Spinney Posted December 28, 2015 Report Share Posted December 28, 2015 On 30 May 2015 at 18:39, Neal H said: Don't think I'd want to exceed 100, let alone 145 with the soft top in place! The fastest I've ever been is 141 (satnav speed, Evora, Germany) so it's not a big issue, but when asked "how fast does it go mate" I'd like to say 174 without having to explain about the restrictor At Spa this year, I was regularly hitting the limiter on the Kemmel straight with the soft top on my roadster. The car felt rock solid and although it was rippling a bit, the soft top was perfectly OK. My old SC was likewise perfectly stable at 150 (according to satnav) with the soft top on. Seriously considering getting the limiter removed on my V6 too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 JMG told me that they are considering this too... 1 Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinney Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 6 hours ago, Bibs said: JMG told me that they are considering this too... That's interesting. I wonder if it will be offered to existing owners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibs Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 I would have thought they'll be doing something to make the soft top more secure at high speeds along with removing the limiter in truth. Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal H Posted December 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 It would be nice if the option existed to remove the limiter! I wonder how Porsche coped with the problem of the roof on the original Boxster Spyder? The roof on that was even more Heath Robinson than on the Exige. Did they limit the top speed, or just tell owners not to exceed XXXmph with the roof installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephVG Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 Reading this thread, another question comes to mind. Why buy a Roadster at all, when the Coupé isn't limited and can easily be fitted with the same soft top as the Roadster? Apart from esthetics - although not my choice (I love the spoilers on the Coupé) I perfectly understand why someone would prefer not to have spoilers from that point of view - I fail to see the appeal of the Roadster vs the Coupé. Happy to hear from Roadster owners who can no doubt enlighten me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal H Posted December 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 Well, I went to the dealers fully intending to buy a Coupe - in fact I had arranged to view an LF-1 they had in stock. But they also had the yellow Roadster in the showroom and that was the one I fell in love with I found I preferred the cleaner lines compared to the Coupe. The Roadster also suited my use better - 95% road. It has a slightly softer set up and better ground clearance. I also like the open top experience, and while you can remove the roof on the Coupe, it looks a lot better roof-less as a de-spoilered Roadster imo. The Coupe (like it's S2 predecessor) looks a little odd with the roof removed, the Roadster looks more Elise like, designed to be an open car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephVG Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks Neal H, that makes perfect sense. I also use my car almost exclusively on the road so initially I looked at Roadsters. But I prefer the full-on look of the Coupé. So when I found out the roof could come off, that was me done. So I guess it's just a matter of taste, both cars looks the biz anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 The 987 Boxster Spyder wasn't speed limited - Porsche trusted owners not to exceed 120mph with it on Quote '....it makes every other roadster look just a little bit cissy...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal H Posted December 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 4 minutes ago, Rancid said: The 987 Boxster Spyder wasn't speed limited - Porsche trusted owners not to exceed 120mph with it on That's what I thought. Lotus should do the same, and offer an ECU re-flash to update the code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinney Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 I too preferred the (to my eyes) cleaner lines of the Roadster and although I had a hardtop for my Elise, in truth I rarely used it, finding the soft top more practical all round. I have actually kept it, thinking I might fit it on the Exige at some point, but haven't yet felt the need to after 18 months of ownership, so I'll probably be selling it on sometime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 I like the look of the roadster with a hardtop fitted. Quote '....it makes every other roadster look just a little bit cissy...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinney Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 4 hours ago, Bibs said: I would have thought they'll be doing something to make the soft top more secure at high speeds along with removing the limiter in truth. That makes sense. I wonder if something along the lines of a small air deflector atop the screen frame, just forward of the soft top would do the trick? That should stop the air getting under the leading edge of the soft top and lifting it clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephVG Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 8 minutes ago, Spinney said: That makes sense. I wonder if something along the lines of a small air deflector atop the screen frame, just forward of the soft top would do the trick? That should stop the air getting under the leading edge of the soft top and lifting it clear. Maybe the answer lies with the upcoming Evora Roadster's targa top panels. If the same approach can be applied to the Exige, the flimsy and difficult-to-use soft top could become a thing of the past... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinney Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 8 minutes ago, StephVG said: Maybe the answer lies with the upcoming Evora Roadster's targa top panels. If the same approach can be applied to the Exige, the flimsy and difficult-to-use soft top could become a thing of the past... Yes, so long as they can be conveniently stowed when not in use, that would be the ideal. I believe the intention with the Evora is to stow them behind the seats where, of course, there is more room available. Might not be so easy with the current Exige architecture, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephVG Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 4 minutes ago, Spinney said: Yes, so long as they can be conveniently stowed when not in use, that would be the ideal. I believe the intention with the Evora is to stow them behind the seats where, of course, there is more room available. Might not be so easy with the current Exige architecture, unfortunately. Good point. Although I am told that there is work ongoing on a modified Exige architecture. This would be needed to adapt the Evora's 400 hp engine. The Exige platform would need to gain more room at the front. It would, as a result, tip just beyond the point where power steering becomes a necessity. My hope is that the Exige 400 would grow ever so slightly, not so much as to change the compactness of exterior dimensions which makes it such a joy to use as a pocket supercar compared to... well almost any other sportscar really, but enough to house a little more creature comforts. Those could be a small amount of boot space at the front, plus a little bit of roof space behind the seats... Or maybe I am beginning to simply sound like a good potential customer for the Evora Roadster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinney Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 6 minutes ago, StephVG said: Good point. Although I am told that there is work ongoing on a modified Exige architecture. This would be needed to adapt the Evora's 400 hp engine. The Exige platform would need to gain more room at the front. It would, as a result, tip just beyond the point where power steering becomes a necessity. My hope is that the Exige 400 would grow ever so slightly, not so much as to change the compactness of exterior dimensions which makes it such a joy to use as a pocket supercar compared to... well almost any other sportscar really, but enough to house a little more creature comforts. Those could be a small amount of boot space at the front, plus a little bit of roof space behind the seats... Or maybe I am beginning to simply sound like a good potential customer for the Evora Roadster Well I'll be......that sounds remarkably like the exact same discussion I've had with myself recently! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArthouseCompany Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) in the year 2000 Lotus developed this gullwing roof with removable panels for the Elise mk2. Including a very easy entry to the car. For some reason it was never produced. Only some aftermarket roofs have been produced. A two piece hard top would solve all our issues.... By the way: Lotus wanted the Elise Mk1 to have a two pice hard top, Lambo doors or gullwing doors from the beginning ! They simply had not enough time...: Edited December 30, 2015 by ArthouseCompany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephVG Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks for that! I had no idea and that history is fascinating. I would LOVE the gullwing type roof. Come on Lotus, do it! That would be truly innovative (and would have got me in a Lotus long ago). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArthouseCompany Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 You can find the Elise Story on youtube. Very interesting for all owners of Elise and Exige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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