The drive feel and drive performance are two pairs of shoes as we say here. Of course a lightweight car feels sportier and faster and many people prefer such a setup because it makes them
feel to be faster but the challenge is to be fast in a heavier car, not in a toy car.
And now please don't start a F1 comparison because the F1 is a completely different story. Show me a Lotus Exige/Elise with 600 HP or more...
I hate to say this but if somebody says he is faster in a Lotus Exige or Elise than a GT3 MK2 on the track, he can't drive.
Drive feel? Take a VW Beetle (the old) one and put a 911 engine with 200 HP inside and you have all the drive feel you want. But drive feel doesn't help much if it doesn't improve performance too.
A few facts (I've chosen Hockenheim Kleiner Kurs because this is no high speed track):
Lotus Exige ("fixed roof" version)Hockenheim Kleiner Kurs 1 min 16,5 sec
(for comparison: GT3 MK2 1 min 13,2 sec)
Lotus Elise 111RHockenheim Kleiner Kurs 1 min 16,5 sec.
(GT3 MK2 1 min 13,2 sec)
Lotus Elise 111s (145 HP version)Hockenheim Kleiner Kurs 1 min 19,9 sec.
(just for comparison: Porsche Cayenne Turbo 1 min 20,3 sec
)
Of course you have fun in this car, for a fraction of a second when you pass through twists and turns but hey, does somebody know a track which is made of twists and turns only?
And due to the fact that this car has no ESP to save your bu.., most people aren't capable of using it's fully capabilities anyway.
I drove the open Exige and I drove the Elise 111R. I liked them, like I like motorcycles and it was fun to drive them.
But if somebody puts a GT3 and a Lotus Elise/Exige one next to each other and tells me "choose one", I'd go for the GT3 immediately.
The Elise/Exige are nice toys but nothing more.
I prefer to have the same fun in a car with airbags, A/C and even some comfort left, not to speak about the high speed capabilitiy which is very important here in Germany.
Fun? I'd have more fun on a Hayabusa if we're talking about fun. But I guess I'm getting old, I prefer Motocross bikes and Enduros only.
Regarding the VX220 Turbo (called Opel Speedster Turbo over here): again, a very nice toy. But I can get the same and more out of a real sportscar.
Maybe I should offend now even more people by saying what a friend of mine said when he bought one (111R): the poor man's Porsche.
Of course my friend isn't poor but his wife gave him a limit on how much he could spend for a fun car, 50000 Euro. Finding a used GT3 for 50000 Euro was impossible.
BTW: Horst von Saurma, SPORT AUTO editor also was very disappointed with the Exige.
One problem seems to be the weight...907 kg compared to a car tested back in 2000...796 kg.
Another problem seems to be the bad aerodynamics (Cayenne Turbo is better...
) due to the increased downforce and the pretty lame Toyota engine.
And the max. lateral acceleration is "only" 1.2 g despite the fact that the car was equipped with Yokohama Advan A048 sport tires.
The only thing which seems to be good is the brake, now surprisingly with ABS.