Originally Posted by
EvilPaladin
My father was a rally-man(for fun) in the 70's-80's, he got some pretty cool cars, Opel Manta, Lancia Stratos, others I'm forgetting, and he even test drove a Ford RS 200.
He always wanted to restart rallying when I would reach the legal age to be co-pilot, which I will next year.
He has been considering a Lotus Elise/Exige, a very cool car that we both like.
Is it a good idea ? If yes, which one would be better ?
The chassis is bonded.
The question is, were the glues chosen to take the shock loads of rallying on forest events.
If you were only planning tarmac then I'd say it might be OK.
Think about fixing bent bits though, how easy is it for chassis repair ?
Will a bent leg/member mean a new chassis - a bit expensive
Brother ran the first Audi 80's and it was a nightmare as he couldn't do seam-welding repairs to the floor and the seams kept opening up as they were not designed to take rallying stresses.
Once a full cage were fitted I think there would be little difference in body strength. YBut I think you'd need to contact Lotus to discuss mounting a cage ?
International rally events require a cage to be WELDED in - a bit hard with an alu chassis !! Even bolt-in would raise a concern about weakening the alu where the holes were drilled. Would neeed Lotus comment I think !!
Can you increase the ground clearance easily without compromising the handling ?
Miek Dresser competes in Britsh Rallycross series with a 240bhp Exige, you could try contacting him. It's not doing very well, but this is only his second season with a whole new car ! You can probably contact him via the BRDA ( he's the chairman )
Navigating inside an Exige would be seriously difficult.
If you are only planning stage and pace note events it might JUST be OK.
Forget it for navigational. It would be a nightmare.
I'm currently struggling in a post-historic MGB to find enough room to nav
have you thought about post-historic rallying ?
A110s, Escort Mexico, 911, Imp, Sunbeams, TR6s etc Great fun
Old style rallying and not too expensive.
"A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'