1968 Lotus Super Seven Reviews

Low, loud, lightning fast, requiring a can opener to get in and out of it, and with an angry devil of an engine screaming its cams off all the way to 8200rpm. But a supercar it is not; the Exige S literally does not fit the bill. There are few cars that offer the performance of the new Exige S for under $300,000, and none have a tiny supercharged 1.8-litre Toyota engine capable of supercar speed. But for $114,990, the Exige S is only fractionally slower than a Lambo, Ferrari and Porsche Turbo on the straight – and can whip all of them through the corners. This is the fastest production car Lotus has ever built, and oddly enough, it is the most refined on both road and track. Adding a supercharger and some mod-cons has heightened what was already a visceral, intense experience. There are only a few subtle differences in appearance between the atmo Exige and Exige S; body-coloured front splitter, LED taillights, a small S badge by the A-pillar, and a little mailbox chute to suck air into the intercooler, which is roof-mounted for direct airflow to the mid-mounted engine. Unfortunately, the intercooler blocks what little view there ever was in the rear view mirror, which now looks a wall of black casing and is only good for checking your own reflection. But vanity aside, the lack of vision is a compromise that many Lotus buyers will be willing to make for the performance. There is nothing quite like the wail of a Lotus at full welly, but with the supercharger sitting directly behind the driver’s ears, it now hisses and spits like an angry Amazonian python. Gone too is the long, loud wait until the 1.8-litre Toyota Celica engine comes onto its cams and picks up power. The usual surge at 6500rpm is almost imperceptible, replaced by low-down torque and a less peaky powerband. The increase in power is modest on paper: 21.5kW over the standard car at 162.5kW, and up 34Nm to 215. But add that to a car weighing just 935kg, and you have a missile that sprints 0-100km/h in 4.3 seconds. That’s faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera. The interior shows some more marked improvements over the Exige, with a focus on touring as well as performance. It is still an epic contortion process to get in and out of the thing, but once behind the wheel there is a more resolved, sophisticated air to the cabin. Air itself is kept out with more wind proofing and cabin damping, and surfaces once left bare are covered with felts, suedes and plastics. The funky sueded dash is replaced by a coarse plastic cover, but it hides the new standard dual airbags. Seating is improved for the smaller driver – not so much for the taller punter – with a new set of ProBax seats that sit higher in the tiny cabin, but provide more support in the lumbar area for longer drives. And while longer drives may seem like a masochistic proposition a car purpose-built for a twisty track, the performance add-ons actually make for a more liveable, all-round vehicle. On a bumpy country road outside of Goulburn for the launch this week – and far away from both the Wakefield Park track and smooth Hume Highway – the Exige S showed remarkable poise. And ironically, one of the test cars wearing hardcore optional Touring, Sport and Super Sport enhancement packs, rode better than the standard car. The three option packs are the only Exige options apart from metallic paint, traction control and a LSD. The luxury Touring pack ($8,000) adds leather, electric windows, driving lights, additional insulation, a second cupholder (small lattes only please) and an upgraded stereo. The Sport pack ($6,000) consists of racing ProBax seats, a cross-bar for racing harnesses, and switchable traction control, with the whol hog Super Sports pack ($7,000) adding one-way adjustable Bilstein dampers, adjustable ride height and front anti-roll bar, and lightweight seven-spoke black alloys. Both the standard suspension and the Super Sport suspension setting was the same on the day, but dampers alone made a huge difference to ride quality on the road. And while it still revs hard all the way to 8200rpm, and sounds like a bomb blast while doing it, the S is happy to cruise in sixth up and down hills at a stately 3500rpm with enough poise to enable a full conversation without even raising the voice. The track is another story. The Elise and Exige have always been the king of corner speed, with the tuned suspension and rack offering purist handling and the low weight of the car allowing speed and agility. Supercharging just makes it all happen a lot faster. Despite the traction control, the S will respond like a dog on heat every time you sic it on the apex, but too much enthusiasm or lingering on the brakes still produces lengthy slides. Get the balance right, and the amount of speed able to be held through a corner is simply phenomenal. Cornering in the Super Sport car was slightly more predictable, less twitchy in the rear if too much speed was applied. And when the tyres let go, it is catchable, controllable, and hilariously fun. So it remains in my mind as a track car for the road – but the Exige S is a car you would drive to, from and in between days on the track. Lotus Cars Australia expect a modest increase in sales from last year’s 60 cars to about 120, aided by both the Exige S and the upcoming Europa, which will feature alongside the S at October’s Australian International Motor Show. A grand touring version of the Exige, the Europa is the car to reduce the compromise between performance and livability, aimed more toward real-world performance while the Exige S stays focused on the straight and narrow track. But for the moment, the most hardcore, fastest production car Lotus has ever built is also the one with the least compromise. This review and much more will feature in The Sunday Telegraph CARSguide section on August 27, 2006.

Lotus will give its new Europa S Grand Tourer its Asia-Pacific debut at Darling Harbour on 26 October, while Mazda will unveil the folding-hardtop version of its perennially popular MX-5.The Europa S is based upon Lotus' mainstay model, the Elise, but has been extensively redesigned to provide higher levels of comfort and refinement.The new model has a larger boot and luggage compartment as well as a higher roofline and lower sills for easier driver and passenger access.Unique exterior styling and interior luxuries such as leather upholstery, carpets and driver and passenger airbags complete the package.Despite the extra size and features the Europa S maintains the reputation of Lotus for lightweight aluminium chassis construction, tipping the scales at just 995kg.The low kerb weight combines with a torquey 263Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine to give the Europa S a supercar-like 0-100km/h acceleration time of 5.5 seconds.Mazda, meanwhile, has used its expertise in lightweight engineering to give the MX-5 the retractable hardtop treatment.The folding metal roof on the MX-5 Roadster Coupe adds just 37kg to the low weight of the soft-top model, thereby keeping the MX-5's lithe responses unaffected.Mazda says that when the MX-5 Roadster Coupe goes on sale at the Sydney motor show in October it will appeal to a new group of customers."The Roadster Coupe will expand the MX-5's fan base, appealing to those who have expressed the desire to enjoy open-top driving in even greater comfort," says Mazda Australia's managing director, Doug Dickson.Sales of the MX-5 soft-top have exploded so far this year, rising almost 420 per cent over the same period of 2005. The MX-5 Roadster Coupe and Lotus Europa S will be on display at the Australian International Motor Show from 5pm, 26 October and every day until 5 November. 

Hamburgers, though only very occasionally eaten, were totally out. No pies, fish and chips, milkshakes and even the beer was looking redundant.The sacrifice worked. Like the car I was to drive, the fat — well, a bit of it — had been sliced away to mimic the automobile as a work of minimalistic art.Which is an art in itself, given that Lotus started with one of the barest cars on the market — its Elise — and then cut, lightened and simply threw away parts until it produced a mechanical ultralight.The 340R is so named because Lotus intended to make a sports car with a formidable power-to-weight ratio of 340bhp a tonne. It actually failed to produce that ratio from the factory, but pacified the critics by making only 340 cars — which was Lotus's original plan.Though conflicts between the stylists and the engineers from Lotus and the British transport authorities meant that alluring power-to-weight ratio did notmaterialise on the showroom floor, a few owners did even better.This car, with its subdued alloy and black skeleton, has 352bhp a tonne.It is rare, not only because it surpasses the manufacturer's aims, but also because it is only one of three in Australia.Brought in by Lotus Cars Australia to be the display car at the 2000 Sydney International Motor Show, it was the 337th made. But if Lotus didn't fulfil its desire to build 340 cars, it could even be the last.It was also the only one imported into Australia that was fully optioned with the 145kW kit, carbon-fibre mudguards, techno-magnesium alloy wheels, removable steering wheel, and six-point racing harness.Sold after the motor show to a Sydney dentist for $140,000, it was bought by a WA lawyer in 2003. It's now for sale again.Since its journey to Perth, there have been further upgrades such as boosting power to 160kW at the flywheel and 140kW at the rear wheels.Together with some weight-saving components, it's enough to get this 340R from rest to 100km/h in a tad under four seconds. In perspective, that's faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo (4.2sec) and the Ferrari 430 (4sec).But it's also lighter — the test car weighs about 610kg and was 658kg out of the factory — and loses a few creature comforts. Like the doors, windows, roof, sound system, airconditioning, carpets, and so on.You learn to live without all that. If it rains, go faster. If the sun is burning your pate, wear a hat. If it's freezing then you're a whinger and don't deserve to own a car like this.It also has no numberplates, saving even further weight though that can cause some angst among the constabulary.The 340R was never built to meet Australian Design rules, so this one gets around to motorsport events on a 12-month renewable permit.The modified Rover K-series 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine — also used in various stages of tune in vehicles including the Land Rover Freelander, Rover 45, MGTF, Metro and Caterham Seven — sits behind the driver and pumps away through a close-ratio five-speed gearbox to drive the 16-inch rear wheels.The driver sits within a bonded aluminium chassis topped by a composite shell shaped something like a wedge-toed shoe.The seats are lightweight composite racing units to hug the body, and the cockpit side panels are translucent polycarbonate sheet, giving occupants a surreal blurred view of the passing road.Get in by sitting on the side panels, swinging the legs over and dropping into the seat. The steering wheel is tiny, the 8000rpm tacho glares back at you, the view ahead is clear and to the side, completely unobstructed. I'm feeling very vulnerable.The six-point harness is a pain for driving on the road, yet I note it clicks easily into place thanks to the previous week of dieting.De-activate the alarm and immobiliser, press the central alloy starter button and all hell breaks lose.Every blip of the throttle vibrates up my spine, the noise tears at my ears and the blast of hot air burns my neck.Release the light clutch and plant the alloy accelerator pedal to the floor, and the engine burble swells to a roar, then a scream.Then, with the tiny tacho needle closing on 8000rpm, slam the clutch open and flick the longish gearlever back into second. It fires forward again, the tacho needle dancing and the need for third gear coming up real quick.Brake for the corner, feel how light the front of the car is and deliberately pick an accurate line through the corner. That, says the owner, is important because it's not shy about flicking the tail out.Faster and faster around the racetrack, the 340R gets to know its driver. The tail comes up a bit, the nose starts to slide a fraction, but it's all easily controlled.Stop. Breathe. Turn on "launch control" — a computer-controlled method of getting this little beast off the line even faster.Click into first gear, plant your foot on the accelerator — don't worry, the computer won't let you exceed 5500rpm — then drop the clutch.Your neck takes up the slack in the acceleration as the computer ensures that the engine delivers maximum power with minimal wheelspin. Brilliant.Can I have a beer now, please?