From Lotus Exige to GT86

[MaximeT]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Know it seems weird but in Europe the U.S. Styling is exotic. Exotic is defined as different, unusual or special not as one particular style.
Back when I was stationed in Germany in the 70s one of the guys brought over his 75 Trans Am. That car would attract crowds bigger than a million dollar Lambo would here. Guys with cars thar we think of exotic would drool and caress the bloody thing.

That's exactly the point.

[industrial]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Know it seems weird but in Europe the U.S. Styling is exotic. Exotic is defined as different, unusual or special not as one particular style.
Back when I was stationed in Germany in the 70s one of the guys brought over his 75 Trans Am. That car would attract crowds bigger than a million dollar Lambo would here. Guys with cars thar we think of exotic would drool and caress the bloody thing.

It was the same in Japan. A friend of mine had a 64 Impala in decent shape which were a dime a dozen in California when I left (96). When he would drive downtown in Okinawa, everyone would gawk. It was awesome, like being a celebrity. R32,33,34 GTRs, silvias, rx7s, s2000s, sti, evo were a dime a dozen there. Felt like every other car was one of those.

[olsonpg]

Originally Posted by SUB-FT86

In America an exotic car must have exotic styling also. A Mustang being a exotic in France or any place in this world is laughable. I can understand the Ford GT mid engine car.

Exotic: originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country.

Mustangs, Challengers, and Camaro's don't appear exotic to us because we see them everyday Just like how a lotus wouldn't appear to have exotic styling in say Britain and France. If you only saw a shelby gt or any basic mustang for that matter a few times a year it would definitely catch your eye and appear exotic. Its all perception.

[Celica00]

Originally Posted by MaximeT

Usually people that just want to show they have a big car. Some of them do switch to a RAM 1500 (which is super exotic)

RAM 1500 exotic... What a world.


It really is perspective though. Pretty fascinating to see the differences

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by olsonpg

Exotic: originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country.

Mustangs, Challengers, and Camaro's don't appear exotic to us because we see them everyday Just like how a lotus wouldn't appear to have exotic styling in say Britain and France. If you only saw a shelby gt or any basic mustang for that matter a few times a year it would definitely catch your eye and appear exotic. Its all perception.

I understand what you're saying but a Mustang or muscle cars for that matter are just 2 door GT coupes with boxy styling(simple shaped). By your definition our cars are exotics since they come from Japan.

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Know it seems weird but in Europe the U.S. Styling is exotic. Exotic is defined as different, unusual or special not as one particular style.
Back when I was stationed in Germany in the 70s one of the guys brought over his 75 Trans Am. That car would attract crowds bigger than a million dollar Lambo would here. Guys with cars that we think of exotic would drool and caress the bloody thing.

I hear you. But to me the USA makes some of the most boring looking cars to me. The cars that got me into my love for sports cars was mostly mid engine, RWD, futuristic looking, Italians with a ultra low slung shape with vents and the whole nine. When I see a muscle car I just see a 2 door sedan.

[olsonpg]

Originally Posted by SUB-FT86

I understand what you're saying but a Mustang or muscle cars for that matter are just 2 door GT coupes with boxy styling(simple shaped). By your definition our cars are exotics since they come from Japan.

Yeah I definitely see your point. But remember when we first started seeing glimpses of the new Camaro in the Transformer movies? We couldnt believe our eyes and i definitely remember thinking to myself how exotic it looked at the time. Now they are just meh.

Things we see all the time tend to become mundane and lose their exoticness no matter how amazing they might be.

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by olsonpg

Yeah I definitely see your point. But remember when we first started seeing glimpses of the new Camaro in the Transformer movies? We couldnt believe our eyes and i definitely remember thinking to myself how exotic it looked at the time. Now they are just meh.

Things we see all the time tend to become mundane and lose their exoticness no matter how amazing they might be.

When I see an Italian exotic I never grow tired of seeing one. They just stand out from everything else. But for me Muscle cars have never had that feel on me. I see them as 2 door boxy GT's and that's all. It could be that European styling gets me excited when done right. Only cars I see as exotic are

1. Lamborghini's
2.Ferrari's
3.Aston Martin
4.Ultra high end Porsche's(918 and Carrera GT)
5.Koenigsegg
6.Pagani
7.Bugatti
8.Lotus

And the likes.

[GT86_PRAGUE]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Know it seems weird but in Europe the U.S. Styling is exotic. Exotic is defined as different, unusual or special not as one particular style.
Back when I was stationed in Germany in the 70s one of the guys brought over his 75 Trans Am. That car would attract crowds bigger than a million dollar Lambo would here. Guys with cars that we think of exotic would drool and caress the bloody thing.

This is true even today. I live in Europe and even people who dont like muscle cars always look at classic American muscle. The more classic, the better.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

The 86 platform has a budget suspension and chassis mostly modified from the Impreza.

This is not entirely true. The chassis of the 86 platform uses processes and technology from higher priced cars like the Lexus brand. It is wrong to assume that the chassis comes mostly from the Impreza cause of the manufacturer. Suspension wise you can have better results with a mono-tube design. This change seemed more relevant before the MY14 suspension revisions. Now, it is not really necessary unless you are too serious with lap timing and racing competitions. Besides, how many cars come with a mono-tube design from the factory?

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Never will the 86 have the driver connection of a mid engine, dedicated platform like the Exige/Elise. Two different animals.

The designer decision to have a FR platform it was not made mainly from a budget point of view. There seems to exist a lot of hype about the mid engine platforms and about the idealized 50-50 weight ratio or even more on the back. There were a lot of discussions with professional race drivers and racing funs and the decisions were made based on feedback given from such people.

[MaximeT]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

This is not entirely true. The chassis of the 86 platform uses processes and technology from higher priced cars like the Lexus brand. It is wrong to assume that the chassis comes mostly from the Impreza cause of the manufacturer. Suspension wise you can have better results with a mono-tube design. This change seemed more relevant before the MY14 suspension revisions. Now, it is not really necessary unless you are too serious with lap timing and racing competitions. Besides, how many cars come with a mono-tube design from the factory?



The designer decision to have a FR platform it was not made mainly from a budget point of view. There seems to exist a lot of hype about the mid engine platforms and about the idealized 50-50 weight ratio or even more on the back. There were a lot of discussions with professional race drivers and racing funs and the decisions were made based on feedback given from such people.

Yes, mid engine is great if you got a longitudinal layout. If you got transversal that's totally useless.

Exige feels connected because it got an amazing steering feel. Not because it's mid engine.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

The 86 platform has a budget suspension and chassis mostly modified from the Impreza.

Originally Posted by nikitopo

It is wrong to assume that the chassis comes mostly from the Impreza cause of the manufacturer.

By the way, Subaru learnt a lot from the manufacturing process of the 86 platform and some things were transferred in the newer WRX/STI platforms. So it was in fact the other way around.

[nickw14]

I wouldn't do it. The exige is an absolutely gorgeous car. However if you're really interested, wanna trade? I've already got a turbo on mine.

[MaximeT]

Originally Posted by nickw14

I wouldn't do it. The exige is an absolutely gorgeous car. However if you're really interested, wanna trade? I've already got a turbo on mine.

I'm in Europe, but yes