Comparison Tests
Hold it! What kind of comparo is this? Kit cars versus production? Are you guys off your meds?
We can explain.
First, we know that for all their at-a-glance similarity—two seats, convertible tops, intended for entertainment rather than mere transportation—these five cars cover a broad spectrum of capabilities and character traits.
Second, two of the starters on this grid don't have to play by the same rules as the others—they aren't required to comply with the same federal standards. This dispensation provides, uh, certain performance advantages and might be considered by some of you to be unfair. We justify unfairness in pursuit of a more important objective: putting the new Lotus Elise into perspective in U.S. sports-car-market terms.
Regular readers know this arrival has been a long time coming. The Elise made its European debut at the 1995 Frankfurt show, underwent a makeover in 2000, and it still took another four years before the U.S. edition was ready for prime time. Besides meeting U.S. emissions regs, updates include a new instrument panel, replete with airbags; two Yokohama tire choices, both specific to the U.S. edition; a Blaupunkt audio system with elfin controls; twin exhaust pipes; and, a plus for us, ABS.
Inevitably, federalizing the Elise added up at the scales, to the tune of about 150 pounds. Still, at 1930 pounds ready to roll, it ain't exactly pudgy.
The rest of this comparo cast, as noted, covers a broad spectrum. The Honda S2000 was an obvious choice, a Car and Driver 10Best winner and perennial staff favorite. Although it's less expensive than the Elise, we score it as the most trackworthy of the current production-roadster crop, at least those obtainable for less than $50,000. The Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata is even less expensive, but since we were suspending our ordinary rules, we wanted to see how it would measure up in this hard-core group. The Caterham, for its part, is hard core to the core.
Then Csere thought it would be fun to include a contestant from the some-assembly-required realm and suggested a Cobra replicar, since some of them offer big-inch V-8 power for about the same money as a Honda S2000. This describes the Factory Five Racing Mark II roadster ( they can't call it a Cobra, thanks to the rear-guard legal battles waged by Carroll Shelby, but we can). It delivers the biggest punch of this bunch, and for only $32,109.
With rain-swollen storm clouds gathering over Ann Arbor as the fun was about to begin, Csere suddenly found that other duties required his immediate attention. He was replaced by the redoubtable John Phillips, a man who has endured much in the pursuit of driving pleasure. Nevertheless, it wasn't long before Phillips began wondering, via a series of clenched-teeth radio calls, whether he was having as much fun as Csere would have been having at that point, said point being about 40 miles north of Columbus, Ohio, in the midst of a biblical downpour.
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Phillips was vexed over trifles such as his inability to see anything at all in the heavy rain and spray, and also that his butt was soaked, owing to the porosity of his car's weatherproofing equipment.
After the first day's downpour, the weather became more conducive to sports-car enjoyment. Our route led from Ann Arbor to Athens, in southeast Ohio, then to BeaveRun, the road circuit 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, for some racetrack lapping, and then back home.
So—five extreme sports cars. Three of them capable of 1.00 g or more on the skidpad, a rare percentage. And when a Honda S2000 is arguably the most civilized ride in the roundup, you can bet you're in for a memorable experience.
