The cars and bikes thread!

[geoffbot]

Yeah but that's not exactly a trade! But I hear you. I'm guessing the elise is still more visceral; the Aston more grand tourer ish?

[gnuyork]

It may grow on your more, Geoff. BMWs aren't about raw, visceral experiences, never have been, they're about competence. M versions excepted, of course.

I do sometimes still miss my Elise. Mine had an aftermarket supercharger and a modded ECU that kicked in the second cam around 4000 rpm instead of 6000. That gave it the low end grunt that the stock one and even the factory supercharged one didn't have. OTOH, the Aston is just as quick, handling is 90% of the Elise, and it is far more comfortable and practical.

Picture for the memories:

Attachment 59507

Exactly, I have an aftermarket SC and a KoldFire tune (as well as other stuff, race head and valves, exhaust, corner balancing, brakes, yadda, yadda). I know Raza is passionately against it, but I think it makes an awesome car even better. 0-60 acceleration times under 4 seconds too Nothing wrong with that.

[mlcor]

Yeah but that's not exactly a trade! But I hear you. I'm guessing the elise is still more visceral; the Aston more grand tourer ish?

You'd think so, and that's probably true for the bigger Astons, but actually, the Vantage is quite small (the same length as my daughter's 2011 Honda CR-V) and pretty nimble. The steering is good old fashioned hydraulic, not electronic, the suspension is conventional (non-adjustable), so the car has none of the electronic feel and presets of, say, my Panamera. It's obviously much bigger and heavier than the Elise (what isn't??) but it feels very much like an older style basic sports car, albeit with a knockout interior and no rattles. It's too fast and rides too firmly to be a tourer (not that the ride is too firm), just not cushy enough to be considered anything other than a sports car.

[gnuyork]

and no rattles.

Lol, the rattles.

[geoffbot]

You'd think so, and that's probably true for the bigger Astons, but actually, the Vantage is quite small (the same length as my daughter's 2011 Honda CR-V) and pretty nimble. The steering is good old fashioned hydraulic, not electronic, the suspension is conventional (non-adjustable), so the car has none of the electronic feel and presets of, say, my Panamera. It's obviously much bigger and heavier than the Elise (what isn't??) but it feels very much like an older style basic sports car, albeit with a knockout interior and no rattles. It's too fast and rides too firmly to be a tourer (not that the ride is too firm), just not cushy enough to be considered anything other than a sports car.

Sold - I'll take 2!

[Seriously]

Yeah but that's not exactly a trade! But I hear you. I'm guessing the elise is still more visceral; the Aston more grand tourer ish?

What you want to do is drop by , do a five minute test drive and then buy either

Oh wait , that's what you did with the beemer

[93EXCivic]

I think I need a lotus elise or something for the weekend.

How much are Caterhams over there?

[geoffbot]

How much are Caterhams over there?

There are a total of 4 on Auto Trader.

[geoffbot]

I'm not actually going to get another car. I mean, I will probably eventually, but I currently have no money. Though when I first posted about upgrading the polo until now is probably the kind of timescales, and I need something to aim for. I'd rather get a new bike first too. Maybe a BMW - keep it deutsch.

[Raza]

You'd think so, and that's probably true for the bigger Astons, but actually, the Vantage is quite small (the same length as my daughter's 2011 Honda CR-V) and pretty nimble. The steering is good old fashioned hydraulic, not electronic, the suspension is conventional (non-adjustable), so the car has none of the electronic feel and presets of, say, my Panamera. It's obviously much bigger and heavier than the Elise (what isn't??) but it feels very much like an older style basic sports car, albeit with a knockout interior and no rattles. It's too fast and rides too firmly to be a tourer (not that the ride is too firm), just not cushy enough to be considered anything other than a sports car.

All reports I've read point to the V8 being a proper sports car. Really, the perfect replacement for my Z4. Although, I really like the F-Type V6S too, which has a manual.

What's the top stow/replace time on the Aston? The Z4's blistering roof time has spoiled me. At any light, I can put the roof down and I'll never be late for the green. 8.5 seconds down. 10 seconds up means you never get too wet (unless you don't mind it, then you can just keep going).

I'm still seriously jealous of your V8. I'm just glad it's an automatic, otherwise I might just die of jealousy. V8 Vantage Roadster 6MT in dark blue would be first purchase if I won the lottery. Then I'd get a set of black wheels, a Royal Oak chronograph, and a literal ton of caviar.