Goodbye Elise but First a Recap

"whatisthatsound" (whatisthatsound) 01/23/2015 at 08:55 • Filed to: None

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Back in September, I posted about purchasing a 2009 Elise SC. It is time for me to part ways with the 2,000lb 217 hp supercharged machine sitting in my garage. Here is my thoughts of owning an Elise. I was so excited when I first brought it home. This was going to be my first car without the words potential attached, it had racing pedigree along with performance numbers to back it up. The Elise earned a reputation amongst track enthusiasts as a balanced race car you can drive on the street. The car was designed from the ground up for the track, but driving it to and from was just as much fun. It's supercharged inline four screaming amongst country roads in Alabama without any hesitation was a thrill. I do have one major issue with this track claim, an issue not discussed in a single review I read until I dove deeper into the lotus forums. I will discuss that later.

I owned the Elise for five months and put 2,000 miles on it driving errands, autox, and 1+ hour drives. I learned quickly this car can get you up to speed and north of 100 without much effort or driver inputs needed. You sank your foot to the floor, and you held the steering wheel straight. The engine sounded as well as a four cylinder could sitting directly behind your head, but the addition of a small supercharged coupled with the cam changeover nearing 6,000RPMs added the umph to match the piercing sound. Surrounded by corollas and accords the exhaust note stuck out. When I was at a stoplight next to a big HP, LS engined, tire burning car, the exhaust simply disappeared. It wasn't built to be the loudest car, I understood it would never sound like an RS-200 flying past you in the woods. I was okay with that but...

This particular Elise was built with a Stage 2 SC exhaust and touring pack including sound deadening. I will never understand the thought process behind putting an extra twelve pounds of material to protect against the noise of an upgraded exhaust at 7,000 RPMs. This is like putting a tissue over an elephants trunk before it sneezes on you—nice idea very poorly thought out. At highway speeds if you wanted to talk with your passenger, you sped up to 100mph flew by the nearest policeman and conversed in handcuffs while he was impounding your vehicle. This car had the loudest drone I've ever experienced.

Looking past the exhaust note to the exterior. Walking out of a store I see a tiny blue match box car coming up to my hip at its highest point. When I take it to car meets people ask questions about performance and want to see what a race car interior looks like, at stop lights people stare trying to figure out if I'm going to get run over by the semi next to me, and when my dad is in the car they all mention to him how nice the car is but they wouldn't let their son drive it if they owned it. The problem with the exterior is how busy it is. This car looks a lot more expensive than it is, and people think I am very rich. I am not. Unless I park it next to a $100,000+ exotic, or a car that showed some restraint during design—an NSX or it's older sister the Esprit. You then see the Elise is a watercolor painting of swirls and loops with an engine in the middle, and the Esprit is a sculpted defined body that looks amazing. Even more frustrating is the design of the Lotus is practical, every opening, curve, intake is active. If the styling looks off to your personal taste, but you love with how it drives, you cannot make it look more practical because body kits only exaggerate how insane the exterior already is. You need the ducts and openings to get the max performance out of the car. The Elise is constantly shouting for attention from 9am runs to get milk, to 11pm runs to the emergency room. It will never be subtle in anything it does.

The interior, it has one. Leather trim option consists of leather PROBAX fiberglass seats(think karting seat) I actually enjoyed them, leather boot shifter and emergency brake. It had a radio, AC, heat, a steering wheel, and the passenger seat can not be adjusted. That is all.

The performance and handling of this car is where it shines brighter than anything in its class. It is a focused track toy, it has snap oversteer, it loves to spin if you show any hint of being timid while turning into a corner, but it will reward a good driver just as well as a trained labrador successfully coming back with duck in the marsh. The more time I spent time learning the car, the more impressed I was. The Elise is a rich man's toy though. The reason this car was recently sold is for one simple reason. I can't afford to do all the activities I want to do with this car. I want to race it, and the car wants to race. My intention after purchasing was to begin wheel to wheel racing. I started to read the blogs, and the general consensus is unless you know how to repair fiberglass you will be paying more per year in repairs than the car is worth. I read from multiple sources who have dedicated track cars the year can average $40k. They go on to recommend buying a miata and racing wheel to wheel in that since you can't destroy any clams in a miata. I continued on and read about cracked clams during autox as well. The forums dissuaded me from ever taking a purpose built track car to the track because of how expensive fiberglass and aluminum subframes are. I should have done better research, but knowing what I know now I'm going to need much more money to use this car how its longing to be used.

I was stuck. I bought a race car in the same class as my dream car, and I couldn't race. As much as I attempted to DD this car, I found myself in the Golf 'R more often than not. The Lotus is hard to get in and out of, can only hold 50lbs of cargo in the trunk before cracking the fiberglass clam, it gets hot, and it is to loud to talk in. Did I mention that driving this in the rain is excruciatingly slow. I'm sure someone can DD this car, but that someone is not me.

If I ever get rich enough to race a Lotus I will be buying an Exige( in SCCA classing the Elise SC is thrown into the Exige class, because it doesn't fit anywhere else) but for now this amazing track toy will be sent off to California to someone who may just love it more than I will. For the future, I'm driving to New Orleans today to pick up a new car. If everything goes well I'll put up some teaser pics this afternoon. If you have an specific questions and the answers can't be found on the Lotus forums, which I doubt as those owners have a plethora of knowledge, I'll answer anything just post it below. So long Elise, it has been a blast.

Rainbow > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:09

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What sort of fuel economy did you get? I can look up the official numbers, but I'm more interested in seeing real-world results if you ever tried to measure it.

Also, did you often find yourself being followed by the cops? I'd imagine these are magnets for the black-and-white.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:15

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This brings a lot of light to the Elise. I've considered one for quite some time but you bring up a lot of good points about the trials and tribulations behind DD'ing one. When does practicality outweigh the awesomeness of having an obscure and unique car?

whatisthatsound > Rainbow 01/23/2015 at 09:20

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Around town probably 6-18mpgs. On the highway I think I've gotten 26-27. There isn't any cruise control so you're jockeying the throttle which wastes gas. I haven't been pulled over in it. Cops around here are more interested in tuner cars/younger drives. My experience is the more expensive the car looks the older and more responsible they think you are. I'll let you know about my next car that because that might change.

whatisthatsound > nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul 01/23/2015 at 09:21

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I really enjoyed the car, if I had the funds to race it I would love the car. It was too expensive and in the end made me wonder why I was holding on to it as I don't planning on getting rich within the next few years. Plus having a dealership 5+ hours away was frustrating.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:25

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Either you're not very persuasive or I'm very stubborn and dense, but I still think I'd like to DD an Elise. My Miata is still a tad too practical.

whatisthatsound > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/23/2015 at 09:28

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That is how I felt with my s2000 prior to this. Let me be clear if I could track this car, than DD'ing it would be no issue because I could just calmly drive from place to place. When I know what the car can do from autox, but I can't race it. I got frustrated since I'll never be able to open the car up how I wanted too. If you get an Elise you will enjoy it, but it may start to get to you unless you keep the miata and race that instead, or if racing isn't that big of a draw to you. Then everything I said is just some bull****.

roflcopter > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:33

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When I saw the main image I thought it looked like your car... then I read it was an SC and thought the chances were good. Then I clicked into the article and saw your car sitting next to mine!

Small world man... didn't know you were on here, or someone that actually posted a bit. If you want to go give it a last good thrashing, I'm sure we could have some fun!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:41

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http://oppositeblog.kinja.com/

Great, honest review. Thanks for writing it. I love the idea of owning an Elise one day, but it's good to know the downsides and compromises you have to make to have one.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:44

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If only that rule applied to all of the GT-Rs around me. :p

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:45

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Would you happily own another S2000? AP1 or AP2?

whatisthatsound > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/23/2015 at 09:47

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AP2 and yes but I'm trying not to repeat cars until I'm older and can build a stable

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 09:49

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On further reflection, I'm seeing your point better. As wimpy as my 115 BHP stock powerplant is, I get opportunities a few times a day to drive at 8 tenths on public roads without being a nuisance or hazard.

jariten1781 > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:03

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Thanks for the write-up. Kind of validates me passing on one a few years ago.

Came up for sale and my co-worker and I (both DD Miatas at the time; mine a supercharged NA, him a Mazdaspeed) both went to look at it figuring it couldn't be that much worse to DD and it would be so much better when having fun. I only drove about 5 mins on the test drive before I was all like: nope, won't work. He ended up buying it and after a couple weeks started DDing his winter beater Geo Tracker as often as the Lotus. Sold after less than six months.

Awesome car though...if only I had unlimited dollars.

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username 01/23/2015 at 10:05

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That is why I like small, low HP cars for daily driving. Hooning can be done on the down low at almost any time. And at reasonable speeds.

FrederickLawOlmsteez > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:05

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I participate in track days with a group of Lotus owners. And I've been lucky enough to ride shotgun during a few sessions. These cars are IN-CREDIBLE on track! Everyone of them get trailored in though. During one session an Elise ended up backwards in a tire barrier from a little snap oversteer. When we drove by the scene I mentioned that it only looked like he needed a new bumper cover. My instructor laughed and said the rear is all one piece and it costs in upwards of $10k. YIKES!

I guess the seam at the bumper line is cosmetic!

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:06

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Just noticed the pooch! My dog would have loved to be in the passenger seat of that!

FrederickLawOlmsteez > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:06

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These seams are apparently fake.

FromCanadaWithLove > FrederickLawOlmsteez 01/23/2015 at 10:21

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That's nuts. Why would they put the lines in?

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:21

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Hey! Just wondering if you received anything in the mail from someone you don't know, tracking says out for delivery for a few days now.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:24

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I've got the first for my stable - E90 M3. Hope she lasts for the long haul. Also recently bought an old Pathfinder for winter/camping/dogs/etc. Looking forward to adding something lighter, lower, and raw-er next. (with three little kids, it may be a while - ha!)

signintoburnerlol > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:26

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This car costs $40k a year to race because you'll have to keep replacing body panels?

Are all the current Lotus like that? Evora and Exige too?

BeaterGT > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:33

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Can't wait to own one. Either when I move to somewhere it is warm all the time or I'm going to own it from April to October and then offload it. They hold their value extremely well from what I have seen. What did you buy/sell for? And give us a teaser of the new car!

DrScientist > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 10:34

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was there a lot of interest in the car when you started the selling process?

what was the insurance like? i know this is completely specific to the driver, so maybe compared to other cars you currently have.

whatisthatsound > signintoburnerlol 01/23/2015 at 11:13

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Yeah, and sometimes the engines go but they are relatively inexpensive. If you know bodywork with fiberglass and don't have any issues pulling the clams on and off they aren't too bad, but I didn't have that experience and this Lotus was sold under Excellent condition so I wasn't about to learn. I'm not sure how the evora is but the exige is the same as the elise.

whatisthatsound > DrScientist 01/23/2015 at 11:15

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I sold it within two hours of listing and I actually made a good amount of money on the car. I bought it as a steal and sold it for probably 2 grand less than I could if I waited for the buyer to come around. My dream car just came up for sale so I needed to get the process moving quickly. Within 24 hours I had a deposit on the car from a buyer , buying it sight unseen and shipping it to Cali.

whatisthatsound > BeaterGT 01/23/2015 at 11:17

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All I can tell you is that it is my dream car. I'm headed to pick up a rental car and drive 4.5 hours to get it. Also I bought the Elise SC for 34,500 had some trade-ins and financed 28k. I sold it for 38k. The dealer I bought it from got it the day before and had no idea what to do with it so they wanted it gone. One of those right place right times. Probably why I didn't realize how expensive they were to get on the track because I did pricing research at the dealership realized the potential and knew they had the engine and transmission out of a celica gts, so all I thought about was the mechanics. The mechanics aren't what make this car expensive. The clams and frame are.

FrederickLawOlmsteez > FromCanadaWithLove 01/23/2015 at 11:18

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To help prevent you from standing in Lotus store and realize, "Woah, if I crack the bumper cover, I have to replace the entire rear of the car!"

whatisthatsound > DrScientist 01/23/2015 at 11:20

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Insurance ran me about 130$ a month I believe.

whatisthatsound > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/23/2015 at 11:20

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I'm really hoping that my next car will be everything I've always wanted and the beginning of my collection.

BeaterGT > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 11:26

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Yea if I were to track one, I'd buy with a rebuilt title as they a fraction cheaper. Good luck with your purchase!

DrScientist > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 11:56

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thanks for the info. i imagine 6 months might be a good test drive with one of these cars, but i have this problem where i get attached.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 12:02

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You're such a tease, man...

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 13:24

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ROFLcoptor.

whatisthatsound > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/23/2015 at 13:54

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If everything works out you'll know tonight and trust me it is worth it.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > whatisthatsound 01/23/2015 at 15:34

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Hope it all goes smoothly!

whatisthatsound > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/24/2015 at 09:56

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You should go check out what I just posted.

whatisthatsound > roflcopter 01/24/2015 at 09:58

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You should go see what I'm bringing on the 31st.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > whatisthatsound 01/24/2015 at 12:18

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Oh hell yes.

roflcopter > whatisthatsound 01/24/2015 at 12:47

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I don't think I'm going to make it over there... I have things that need fixing on the RX8 before it is drivable again and I'm planning on spending the weekend after up in Alabama, money sucks.