S3 economy...!
Discussion
I leaped aboard the good ship Esprit this eventide, as one does, in order to visit Tesco's and stock up on the necessaries: peaches, bin liners and beer 
I realised that the fuel pump was clattering away in that time-honoured fashion that speaks of empty tanks.
Luckily I was prepared for the event and had precisely one gallon of 95RON stashed in the boot. This was duly poured in, the trip zeroed and journey commenced. First stop was to a local fuel station to replenish the jerrycan. Thence to Tesco's where the tedious trudge resulted in several carrier bags of not-so necessaries. And some beer
I then set off on a random journey that included some stop-start through the town, some gentle 60mph on country lanes, five miles cruising at about 85 and assorted other general motoring in a vaguely homeward direction (about 2.6 miles from Tesco's).
I pulled up at a red light and was greeted by the intermittent clatter of the fuel pump as it tried to suck the last dregs out of the tanks. It was thus time to stop and add the jerrycan contents.
The trip counter read 31 miles dead. So now you know
I realised that the fuel pump was clattering away in that time-honoured fashion that speaks of empty tanks.
Luckily I was prepared for the event and had precisely one gallon of 95RON stashed in the boot. This was duly poured in, the trip zeroed and journey commenced. First stop was to a local fuel station to replenish the jerrycan. Thence to Tesco's where the tedious trudge resulted in several carrier bags of not-so necessaries. And some beer
I then set off on a random journey that included some stop-start through the town, some gentle 60mph on country lanes, five miles cruising at about 85 and assorted other general motoring in a vaguely homeward direction (about 2.6 miles from Tesco's
). I pulled up at a red light and was greeted by the intermittent clatter of the fuel pump as it tried to suck the last dregs out of the tanks. It was thus time to stop and add the jerrycan contents.
The trip counter read 31 miles dead. So now you know
The Esprit was, and always will be an economical sports car. Back in the day when the old man used to sell them, he was running a TVR 350 or 390, that was far too juicy so he switched to a Merak SS, also very juicy. He then starting using a Mazda RX-7, very, very juicy. Then he started having Esprits, the most econimical sports car he's ever had he reckons, and he didn't exactly hang about in them either.
deecee said:
teigan said:
a lot of underpowered sportscars came out in the seventies due to middle east fighting.
...or it could be that Computers that Maximized Motor Performance had not yet been Invented and Engine Controls were Crude and typically Vacuum Actuated.
A third option is that Lotus seems to make a habit of slightly underpowering new models, a practise that doesn't seem to be unusual in the industry. Or, to look at it another way, as models mature Lotus manage to put more powerful engines in them. (e.g. Esprit, Europa, Elise...)
there was definitely a conscious shift to smaller capacity lower horsepower engines. it would be a safe bet to say lotus was part of that statistic. if i were to intentionally underpower an introductory model, i'd make sure the powertrain could handle the later upgrades. there's no evidence that lotus did that. i typically get better mileage than friends with 2005 sportscars or even family sedans. i have to keep the turbo activity to a minimum though. someday i still plan to install a boost controller for the sole purpose of disabling the turbo on demand.
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