Hope that clears up a few things for the more recent bbs members.
Yes, but i don’t think this thread was out of hand .
I realy dont think that the margin on the track between the std S1/S2 is that big and it depends the type of track anyway but on real roads the i still think the S2 has it.
Its also early days for the S2 and upgrades are on the horizon and i think i willl go for the FF 280bhp kit when prodrive start fitting them.
At the end of the day the S1 and S2 are awsome cars and i wasn’t trying to tell you that your car is shite but that sometimes even S1 owners get things wrong.
[So I’ll keep the banter going, with a slight disclaimer: Both cars are great, really really great!]
Many feel, especially owners of the original S1, that spiritually the Exige is not a road car. My Puma is quicker on a road with balance upsetting bumps and undulations, it doesn’t make me feel special though. The S1 Exige is perhaps the last pure race car for the road (ignoring SVAed stuff), before Euro regs prevented it. The S2 is a wonderful interpretation of what is possible today.
I honestly believe (and I’m with Colin Chapman on this) weight is the key! I think it’s what makes the S1 special. Anybody can make a heavy car with a big turbo/charger. On the track, my 190K on std suspension pretty much kept up with a 240R S2 at Rockingham driven by a Lotus test driver (who professed to be pushing quite hard). It blooming surprised me!
It’s not just weight though, I was proud to hear Russ giving a similarly powered lighter Atom a hard time on the track over the weekend. Lotus have always made great handling cars. Something that unites all Exige owners!
Yes it was quick, but it didn’t look �44K special though did it? It was being driven by Gav on his home circuit, & if you weren’t an Exige aficiando, you wouldn’t have known it was not your usual S2 Exige. Passenger seat & gear linkage covers were removed too - no doubt to reduce weight.
Pesky, I understand where your coming from. If Id had a sorted S1 I wouldnt entertain changing to an S2 (thats a mistake I made ont he elises). It just wouldnt be worth the money/hassle.
But I couldn’t wait to get away from the Rover Engine.
Yes it was quick, but it didn’t look �44K special though did it? It was being driven by Gav on his home circuit, & if you weren’t an Exige aficiando, you wouldn’t have known it was not your usual S2 Exige. Passenger seat & gear linkage covers were removed too - no doubt to reduce weight.
And lets face it having Gav drive the car is the equivalent of an average driver having an extra few hundred horsepower
I think what sticks out with me is when i was still racing the orange car and my current car was owned and raced by a very well off gentleman who’s son raced it. He was at the track with their pair of 993 supercups and had just taken delivery of a GT2 le mans spec with sequential box and all the toy’s. After a few outings i was chatting to him and asked what it was like and he said to me that quite honestly it cost over 6 times more than the Exige and was not as much fun, sure it was faster but he said the amount of work you had to do to go fast was tiring, the Exige was just pure fun regardless of skill.
That to me had always been the point of these cars, they might not be the fastest (well all of them except Remarklima’s, apparently ) but are definitely very rewarding. The chassis rewards you when you do things properly and doesn’t bite to hard when you don’t. Bang for buck i don’t think you can do better. Just look at the amount of owners who have returned to Exige ownership after selling their cars. Not to many cars out there that have that reputation. I am one of those people.
Granted many of the 2nd time owners have returned and made the mistake of purchasing the S2, but i forgive them .
Are people taking delivery of 240R’s now?
Phoned round all the dealers a month ago trying to get one but they were all sold in four hours of going on sale but i have put my name down for a cancellation at all of them.
What colour was it, black or yellow? do the wheels look better in the flesh?
This is a pic taken by Benja of the “test” 240R being driven by Gav at Snetterton last Saturday. AFAIK the production cars won’t be available in that grey colour, & I don’t know if they are the production wheels.
With Gavin driving it would keep up with a Tie-Fighter!
My experience at Rockingham leaves me feeling that a well driven Honda S1 would be noticably quicker than a well driven 240R. The S1 is lighter and has a lower CoG.
I believe the 240R will only be available in Black or Yellow.
Bloke in Cardiff has a Black one on order and I think gets it in the next month or so so will have to get him to sign up here and post some pics and his impressions on the car.
I believe the 240R will only be available in Black or Yellow
Yep, it was a black one i was trying to get with the high power silver wheels.
The st ti one in the pic looks like a cup car with the SC fitted and 240R wheels.
…a well driven Honda S1 would be noticably quicker than a well driven 240R. The S1 is lighter and has a lower CoG.
Ian
At Anglesey a wee while ago (8th April), a Mr Matt Becker was passing everything in a standard S2 (driver & passenger). I never saw anyone get near him either. As I wasn’t the only one present who posts here, what do the others think??
…a well driven Honda S1 would be noticably quicker than a well driven 240R. The S1 is lighter and has a lower CoG.
Ian > >
At Anglesey a wee while ago (8th April), a Mr Matt Becker was passing everything in a standard S2 (driver & passenger). I never saw anyone get near him either. As I wasn’t the only one present who posts here, what do the others think??
Just for interest, I’d love to see two comparable drivers go back-to-back, S1 vs S2 (then swap and do it again). All I know is I followed a 240R in a std 190 S1 driven by a MUCH better driver and it didn’t march away from me (in the same way Uldis does! ).
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