Jason_E
ClioSport Club Member
Elise, 530d
When people ask you what your dream car is, there's probably more than one. Well, thats my opinion anyway.
For me, a 911 was one of those. And I did own a 996 for a bit. The other was a Lotus Elise. Somewhere deep in a box in my dads garage there's a photo of me sat in an S1 back when they were new, I was probably about 5 or 6. Ever since then I've thought they were the coolest s**t out.
Fast forward to my 30th year on this dying planet, and I figured I should probably FINALLY scratch the itch. Previously I've been put off by the fact I'm 6ft 4, lanky, and its a lot of money to spend on a car that does 1 thing. But hey, I dont see myself living another 30 years given my love for fast food and alcohol, so what the hell!
I ended up going for this. Its a 2015 Series 3. So it has the 220bhp Supercharged engine. For 2015 they replaced the "Club Racer" Spec with a 20th Anniversary edition. Its lighter, has some nice extras, and hopefully a little more reliable than the older stuff. Furthermore, the previous owner had fitted a spacer to the steering wheel. Hurray! I Fit !
There was a bit of delay in me collecting, as I'm a car dealers worst nightmare. I insisted they replaced the front tyres (had 2014 date codes), and also got the AC working. The Tyres were on back order, and after replacing every single part (bar the pipes down the sill) the AC still wouldnt take gas. So the front tyres eventually came in, got fitted, and I collected it. I'll have to go back when the updated AC Pipes (One of those is also on back order) come in.
Either way, its roof comes off so thats alright by me.
Looks a little less inconspicuous than the daily.
First thing I did was stop off at Oxford Car Audio on the way home, needed to replace the clarion head unit with an Alpine one. It came with no head unit from factory, or an Alpine. I found the blanking plate that says 20 on it in the boot, so I'm assuming it was deleted on mine.
Dog approves.
The plan is to get it on some track days, so the fact someone has upgraded the speakers is a little wasted on me. But its all a plus!
For anyone who cares, the difference between a normal Elise 220 and the 20th anni one:
- Only Availible in Blue, Green, Silver or Yellow
- 10kg weight saving (Forged wheels, LW seats and centre console)
- 20 Logo on the seats, mats, radio blank, side and rear.
- Roll hoop, mirrors and window surround in Matt Black.
- Sport mode added to the TC.
I've not done much ragging of it so far, mostly just drove it back in traffic with the odd blast when I had the chance. What amazes me is how easy it is to drive in traffic, and how comfortable it is. The suspension is as good as everyone says, particularly on some of the shite roads around me. Its genuinely a level of damping I havent experienced before, probably massively helped by its light weight.
Anyway thats it. I bought another dream car! I just need a Ferrari 360 and I've pretty much done them all...
For me, a 911 was one of those. And I did own a 996 for a bit. The other was a Lotus Elise. Somewhere deep in a box in my dads garage there's a photo of me sat in an S1 back when they were new, I was probably about 5 or 6. Ever since then I've thought they were the coolest s**t out.
Fast forward to my 30th year on this dying planet, and I figured I should probably FINALLY scratch the itch. Previously I've been put off by the fact I'm 6ft 4, lanky, and its a lot of money to spend on a car that does 1 thing. But hey, I dont see myself living another 30 years given my love for fast food and alcohol, so what the hell!
I ended up going for this. Its a 2015 Series 3. So it has the 220bhp Supercharged engine. For 2015 they replaced the "Club Racer" Spec with a 20th Anniversary edition. Its lighter, has some nice extras, and hopefully a little more reliable than the older stuff. Furthermore, the previous owner had fitted a spacer to the steering wheel. Hurray! I Fit !
There was a bit of delay in me collecting, as I'm a car dealers worst nightmare. I insisted they replaced the front tyres (had 2014 date codes), and also got the AC working. The Tyres were on back order, and after replacing every single part (bar the pipes down the sill) the AC still wouldnt take gas. So the front tyres eventually came in, got fitted, and I collected it. I'll have to go back when the updated AC Pipes (One of those is also on back order) come in.
Either way, its roof comes off so thats alright by me.
Looks a little less inconspicuous than the daily.
First thing I did was stop off at Oxford Car Audio on the way home, needed to replace the clarion head unit with an Alpine one. It came with no head unit from factory, or an Alpine. I found the blanking plate that says 20 on it in the boot, so I'm assuming it was deleted on mine.
Dog approves.
The plan is to get it on some track days, so the fact someone has upgraded the speakers is a little wasted on me. But its all a plus!
For anyone who cares, the difference between a normal Elise 220 and the 20th anni one:
- Only Availible in Blue, Green, Silver or Yellow
- 10kg weight saving (Forged wheels, LW seats and centre console)
- 20 Logo on the seats, mats, radio blank, side and rear.
- Roll hoop, mirrors and window surround in Matt Black.
- Sport mode added to the TC.
I've not done much ragging of it so far, mostly just drove it back in traffic with the odd blast when I had the chance. What amazes me is how easy it is to drive in traffic, and how comfortable it is. The suspension is as good as everyone says, particularly on some of the shite roads around me. Its genuinely a level of damping I havent experienced before, probably massively helped by its light weight.
Anyway thats it. I bought another dream car! I just need a Ferrari 360 and I've pretty much done them all...
