Viper vs. Lotus

[Gheijos]

Here is just a pondering thought...My friend has a 01 Lotus Esprit and myself the GTS Viper, and everytime we are out together, he wants to race (natural instinct I guess). We have never lined them up and went at it, but there has been time when we are rolling along side by side and decide to go. Each time I seem to be pulling ahead with ease. He claims that he has to wait for the twin turbos to spool (turbo lag) and it would be a different story if we raced straight off the line. The performance number are very similar, any thouhgts on how I would truely compare?

I wanted to also post a picture...but for some reason it would not allow me to cut and past into the message box.

 

[Ulysses]

My buddy has an 01 Lotus also. Performance wise, they are very close. From a roll, you should beat the Lotus. From a stand still, it depends on whose driving.

 

[King GTS]

I guess I always raced older Lotus' then because I always used to run across a couple of them on race night. I had a 97' GTS & ALWAYS beat both of them from a roll or from a light! And I was Bone Stock. Never done any research on the Lotus so I always assumed they were just a really slow car. Wanna B Lambo's or somethin.

 

[Tpup]

I couple of years ago, one of the mags did a 1/4 mile run and the Viper was 1st with the Esprit slightly behind. The Esprit has 350hp but he can upgrade it to 450 by purchasing an upgraded ECU from Lotus. It will void his warranty. The problem with that car is the transmission and driveshafts. They cannot handle more power and Renaut (who builds the tranny) will not provide Lotus with a warranty with more than 350hp in the car. That is why the car has been 350 since it's intoduction. You can get 550 out of the car just with the ECU and intercoolers...

I have the only 6 speed transmission made for an Esprit. It was made for the race team and run at Daytona. It has limited slip and is hardened for the more hp. I don't know what the times are but the car weights 3050 and with close to 500hp it's pretty fast...

Roy

ps. Tell your buddy if he drag races you he'll likely smoke the clutch in the car. The stock one just can't take it...

 

[ntmatter]

I used to own an Esprit and I'd have to give the edge to the Viper, in a straight line. The car handled beautifully in corners, however, which on a road coarse might give a different result. Also, your friend should definitely be careful if pushing the car in a drag race - I managed to kill a clutch that way and they're not cheap.

A.

 

[Gheijos]

Thanks for your comments. My frined has already broke a half shaft due to his driving habits in the Lotus and recently purchased a limited slip differential which he thinks will make a world of difference. He used to own a '89 348 Ferrari which seemed to hold up better than the Lotus but was not as quick. Regardless, one of these days I am sure we will square off and go at it...I just hope I hold up the Vipers image as a 'bad *** '.

 

[Venom Lover]

Prior to my Viper ownership days, I owned an '87 Esprit.

As noted above, the Renault gearbox sucked. The 1-2 upshift would always grind at higher revs. Very annoying if you're trying to drag race. And the newer Esprits still have the same crappy tranny. Also, your buddy is smoking dope if he thinks somehow he will overcome the turbo lag by racing you off the line. That will only widen the gap, assuming you know how to launch your GTS.

When I was selling my '87 Esprit, I was seriously thinking I would buy a V8 Esprit, but the moment I test drove a Viper, I knew it was over...that I would be buying one!

Bottom line: you don't have much to fear, so long as you don't blow the launch!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!


<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Venom Lover on 04-16-2002 at 02:49 PM</font>