skl

To my Cayenne forums compatriots- sold the beloved GT3 earlier this spring and am of course getting the car urge again (this is a disease isn't it?) and am thinking seriously of something completely different, but then not really. My first car (which I still have) is my favourite, a (over the last 35 years) modded 1971 914...may go buy myself a birthday present tomorrow as in a new Lotus Elise- a complete toy but like a new 914 and not that much slower than the GT3 with a lot less invested in it... well, do I need some of Lewis' left over meds???

ltc

Since I am no longer on meds (re: no more Cayenne) AND I've driven an Elise (my manager has a yellow one).........

Not crazy at all. The Elise is very similar to a 914 in terms of interior size/comfort. VERY reliable Toyota engine. Very well balanced and decent brakes (remember, it's light like a 914, so PCCB's or GT3 brakes aren't really required). Build quality/fit/finish was very good as well. No immediate sign of Lucas electrics, so wet weather operation should be possible.
IIRC, pricing was somewhere around $40K, depending on options/upgrades. Not sure if they offer a 'paint to sample', so Gulf Blue/Orange may be out of the question.

IIRC, there was one for sale in the PCA Mart a while back.


Of course, if you DO want to be a bit crazy, here's the car my son (13 yrs old) keeps reminding me of ever since we saw it on Top Gear (it is actually US street legal?!):
http://www.arielatom.com/ariel/site.php

mudman2

I agree with yr son the atom looks like a riot, built by some guys from "our" old life, nr Yeovil.

skl

How about that VW three wheeler? They actually say they may build it. My boys of course want me to be first on the list- they do a very good job spending my money...in more ways than one...

Brent 89-GT

Lewis, have you been drinking the Toyota Kool-Aid instead? There are lots of reports of that particular Toyota engine being a gernade. There are even those who have gone as far as converting the Elise/Exige to Honda S2000 power.

phaedrus242

Yeah, I've heard of oil starvation issues on that high-revving little 'yota motor. I know there a couple of decent Elise forums around. I'd start at elisetalk.com and go from there. I got to spend some time beating on a client of mine's Elise (with him in the car of course) and had an absolute blast with it. Very low, very agile and a to-die-for turn in . Found the interior sort of peculiar and couldn't quite place why. Then I realized the passenger seat was a little bit smaller than the driver's.

As a side note, Dr. Burkhardt nearly wept when we saw the GT3 in the PCA classifieds. Whomever bought it got one hell of a car. Dan considered it one of his finest efforts.

skl

A couple pix from our trip home this PM from Minneapolis- not entirely OT as we used the Cayenne to pick it up! A total blast to drive! A new 914...

alex911s

WOW, congratz man!! you need a backup camera to see the Elise behind the CS

skl

No kidding alex- my son was leading me out of downtown Minneapolis (with the nav) and said he couldn't even see me in the rear view mirror.... gotta be careful. The Mini is also small but at least a little higher!