340R name.....

General General Lotus Talk
1

Why does the 340R have its name?Is it because of the proposed power to weight ratio? This was not met because they couldn’t get the car light enough. Or, is it because they produced 340 examples?I’ve heard both stories and don’t know which is the truth. I think it’s the former and they couldn’t reach their goal. The question then is did they always want to produce 340 examples or was this done to tie the name to something once the power to weight issue raised itself?

2

It means that there are 340 for sale at anyone time. R=Residuals or R=Resale or R=Regret

3

The answer is BOTH!Originally it was called the 340R because Lotus were aiming for 340bhp/tonne. The ‘R’ was added to echo the old Elan 26R (for racing) nomenclature. When it became clear that they would not reach this total (although the eventual output from the 190 bhp version got close to 300bhp/tonne)they decided to produce 340 examples so that the name had some meaning. I’m not in the know as to whether they either reached or exceeded the 340 samples thay intended to produce but the claimed production figure IS 340.All true…honestly…RegardsMike

4

Mind you if you do compare the price of used 340R`s at the moment with a caterham - They are bloody good value I think…

5

Yep, I bought a 340R just over a year ago for �19k instead of a Caterham. It’s a genuine future classic and values seem to have bottomed out

6

Interesing comment in this months EVO regarding minor crash damage to a 340R. Repair bill 4K [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]R300 NUT

7

quote:Originally posted by Bafty Crastard:Interesing comment in this months EVO regarding minor crash damage to a 340R. Repair bill 4K [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]R300 NUTI think you mean �9,375.34!!! [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/blush.gif[/image] !!!No mechanical damage AT ALL!Broken spoiler and damaged area around the light meaning - A WHOLE NEW BODY!!!�4082 for the body, �901 for the spoiler and the rest on paint and 77 hours of labour!!!Ian [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/blush.gif[/image]

8

IanYour absolutly correct [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/shocked.gif[/image]I suppose that’s the risk of a one piece plastic shell [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/frown.gif[/image]R300 NUT[This message has been edited by Bafty Crastard (edited 13 June 2003).]