"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
04/04/2014 at 22:50 • Filed to: CORVETTE
9
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"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
04/04/2014 at 22:50 • Filed to: CORVETTE | 9
| 27 |
Repost for the evening crowd - I can only assume the lack of hatemail means you agree with me
I had an interesting thought: if I wanted an Elise, but couldn't afford one, what sort of car would I want? The obvious answer is MR2, but that's too easy. What if I single out some aspects of the car that I find appealing? Maybe I could find something similar that you wouldn't think of.
*Disclaimer - this is meant to be satirical, kinda. Please don't burn me at the stake*
Well, I did. And the conclusion I came to is the C4 Grand Sport
HOLD ON A SECOND LET ME EXPLAIN! I can feel you foaming at the mouth, ready to jump into the comment section and disbar me from ever posting on Oppo again. This is crazy. What kind of moron would ever compare these two cars?
I'm not a track day enthusiast. Maybe some day I will be, but to me the track readiness of a car is totally unimportant. I like sports cars though, but what does that mean?
I like my car to look sporty. That can take many forms, but no one can argue either of these two aren't sporty. I want to feel like I'm in something sporty. That means sitting low. I've sat in a Tesla Roadster and a C4 Corvette, and both sit very low. I also like being able to have the sun touch my head in my sports car, and both of these have a removeable roof.
See? They aren't THAT different.
What about drivetrain? Well, the Corvette is often mistaken to be a front engined car, but it isn't really. You guys know that; the engine sits behind the front wheels
The Elise is also MR. Of course the engine being behind your head is totally different, but whatever I'm making a point here shut up stop calling me names in your head.
I like my sports cars to be small. The Elise is tiny, surely the Corvette isn't close? You'd be surprised...have you ever been next to a C4? It's a pretty small car, and the dimensions aren't actually THAT far off an Elise
The Corvette has a 6" longer wheel base. Visualize 6 inches - it's not a lot, just ask your girlfriend.
Width? The Corvette is a mere 2.1" narrower. Height? Corvette is only 3" taller, and with the top off it's even closer.
Length? Okay, the Corvette is 29" longer. Whatever, I'll chalk that up to 'murica
Alright, so lets talk weight. That's what I bet all of you that haven't actually read this already posted. 'The Corvette is SO HEAVY, how can you possibly think it's any more similar to the Elise than a dung beetle is similar to a corgi?!'
Yes, the Corvette is a porker. 3300 pounds! You could tow half of an Elise like one of those redneck truck bed trailers behind an elise and STILL not weigh as much as a Corvette!
But what about the oh-so often calculated power-to-weight ratio?
The 2005 Elise had 190 HP. That gives it a smidge over 10 pounds/horsepower (remember, the smaller this number the better, like golf). The Corvette? In GS trim the C4's LT4 put out a gobsmacking-for-1996 330hp. How many pounds/horsepower? Oh, 10. Just like the Elise
In conclusion, America rules, Britain can suck it, the C4 Corvette is basically a fat American Elise you can buy for half the price.
BarryDanger
> Jayhawk Jake
04/04/2014 at 17:32 |
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Creature comforts are probably pretty similar too!
For Sweden
> Jayhawk Jake
04/04/2014 at 17:34 |
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I'm going to enjoy the replies to this.
jariten1781
> Jayhawk Jake
04/04/2014 at 17:36 |
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All that extra length is on the rear deck. Chop that off and you are good to go.
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Jayhawk Jake
> For Sweden
04/04/2014 at 17:37 |
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Jayhawk Jake
> BarryDanger
04/04/2014 at 17:38 |
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Not really, the Corvette has far more. Part of the reason it weights 3300 pounds...
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Jayhawk Jake
> jariten1781
04/04/2014 at 17:39 |
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I think a bunch is in the front clip too. Cut it off, mount the headlights to the wheel wells, boom: Elise.
redlined94
> Jayhawk Jake
04/05/2014 at 00:31 |
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My dad had a 383 stroked 1996 Grand Sport with a 250 shot of nitrous I can personally say that car was a beast as it was the first car I want over a hundred in on a country backroad.
Flavien Vidal
> Jayhawk Jake
04/05/2014 at 02:05 |
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With 190hp, that's one HELL of an Elise that you got there... Actually, that's an S2 "111 R", which is much more than twice the price of an LT4 Corvette. The basic Elise S is 136hp, the normal Elise is less than that... Also the LT4 is in reality more around 360/370hp... The numbers given by Chevrolet were underestimating the actual power (on purpose I guess). So yeah, the Elise and the C4 are pretty far appart and hardly comparable (and yes, an LT1 or LT4 Corvette are also MUCH faster than a normal Elise or than an S and definitly not just on a straight line), the 111R and the SC are probably faster though... But not by much... They are also over 10 years younger... and 3 times more expensive. And I can barely fit in them lol
Axial
> Jayhawk Jake
04/05/2014 at 02:54 |
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And Grand Sports can be found for $12,500.
That said, you don't need a Grand Sport for the LT4, you just need to find a '96 in manual since all manual-equipped 1996 Corvettes also got the LT4 engine...which also usually puts out more than 330 HP.
JR1
> Jayhawk Jake
04/05/2014 at 06:22 |
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You sir are an idiot. The beloved Corvette is in no way as horrible as a Lotus Elise. Toyota made a terrible engine to put in perhaps the worst car of all time. Furthermore I can't fit my golf bag in a Elise!
Roundbadge
> Jayhawk Jake
04/05/2014 at 13:45 |
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I saw a Grand Sport convertible the other day whilst coming home from work. I didn't realize that was a thing. I kept thinking "dude you've got a 'Vette...you don't need to pose. Who but us jalops really know the red fender stripes anyway?" I resolved to look that up when I got home....then promptly forgot.
quarterlifecrisis
> Jayhawk Jake
04/10/2014 at 22:20 |
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I'm late to the party, but I love the C4GS. There are 2 C4s that I would get rid of my C6 for, and a red guts C4GS is one of them. That being said...C4 interiors are horrendous. But still.
James Tingley
> Flavien Vidal
04/10/2014 at 23:26 |
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FEDERAL ELISE, not the Rover cars. 190 hp is the lowest you can get in the U.S. I'd know, I have one. Oh and I'd suggest hitting the gym...
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James Tingley
> Flavien Vidal
04/10/2014 at 23:26 |
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FEDERAL ELISE, not the Rover cars. 190 hp is the lowest you can get in the U.S. I'd know, I have one. Oh and I'd suggest hitting the gym...
Cliff8928
> Jayhawk Jake
04/11/2014 at 03:23 |
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LS1 in a C4. I hope this one started out life with the L98.
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Cliff8928
> Jayhawk Jake
04/11/2014 at 03:27 |
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Does a GS really cost less than the Elise? I would think the low production volume (1000 total) would've kept prices higher..
samssun
> Jayhawk Jake
04/11/2014 at 07:07 |
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A better "these are the same car" post would've been Corvette & 911, and not in the compare-and-contrast sense, but literally just listing their dimensions. The 997 & 991 are actually a couple inches longer than the C6, and for the C7 they're within ~2" in every dimension, plus nearly identical numbers for everything else.
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/20…
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Jayhawk Jake
> Cliff8928
04/11/2014 at 08:23 |
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You can find them in the $20k range if they aren't showroom ready super low mile examples. Elise's are generally in the $30k range.
I only chose the grand sport for this comparison because the posted HP numbers gives it the same pound/hp as the Elise. Non GS C4s are even cheaper and still claimed 300hp, so there's that
drdude
> Jayhawk Jake
04/11/2014 at 08:29 |
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This is an LS1. NOT a LT5. what the hell? that doesnt go in a C4.
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Jayhawk Jake
> drdude
04/11/2014 at 08:51 |
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I'm not enough of an expert to have recognized that. The GS had an LT4
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Flavien Vidal
> James Tingley
04/11/2014 at 08:55 |
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Hitting the gym?? So that I'm not 6"3 anymore? I did not know only the 111R (which is a "federal elise" as you call it) existed in the US, nonetheless, it is not a basic elise not even an S, which are the most common ones everywhere else in the world.
You know, not everything circles around the US and your weird regulations and import laws to protect your automotive industry.
DRFS Rich
> Jayhawk Jake
04/11/2014 at 09:08 |
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That's not completely true. Any '96 with a manual transmission had the 330hp LT4. Not just the GS. The autos only had the 300hp LT1. The GS command a premium over a normal '96 MT car, but the performance should be the same.
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drdude
> Jayhawk Jake
04/11/2014 at 09:32 |
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I mistyped 5 instead of 4... but that doesnt change the fact that the car pictured has a corvette LS1. Judging by the fact the coil packs are on a bracket, I would say its a pullout from a from a 99-04 vette.
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Cliff8928
> DRFS Rich
04/12/2014 at 01:57 |
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The GS coupe should handle a little better with the wider wheels and tires, as well as the larger rear sway bar.
Either way, My C5 wasn't $20K and my size 13 feet fit much better in it than they did in a C4.
MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
> Jayhawk Jake
04/14/2014 at 10:35 |
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Love it.
You can have a lot more fun if you compare the 90's ZR1 though.
Engines built by lotus.
Brian
> drdude
10/29/2014 at 17:01 |
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While you are exactly right (i noticed the same thing), it doesn't really matter, its still in a C4, and all hp quoted are for a C4 LT4 engine.
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Brian
> Jayhawk Jake
10/29/2014 at 17:04 |
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I would up the hate mail and say the Vette is the far superior pick. I picked up my 94 LT1 ZF6 speed for 3k (kid ran it under chain link fence so a bit scratched up). Took it to PIR for a track day and handily beat a Elise super charged. So 1 random Vette beats 1 random Elise, means All Vettes are superior to All Elise's right?