A&Q about Lotus
Q:
i like the sound of the M5 as a 2nd car to the elise. what does a decent used M5 go for?
A:
Dont take the M5 to the track at all that being the case. At least in stock form, the E39 ///M5 will kill a set of tires in one day! Ask me how I know! Understeer is really bad at the limit, so bad in fact that you will roll the outside front edges of the front tires and rund them down to the cords. You have to get a set of front camber plates to dial in more negative front camber, and a much thicker rear swaybar to dial out that understeer (Dinan makes both). Also, the cooling system is inadequate for continious track hammering more than 20 min or so out in the summer heat. The ///M5 can be fun on the track (dont get me wrong) we have had fun with 4 guys in the car running down all types of exotic hardware and waiving bye-bye out the back window, but the ///M5 is really, really not a track car. It's a very powerful street car that handles very well for its weight and has lots of luxury. The 996TT is designed around a similar vein. It's target market is not the track rat, but someone who drives the thing on the street and is looking for street performance and luxury. There is no comparison on the track between the Elise and the ///M5 or the 996TT. If it's just a qustion of power to weight ratio, there's lots of options involving cheap Detroit iron that will get you that. All three cars you are considering are great cars, they are just each quite different from each other. The more time you can spend in each, the better you will be able to make your decision. Good luck!
A:
I've owned and own all 3. I no longer have my 996 TT, but it was awesome. I sold it to get the E60 M5, and now I have the Elise.
The 996 TT was too expensive to track which is why I made the move initially... that and I loved the M5!
If you can afford the 2 car route, do that!
Notice that I like blue....
and the 996 TT that I used to own... I admit, I miss this car at times. They're awesome cars and the best all around daily, sports car you can own.
A:
you need to paint that golf kart blue to match nice rides!
A:
I'd get two cars for if no other reason than having variety. I get tired of driving just one car. After driving my Audi for a while, it feels so good to jump ... well... slither into the Elise. But, after a few days of that, it makes me appreciate my Audi more for being a 'real' car with good power, nice handling, and it can carry 400 pounds of water softener salt.