Does anyone know when this srangely badged Lotus becomes available.

I believe that it was supposed to be last November but as yet I haven't seen one on the road or for sale.

I fancy one as a weekend/track car to complement the Scoob as I think the scoob will be a bit heavy on tyres, brakes and bank balance when taken on track.

Any comments?.
Phil.

 

They are PAP

E-mail me offline if you need info

Ron

 

I believe the first few were delivered early/mid December for those customers who placed their order as soon as the car was announced. I ordered one in September and was told to expect the car April/May 2001. I'd guess you'd be looking at October if you ordered now... Having said that, I'm pretty sure they've only sold about 400 of the first 1000 so it might be sooner.

There's only 50 dealers in the UK supplying them and they should all have their demonstrators by now although they weren't giving any test drives unless you put down £1000 against a car. Bit pointless because you can just cancel it and get the money back but there you go...

 

I have seen one on the road ( early November )

It looked very nice especially as I recognised it from the under / over double exhausts.

Sort of tangerine / orange colour.

Must have been running it in because he was being very sedate.

 

Dont get one, the new model Elise is going to make an appearance soon, meaning a slight lowering of the current Elise's prices. Get one of those instead!!
Dont buy a Vauxhall, doesnt matter what involvement Lotus had, its not a Lotus, and you have to go to a Vauxhall dealership to purchase/service the car. Now thats embarissing and risky in itself, but then when people ask you what you drive, they'll hear "Vauxhall blah blah blah", cause after Vauxhall, any car enthusiast switches off, and dont tell me their image is changing, they deserve the rep they have.
Now, here's an alternative. A early nineties Lotus Esprit, a true Supercar, high insurance, sure, but prices of the 2.0 and 2.2 Turbo's have dropped to around £14000 - 25000, and they are recognisable Supercars. If you want open top, get an S2000 (damn fast) or Elise, but please, dont buy a Vauxhall.
But honestly, try a S2k, they are amazing cars, but I would still put an Elise at the top of my list.

 

[sarcasm]

now that'll make passing 'proper' cars on the track that much more enjoyable for me next year..

I could of sworn I was a car enthusiast - but I've got not one but two Vauxhalls! - oh well I guess I must be in error in the face of such enlightened critisism

[/sarcasm]

 

I have no idea how good or bad the car actually is but I passed one last week in a local VH dealer, bright yellow, sparkly, and it looked amazing. Best looking car Vauxhall have produced in years/ever? lets face it, a smoking turd would look better than their recent attempts.

 

15 years ago, if Subaru, "The Farmer's friend", had announced a high-performance car, would people have laughed?

Volvo? Audi? Both manufacturers who have completely changed their image by introducing credible high-performance cars into their range.

If Vauxhall-Opel can continue the momentum they've started with the VX-220, then we might see the new Sierra Cosworth in about ten years time.

Anyway, what about those GrannyWagon Hondas? I mean, no-one would buy a performance car if it had a badge that shouted blue-rinse, bobble-hatted, pipe-smoker... but I've said too much...

 

GP, its good that you can admit to your car buying errors, and as for Vauxhall producing the next Cosworth, the Vauxhall brand has done [sarcasm] so well that they are getting rid of the name entirely [sarcasm].
Which Vauxhalls do you have?
Listen, you made your choice, and its cool, I will try to tone down my comments, cause I dont want to offend, especially as I dont know which Vauxhalls I'd be up against if we did ever meet on a track.
As for Grannywagon Honda's, they are actually the most succesful manufacturer in F1 since the sport began, even ousting Ferrari, and currently hold the title for World Superbikes and USA Cart Championships, with more wins than any other team in Cart history,and the NSX is recognised as one of the finest Supercars available. Also, an S2000 is quicker than an Elise, Oh, and much quicker than a VX220.
Honda's old mans car is an image that endures, but also one that leads to more than a few surprised motorists who decide that having the most succesful involvement in motorsport to date hasnt gone into Honda cars, when actually it has.
Just look at the great cars Subaru and Mitsubishi can build thanks to their involvement in motorsport.

 

VX220 is pretty good but I'd buy the new Elise as it will hold it's value better and does after all have a Lotus badge.

Alternativly if track is a strong focus why not get a Caterham. Especially as you can have them built / or modified to suit you......

 

In Gps' defence his cars *are* impressive. The same ( if not more ) power as a UK Turbo and torque not too far behind out of a NA engine thats over 10 years old aint bad. Your forgetting that the XE engine was one of the best mass produced 16v engines and back then gave everyone something to aim for.
Mike Warners car ( similar to Gps ) runs a mid 14sec qtr, not bad for an old Astra eh ?
And its still driveable as an everyday car...

Oh and they sound gorgeous running Throttle Bodies

 

You do realise that they've also become practically obsolete. Vauxhall are working on a replacement for it .... they just wanted a sports car to fill the gap to keep their credibility in this sector going.

 

IntegraR.. I'll forgive that low blow, as it shows I made my point , plus you seem to realise you were a bit harsh, so peace..

As you asked, my 11yr old 'car buying error' is not the car it was (mk2 16v astra) - literally, and would (honestly without any bias) stand a very good chance of losing an Integra or (blasphemy!) Scoob round all but the tightest (dry! ) tracks.

(any wit who points out I've missed the word 'against', don't bother - way ahead of you )

ps cheers Sparks!

 

Its cool, so you've obvuously done a lot of work to the Astra, are you thinking of replacing it with the VX220?
I know the Astra has a lot of tuning potential, especially the early ones, so I wont doubt the potential of it against my Teg.
I do still think the Teg would run it though, as the Teg is known to beat Scoobies on a track, its sort of its home town.
There are a lot of very tuned cars out there now, it gets more and more difficult to know which challenges to take up when you're on the street, as who knows whats under the bonnet.

 

I crawled all over the Vauxhall at the motorshow and was not too impressed. The design is stunning, but the interior is like being inside a cheap sailing dingy, its horrid and tinny.

I would go for a Z3 or Audi TT for the build quality.

 

Elise has no ABS - wet weekend (Common) would require a very large gap to be left to the car in front!.

S3 and TT feel wooden and uninvolving.

Rebecca, joined in Nov and already 574 posts - Seems like the Phone and the internet have a similar attraction for the female persuasion (Joke!!!).

Phil.

 

Rebecca's right, these things are riding off the fame of the Elise, and arent even a long term model.
Look at the Lotus involvement that went into the Astra's handling, yet it still handles like a pig cornering on an ice rink (yes, I did have one (not a pig, an Astra!)), and apart from that, would you want to spend your money on a brand that is desperate to get rid of its name due to poor public perception?
In the 2 seater convertable market, I think Lotus have just about nailed it perfectly with the Elise.
2nd the S2000, 3rd, perhaps the Audi TT, but for ABS and all the bits and bobs, the S2000 would top the list.
Dont want to go near the Z3, they're pants, even BMW will tell you that (speak to a cool salesman, they'll tell you what the Z3 is based on).

 

IntegraR

Must disagree. Latest generation Astras are incredibly competent and well made cars. Bland, yes, but they drive and handle very well and light years ahead of older generation cars. I know, cos we've got one (and an estate, at that!) Much better to drive than equivelant offerings from many competitors.

Have had the fortune to drive an Integra type R and to be fair, you are spoiled, as that was possibly the best handling front driver I've ever had a go in.

Hate to say it, but for most people (even *enthusiasts*) the VX220 may be the better choice over the elise for day to day use. It will probably have less niggling faults than the elise, thats for sure.

Agreed though, if it was my money S2000 it would be, although without ANY doubt a well sorted Westfield or Caterham would stuff any of them on the track assuming the drivers were of equal ability. In fact the aforementioned would stuff almost any road car period.

D

 

Possibly heading for muppetdom, but would you really want a car associated with Griff Rhys Jones' Y-fronts????

Airmiles (v. bored at work today but not as bored as Rebecca!)

 

Diablo, the Astra I drove was a 1.4 LS, which probably hasn't benefitted as much from the Lotus tweaks as the sportier models, so my assesment may be a little off.
It is also a case of all things being relative, so with the Teg, I guess I have come to judge other cars from that perspective.
I have not known them to be good handling cars, I owned the earlier model 1,4GLS, and when it came time to change, I tried out a newer one, before settling on a Honda Civic. The Civ just felt safer cornering at speed, the Astra didnt want to let on when it was about to let go, and although Im sure I was no where near its limits, I didnt get the confidence from it to push it.
I get the feeling my "enthusiasts" comment will continue to haunt me, but its true, for the most part.
Vauxhall just dont have the reputation that envokes images of performance or breeding, and that sort of thing is actually very important for buyers of a car of this sort, because Vauxhall are selling the VX220 as an enthusiasts car, in a very niche market (2 seater performance convertables), and I think enthusiasts may be a little put off, a badge is important at the loacal golf club on Sunday, and the Lotus carries the credibility necessary to appeal, while the S2000 simply blows anything else off the road. Vauxhall will battle to shrug off the rep that they have.
This isnt to say that Vauxhall dont deserve credit for the car, but what it means is that in this particular market sector, a badge is nearly as important as what its stuck to.

 

IntegraR,

I used to own a 1990 Civic Vtec and take it on track days, it would out-do various TVR's etc and the engine was bullet-proof.

However, the brakes warped ALL the time and the driveshafts gave up twice. Also the engine/power is great when racing/setting off from a standing start but is useless throught traffic.

All the power is at very high RPM and most cars will pull away initially.

Phil.

 

I'm one of those wierd people who find oily bleeding knuckles strangely compelling, so tend to buy things for keeps and working on, 23k would buy a lot of character in an older car, so a new VX220 doesn't appeal - I'd probably end up building something from scratch though, given the time - the astra will never go though

I'm not one for 'bring it on' challenges, but suffice to say though the car owes me the best part of 20k - most of that on 'proper' mods (330mm discs, full cage, stripped etc.).. - and I already know it's faster in a straight line than the Integra - and so far the bosses racing puma is the only thing that can corner and stop as hard... that's all pretty irrelevant though - it's semi-track day car for built for enjoying, not proving points..

 

Sheeite, okay, I believe you, you're Vauxhall must fly.
Roll cage is wicked, I would get one, but my cars got no torque (well, not a huge amount), so the weight wouldnt help.
Nice to see someone who takes the time to uprate the things that help slow the car down, as well as speed it up.
Do you know what all your mods have translated into? as in HP and torque figures?
Cheers
Gray

 

well it's never been on a RR - but during mapping with the laptop out on the road, it was flowing 220bhps worth of fuel@6800rpm - rev limit is currently 7750, though a new engine next year will be more like 8500& 250bhp - building it in the shed (more like a workshop!) at the moment..

max torque at the mo is approx 190lbs/ft - but it probably holds within 10% of that from 4500-7000rpm - pretty rapid when driven properely.. noise is just.... incredible...