo. So what’s the problem? Well let’s look at the Lotus lineup.
The Elise was first released in 1996 as a track ready roadster. The Series 1 Elise weighed about 1500 pounds, which isn’t very much at all, so a power peak of 120 horsepower shot it from zero to sixty in about 5.8 seconds. Its handling package was unmatched and it provided huge bang-for-buck to the rabid track fan. Sounds great right? So WHY, OH WHY, did Lotus need to release at least EIGHT versions of the Series 1 in just four years?! If you were in the market for a car between 1996 and 2000, the Elise models you could choose from include:
• Elise Series 1
• Elise 111S
• Elise Sport 135
• Elise Sport 160
• Elise Sport 190
• Elise 50th Anniversary Edition
• Elise Type 49
• Elise Type 72
It's as if they released a new version of the car for every fifteen horsepower they could squeeze out it. That’s like me throwing on a black shirt, slicking back with some Dapper Dan and claiming to be Johnny Cash. You don’t get to change the package and try to convince people that Old is now New. It didn’t work for Vanilla Ice, and it doesn’t work for Lotus.
In the second generation it didn’t get any better, because in 2000 they threw a fixed hardtop onto the Elise and ZANG! The Elise magically became an Exige. What are they DOING TO ME?! Now we have two model lines, Elise and Exige, both with a ridiculous amount of available versions. Between the year 2000 and today there are no fewer than fifteen Elise and Exige models to choose from, including ten models between 170 and 270 horsepower. That averages out to one version for every ten horsepower. In fact, in 2005 Lotus launched the Exige Espionage, complete with pin stripes designed by the world-famous clothier Gieves & Hawkes from the United Kingdom. So in effect they DID change the shirt on the Exige! HA!
OK, OK. Some may say diversity is great because you can pick the exact car you want down to the last detail. Sure, that makes sense and I suppose I can live with the disease if it was just Lotus who was afflicted…but the epidemic is spreading! Lamborghini offers five versions of the Gallardo, and just announced the sixth, the LP560-4. Porsche offers at least 15 versions of the new 911. In 2007 Mercedes Benz had no fewer than fourteen cars, in the C Class ALONE.
Maybe it’s me and I like my life simple. I like black coffee; I do not like Ristretto Venti Nonfat Organic Chocolate Brownie Frappuccinos, Extra Hot with Foam and Whipped Cream Upside Down Double Blended. No joke, that’s a REAL DRINK. I like jeans that fit; I don’t need button-fly boot-cut acid-wash cargo-pocket jeans with little embroidered lions on the butt. I wear Converse All-Stars, the old ones made from canvas that used to be good enough for the NBA. So why can’t I get a single no-nonsense car with a great engine, well thought-out interior and hot styling, without having an even better version appear three weeks later?
Note – as of this writing Lotus has announced yet another version of their Exige, the Lotus Exige 270E, which apparently will run on methanol, gasoline or ethanol. Seriously, I now have three fuel choices? Make it stop!
J.Mason has it, and doesn’t need it. He has more of it, and doesn’t need less of it. He could share it, stockpile it, but certainly doesn’t fake it.