Is this the quickest M-Sport Elise ever ? And why ?
I am considering buying the car but the �50k asking price is expensive any thought here ?
Also I would have GKR run it in British GT so is there anyone here with the speed and the BUDGET to be my team mate ?
Yes, it IS the fastest car out there by some margin. I know the car quite well and it is absolutely first class. Would cost you WAY more than 50K to build another to the same spec.
Personally were it not across the large pond i would snap it up in a second. I think that for racing purposes you could ask for no more, set up and raced by a Lotus Test driver, it is always gonna be as good as it gets. The development and parts used could definitely not be replicated for 50K, as well as a nice history, it will always be a special car for that purpose as well.
If budget allows you will not be sorry, i have looked at all the avenues available to get something like that here and import duties just cannot be avoided so i have to be content with converting to motorsport spec and it adds up so quickly, and is no where near that level.
I doubt i have the speed or the budget to be your team mate, but i am great company if that helps at all and would supply my own pit girls, the best bit of racing lets be honest.
Dunno - depends on your definition of M-Sport I guess, seeing as the GKR car isn’t really a Lotus Motorsport car. The Elise GT1 was quicker, and there are a few Esprit’s around that have been quicker.
As with any race car, its value will be significantly less than the cost to prepare an Exige / Motorsport Elise to a similar spec. This car is the quickest Elise variant with a K series engine I have seen (there are other re-engined cars that are quicker in a straight line), and is one of very few with a 2.0l engine. Much of the development in terms of gearbox / carbon bodywork has already been paid for, and the budget to build the car was quite substantial, and then there is a rather decent driver!
A couple of years ago the car that won the Lotus Roadsports series swapped hands for �50k, but the car was a bit special at the time. The same car now would make �30k at best - there are a few quick cars up for grabs at the mo, although not as quick as the GKR one. The other thing to bear in mind is that last years drivers are looking at other projects, and as the season is once again near, they may be looking to offload the car.
Always difficult to value a one off, but for British GTs cup class I reckon there is very little room for further development of this car, and I think there are other types of car out there that offer more potential.
If you are looking for a team mate - to be honest, and this is nothing against Barrie at all, going into last year he wasn’t particularly quick - a decent club driver but no more. Over the last year he has improved considerably, both speed and consistency - but the GKR Lotus was setting the pace from the off. My guess is there are a handful of drivers on the forum with a bit more track experience would be as quick as Barrie was going into last year.
Budget!?!? The year before last iirc the Italian team had a budget of towards �250k. Lanzante Lotus packed it in pretty quickly, and before the season Dean wasn’t going to run a car without a �200k budget. Its fine turning up and racing, but the testing on control tyres and control fuels is a killer.
Cheers
Sorry, where is this car for sale?
Thanks.
Pistonheads classifieds - under race cars, amongst others.
Racer - have you contacted GKR? Its just that they are a small outfit, and they may not have the capacity to run the car.
Cheers
Dunno - depends on your definition of M-Sport I guess, seeing as the GKR car isn’t really a Lotus Motorsport car. The Elise GT1 was quicker, and there are a few Esprit’s around that have been quicker.
As with any race car, its value will be significantly less than the cost to prepare an Exige / Motorsport Elise to a similar spec. This car is the quickest Elise variant with a K series engine I have seen (there are other re-engined cars that are quicker in a straight line), and is one of very few with a 2.0l engine. Much of the development in terms of gearbox / carbon bodywork has already been paid for, and the budget to build the car was quite substantial, and then there is a rather decent driver!
A couple of years ago the car that won the Lotus Roadsports series swapped hands for �50k, but the car was a bit special at the time. The same car now would make �30k at best - there are a few quick cars up for grabs at the mo, although not as quick as the GKR one. The other thing to bear in mind is that last years drivers are looking at other projects, and as the season is once again near, they may be looking to offload the car.
Always difficult to value a one off, but for British GTs cup class I reckon there is very little room for further development of this car, and I think there are other types of car out there that offer more potential.
If you are looking for a team mate - to be honest, and this is nothing against Barrie at all, going into last year he wasn’t particularly quick - a decent club driver but no more. Over the last year he has improved considerably, both speed and consistency - but the GKR Lotus was setting the pace from the off. My guess is there are a handful of drivers on the forum with a bit more track experience would be as quick as Barrie was going into last year.
Budget!?!? The year before last iirc the Italian team had a budget of towards �250k. Lanzante Lotus packed it in pretty quickly, and before the season Dean wasn’t going to run a car without a �200k budget. Its fine turning up and racing, but the testing on control tyres and control fuels is a killer.
Cheers
The old Brit GT Esprit was a bit quicker but then it was a GT2 and you would expect it to be loads quicker. This Elise has to be the most competitive GT Lotus made for a very long time and has consistently been the quickest car in its class. I don’t think it can be compared to Gav’s old car either as it has been developed far beyond that and any other car. It went through one development cycle with Ray Mallock and then a second phase with Gavins lot and the improvements over any other Motorsport Elise are very extensive.
The budget is not going to be anywhere near 200K either, I know because I have talked about a drive with Barrie.