[Tengocity]

A change of job and subsequent reduction in commuting miles means that the G20 330e company car I've had for about a year has now, has now departed. It's a very good car, and my wife will miss it, but it was kind of white goods to me to be honest. My M4 will go back to being my daily driver, and I'm glad I've resisted the urge to go any further than I have with track modifying it. I had considered changing the seats to some sort of nice Recaro Sportster buckets so I could fit harnesses!

I've done around 7 track days this year, which would have been more like 10 had there not been a 3 month hiatus with the Lockdown, so great as the M4 is, it's not the best car to be doing that much track mileage in. The weight makes for high running costs!

So having spent much time deliberating on what to buy with this track use in mind, the objective being that it was much lighter, easy to make track ready, not too much slower than the M4 in straight line (I've got used to the performance), and ideally quicker than it round the corners. Importantly I wanted something that was quite analogue in feel too.

Candidates were really just a Caterham, a Lotus Elise or Exige, or maybe a Cayman. I couldn't afford a GT4 whilst keeping hold of the M4, and I'd already had a Boxster so felt the desire to try something different.

Mrs Tengocity is remarkably understanding and supportive of my car buying habits, but wasn't keen on the Caterham, mainly as it's a motorbike with 4 wheels, from a safety perspective as far as she is concerned. So between that, and the fact that I didn't fancy a Caterham for driving to Scotland or to Spa, seemed it was a Lotus on the cards.

Spent a bit of time considering what to buy, older Elise maybe, so the light and purist approach, or an Exige S2, which has a great reputation for fun on the track and are going up in price.

However, I was remember watching this video from Chris Harris way back in 2012, and how much he liked this S3 Exige with the V6 engine.

They're a bit heavier than the Elise, but come with a bit more power, courtesy of a 3.5 V6 supercharged Toyota engine, which also has a bombproof reputation. Weight is relative, and at 1150kg it's 500kg lighter than the M4, and 2-250kg lighter than a Cayman, though about 500kg heavier than a Caterham.

To consider one at all (earlier or higher mileage ones) I was having to stretch my budget already, but eventually found one that seemed ideal. It's a 2012 car, but has the race pack, and already has 3 way adjustable Nitron suspension, harnesses fitted, and so half the things I would have wanted to do to it have been done already. It's in good condition, but not so nice that I would worry about it on track.

It got delivered last week and took it for a good drive at the weekend. Such a different experience to the M4! With no power steering, and very mechanical gearshift it's the very essence of an analogue driving experience. The ride is much better than I'd expected, yet when you turn the wheel you really do feel what's happening at the contact patch, and that stream of information means the drive is a pleasure whatever the speed. It responds to your inputs immediately, be that steering or throttle, with a nice linearity which makes it feel so precise and visceral.

There are some negatives however... inside feels cheap as chips! It's a bit of a culture shock when coming from a modern BMW, but that really doesn't matter for a car used on a Sunday morning, or for a track day. I couldn't live with creaks and rattles every day though. The seats are comfier than they look, and the driving position is good for me, but the getting in and out needs a bit of technique if you're not look like a complete twat!

Anyway, what counts is how it is on track, and so looking forward to Snetterton on 7th November.

[Tengocity]

I also spent a bit of time rearranging the garage so that I could keep both the Exige and the M4 in there.... makes for a nice view from my office

[robwils]

Looks like a lot of fun , and the daily drive will be good in the M4 .
What’s not to like?
Enjoy

[SkyJawa]

Lots Of.......

Fun that will be

[davyk31]

Who put the front number plate on the Lotus??!!

[un1eash]

Do love a Lotus, cockpit hasn't really changed in 20 years. Would love to have another as it's surprisingly comfortable once your in but my old k series 111S did not like crawling in traffic so would have to be a Toyota engined car if I got another. Prices are strong and you don't lose much money on them.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by davyk31

Who put the front number plate on the Lotus??!!

Ha! Not me! It's just on with velcro so I should be able to sort, but I'm going to put a personal reg on it shortly.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by robwils

Looks like a lot of fun , and the daily drive will be good in the M4 .
What’s not to like?
Enjoy

The road tax bill! Lotus is £565 for the year

[Sennen]

Very nice indeed

Once you go Lotus it is very hard to kick the habit

[330XDave]

That looks stunning and a whole load of fun.

Beautiful setup you have there too, I can see why you'd set your office up to see it, very well done

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by un1eash

Do love a Lotus, cockpit hasn't really changed in 20 years. Would love to have another as it's surprisingly comfortable once your in but my old k series 111S did not like crawling in traffic so would have to be a Toyota engined car if I got another. Prices are strong and you don't lose much money on them.

The low depreciation was absolutely one of the reasons for going Lotus. This one was not that much more than considerably older supercharged S2 Elises and Exiges, and felt like more car for the money. I can't see me losing too much money on it, and certainly a whole lot less than I've spent on BMWs over the years.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by 330XDave

That looks stunning and a whole load of fun.

Beautiful setup you have there too, I can see why you'd set your office up to see it, very well done

The house lent itself to that so had to oblige. I had the internal door put in just last month. I'd like to say I planned it this well, but it's literally inch perfect to help me get out of thr var once it's parked.

[un1eash]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

The low depreciation was absolutely one of the reasons for going Lotus. This one was not that much more than considerably older supercharged S2 Elises and Exiges, and felt like more car for the money. I can't see me losing too much money on it, and certainly a whole lot less than I've spent on BMWs over the years.

My old Elise which I sold to a trader for £15k back in 2016 is now up for sale for £19k, I paid £15k for it in 2012.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...?atmobcid=soc3

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

The low depreciation was absolutely one of the reasons for going Lotus. This one was not that much more than considerably older supercharged S2 Elises and Exiges, and felt like more car for the money. I can't see me losing too much money on it, and certainly a whole lot less than I've spent on BMWs over the years.

As long as you look after it you wont lose a penny, if anything it will probably start appreciating especially once people realise they will need something enjoyable to run alongside their EV 'White Goods'

[dizzy619]

I'm looking forward to my passenger ride at Snetterton

[RhysoTDI]

Great looking car ��

If only more manufacturers subscribed to the mantra that less is more (in weight terms I’m referring to)

[Ronstein]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

The house lent itself to that so had to oblige. I had the internal door put in just last month. I'd like to say I planned it this well, but it's literally inch perfect to help me get out of thr var once it's parked.

Does that allow you to roll out of the car into the house and then stand up out of sight!!

[JustChris]

Congrats!! looks great although I'm going mad clearly, I already thought you'd made this change.

[Bryans69]

Very nice.

Would love to have the time and money to justify a track car, and a Lotus would be top of the list.

[330XDave]

Originally Posted by JustChris

Congrats!! looks great although I'm going mad clearly, I already thought you'd made this change.

So it's not only me that dreamt of his story buying a Lotus already then!?

[Tengocity]

I mentioned it in another thread, can't remember which one, when I agreed the purchase in principle, but hadn't collected it or driven it properly.

[KCH1984]

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-...ng-guide/43277