Scottish Elises

Another question in the name of research for my next car:

Watching a re-run of an old Top Gear (2004) last night, they put the S2 Exige round the track and it posted a time of 1:27 (or 1:26.9 to be exact).
I noticed when they were putting the time on the board that the VX220T had done the lap in 1:31

Was the Stig busy the day they tested the VX220T, or is that a realistic gap in performance between the two cars?
The TG track looks like it wouldn't necessarily benefit handling or power to the exclusion of the other (ie. quite a fair test of the two), so I'd have thought the two times would have been closer than 4 seconds!

Top Gear track times are purely for entertainment.
The Stig is not the same person every week, conditions are different so I wouldn't bother basing anything on those times.

Neither time had (W) or even (MM) beside them, so I assume both were dry.

IIRC the exige lap was damp. As paul says alot of it is the tyres but also i believe the suspension setup is significantly better, and of course the vx is heavier.

Given that the track is on an airfield, and in places uses tyres as markers, is it always the exact same track? Guess the different stigs will make up for the biggest difference.

ed wrote:IIRC the exige lap was damp. As paul says alot of it is the tyres but also i believe the suspension setup is significantly better, and of course the vx is heavier.

Personally i think a Exige would murder a standard VXT round a track, mainly due to the A048's but its like saying an K series Atom would beat a MGF. Although the have similarities they aren't trying to do the same job.

Oh and the VX is only 55kgs heavier as standard, add in touring etc and there probably isn't a huge amount in it.

The tyres and suspension make a huge difference. Also if you keep the exige on cam........

Mutliple Stigs Shame on TG

During my VX or Exige debate last year it was VXT owners themselves that actually convinced me to get the Exige. By their own admission the VXT was quicker in a straight line but would be mullered by the Exige on track unless you spent £1000's on upgrading the suspension, brakes and getting OZ's to fit 48's.

kenny wrote:During my VX or Exige debate last year it was VXT owners themselves that actually convinced me to get the Exige. By their own admission the VXT was quicker in a straight line but would be mullered by the Exige on track unless you spent £1000's on upgrading the suspension, brakes and getting OZ's to fit 48's.

Yep

I think the general consensus is that the standard VXT is somewhat compromised for the track. You can fix most/all of this but you have to spend cash, and you could argue you should start with a VXR or Exige anyway. In my case you should start with the driver

The setup for the road is spot on in many senses though - a litttle less crashy, loads of grunt from low down and grip still well beyond what I feel I can safely push on the public highway.

simon wrote:The Stig is not the same person every week...

Are your sources good on this info? In past guises the Stig has been one person for the series...

timmsky wrote: Are your sources good on this info? In past guises the Stig has been one person for the series...

I think it's generally Ben Collins, but the Renault F1 car was driven by Kovalainen and the MC12 by its owner, Frank Mountain.

With regard to the VXT/Exige debate, the Exige is quite a bit quicker due mainly to the tyres. Having been round Knockhill in Brian J's Exige there's just no way my VXT would corner at similar speeds, the grip level of the A048s is way beyond that of the RE040s on the VX. The Exige is also better balanced and the chassis is not as soft as the VX's. These can all be sorted, but out of the box the Exige is the better track car.

As a road car the VXT may be the more driveable car due to the extra torque, but as standard it won't live with an Exige round somewhere like Knockhill.

Digital wrote:I think it's generally Ben Collins

Or Julian Bailey.

Digital wrote:but as standard it won't live with an Exige round somewhere like Knockhill.

Considering you spend at least two thirds of Knockhill simply pointing in a straight line and going full throttle you would have thought the VXT might have been closer

Info on The Stig

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig

Whether it's true or otherwise.........

Cal

there were at least 3 stig's last season.

I was speaking to one of the guys who does filming work for Top Gear. He wouldnt admit to being the stig but he did have a twinkle in his eye when i mentioned it. Was letting me into a few of the secrets behind the filming. various different camera tricks etc etc