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Old 01-27-2002, 12:46 PM   #1
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Acura NSX vs. Lotus Esprit Turbo

Exotic Diversions

"The journeys may differ, but the destination is the same
Envision, for a moment, a special heaven created just for automotive engineers. They'd pass through some pearly-looking gates, perhaps pluck a few chords on oversize, gilded harps, then maybe recline for a few moments on a comfortable, puffy cloud. Before long, I'd venture, they'd carefully place their halos and wings aside, roll up their sleeves and set about designing the perfect exotic car.

These chosen-from-above gearheads would be given free rein and many clean sheets of paper for the task; after all, this heaven would be recompense for cruel earthly toil involving the design of power-steering pumps and license-plate brackets. Before the first sketch was rendered, though, an essential prerequisite would have to be met: careful study of the Acura NSX and Lotus Esprit Turbo, two benchmarks in the evolution of the exotic car.

Ground-scrapingly low slung. Room for two. Mid-mounted engines. Largely handcrafted from lightweight materials. Possessing enough forward thrust to keep one's backside pressed firmly into the seat, enough deceleration under braking to suspend driver from seatbelt like a bottomed-out bungee jumper, and enough mechanical stamina to repeat the process over and over again without breaking a sweat. They attract small crowds when parked, and even when driven--they're sort of the Pied Pipers of the automotive world.

While both the Acura and Lotus are fascinating means to the same end, their origins are decades apart and their approaches, a study in contrasts.

The Lotus has been in production since 1975, and the sharp-edged Giorgio Giugiaro-designed prototype dates back to 1971. Through the years, it has been significantly updated mechanically and had its edges softened visually, but it remains true to the original inspiration of Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman and his tightly knit, intensely focused band of engineers. Its structure follows traditional Lotus practice, with a galvanized steel backbone chassis whose tubular aft structure cradles what's currently the highest-specific-output production car engine sold in the U.S.--a 2.2-liter twincam inline-4 that, with help from a turbocharger and water-to-air intercooler, makes 264 bhp. Its shape, crafted of fiberglass composite panels and made famous through the years in James Bond films (and more recently at the gearbox-gnashing hands of Richard Gere's character in Pretty Woman), continues to grab its share of admiring glances from even the car-callous denizens of Newport Beach.

The NSX is a computer-engineered child of the Nineties, brought into this world screaming at the top of its lungs. Its aluminum 3.0-liter dohc V-6 develops its 270 bhp through ingenious valvetrain technology and expensive bits such as titanium connecting rods, which enable it not only to spin to 8000 rpm, but to make usable power at those revs as well. Its structure? While the unit-body method of the NSX's construction is nothing new, the material itself is unconventional--aluminum stampings and extrusions are used for body panels and all major load-bearing members, with the exception of a steel tube that runs the width of the car to support the steering column. And the NSX is thoroughly modern in its approach to occupant comfort--the car's generous interior dimensions were carved in stone first, then the mechanicals designed around them, a rarity in a class where providing adequate space for people can seem like an afterthought.

The NSX lists for $68,600. The Esprit, pegged last year at $86,750, is now $67,345, within a whisker of the NSX's price tag; the nearly $20,000 reduction is Lotus' response to the high-end sports-car market that's recently sagged like the jowls of a Saint Bernard. With the playing field of price nearly level, we thought it was high time to see how England's Old Guard exotic stacks up against Japan's only mass-produced mid-engine supercar, on both the Streets of Willow race track near Lancaster, California, and in that acid test of low-speed temperament, the daily commute.

On entering the Esprit, the scent of leather overwhelms. no wonder with what seems like acres of the supple tan stuff covering just about every exposed surface, stitched with just enough imperfection to suggest it's been done by hand. You face a battery of thick-bezeled round gauges, all too small with rather crowded markings, set in a panel sheathed with polished wood veneer. The nonadjustable steering wheel is--aaargh!--pulled straight from the Firebird/Camaro parts bin, replete with bulbous airbag and rubbery covering, but at least its rim is thick and leather-wrapped. The seating position is low, semi-reclined and cozy, and now there's enough room for six-footers to be comfortable, thanks to a newly revised firewall bulkhead and stretched footbox. It's real work to see out, with the base of the almost flat, steeply raked windshield seeming very far away. And the view straight back is neatly bisected (and heavily compromised) by a large wing, restyled for 1993. Rear-quarter outward vision? Slim to none, making lane changes and reversing maneuvers exercises in neck craning...and faith.

Where the NSX gives away some of the warmth and the fussed-over look of the Esprit's cabin, it gives back in day-to-day livability. The dash and
the instrument panel, done up in imitation leather and dark gray plastic, feel as though they've been poured in around your knees, so low is the cowl and so good the forward vision. Tach and speedometer are huge and clearly marked, offer information without study, and are visible through a three-spoke wheel with tiny airbag and what's possibly the most supple leather ever to encircle a steering-wheel rim. Footwells are generously wide, with a proper dead pedal and room for even big, clumsy feet--in the Esprit, there's no room to the left of the clutch pedal, leaving your left foot to flop against the sizable wheel arch when it's not helping change gears. Seat facings are genuine bovine skin, as are the door panel inserts, and the seats themselves are either vastly more supportive or somewhat more confining than the Esprit's rather flat-cushioned devices, depending on the way your own particular chassis is put together.

Fire up the engines, blip the throttles, and you'll see why variety is said to be the spice of life. Our test Lotus, after two or three twists of the ignition key, settled into a slightly thumpy idle. Once underway, accomplished with a light, easily modulated clutch action, whine from the toothed timing belt just inches behind your head ascends in concert with the tach needle scurrying around to the Esprit's 7400-rpm redline. At each shift, the turbo's wastegate titters just a little, keeping that little compressor ready to deliver its full 12.5-psi wrath for the next gear--which it does with just a half-beat of lag. And those gears are served up through the most mechanically exact shift linkage Lotus has offered yet, though its throws seem long when compared with the economical wristy motions required to select the NSX's different cogs. Whether puttering down Main Street or going all-out for acceleration runs, there's always a certain amount of mechanical ruckus competing with the noises made by your passenger and/or the excellent JVC sound system. And equally satisfying lunges of acceleration are at the command of your right foot.

The NSX's V-6 leads a double life--it's the engine of a sophisticated, refined GT when cruising or at small throttle openings; but crack the throttle wider and the monster within awakens. Induction sound segues from a subdued purr to a series of sharp, honking pulses, which meld into one of the most mellifluous mechanical symphonies of all time--almost as if someone slipped in the soundtrack of a recent German Grand Prix into the NSX's commendable Acura/Bose stereo/cassette system and turned it up full blast. At between 5800 and 6000 rpm, Acura's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) comes into play and hydraulically shifts valve actuation to a second set of camshaft lobes with higher lift and longer duration, and voila!--instant top-end charge without sacrificing low- to mid-rpm smoothness and punch. For passing, you'll still want to drop from 5th to 4th, or even 3rd just for the sheer exhilaration of spinning the engine to its 8000-rpm redline--even though the NSX serves up one of the broadest, tastiest platters of torque anywhere.

With the 5th wheel fitted, both cars get off the mark like a Fred Couples tee shot; the Esprit shows just a little more Boom Boom, reaching 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, versus 5.8 for the NSX. Hethel's finest holds most of its advantage through the quarter mile, posting a fleet 13.7 sec. in the face of the Acura's 14.0-sec. time. The odds shift in braking, where the NSX's big 11.1-in. vented discs and ABS give it easily reproducible, incredibly short stops from 60 and 80 mph of 120 and 200 ft., edging out the still amazing 121- and 225-ft. efforts of the smaller-rotored, ABS-equipped Esprit.

With test equipment stowed and all fluids up to operating temperatures, Streets of Willow awaited. Time to brush up on the old heel-and-toe technique, brush off any preconceived notions and find out what these cars really do when pushed hard in a safe, controlled race-track environment.

First, the NSX. In a word? Precise. In three words? Precise, predictable, stable. This is a ridiculously easy car to drive quickly, a car that doesn't require you to put forth the skills of a Fangio to rattle off some pretty impressive laps. Grip is excellent, as is the feel through the brake pedal that allows you to threshold brake and just barely invoke the ABS, time and time again. Steering is precise, with a nice linear increase in effort as more lock is used, and isn't darty at all under hard braking. With its traction control switched off, the rear tires are willing partners
in pointing the fronts, either through very subtle, catchable drop-throttle-
induced oversteer, or squeezing the throttle on--in 2nd gear. With taller ratios and less torque multiplication, options disappear and the NSX reverts to steady-state mild understeer. Lap after lap, you think of the line you'd like to take around a particular corner. You brake, steer and accelerate, and the NSX just flat executes it, with lots of g-force and a bare minimum of heart palpitation.

Sweetening the experience is--I've mentioned this before, but it merits repeating--the excellent outward vision. Confidence can't help increasing when you can clearly see the outlines of the front fenders (and thus the car's position relative to the road) and the immediacy of the asphalt ahead. And pedals are ideally spaced for second-nature throttle blips when braking.

On to the Esprit, which will lap Streets of Willow about as quickly as the NSX, but it's more of a wrestling match than a dance. The culprit? Lots of understeer, which calls for careful planning in the early stages of a corner so that pavement remains at its exit. Sudden drop-throttle will pivot the car briefly, but as power is reapplied, strong understeer resumes, predictable as sunrise. Classic Nuvolari power-on drifts are entirely out of the question. The steering, normally jabbering with feedback, goes strangely silent when the front tires start scrubbing; and the braking system, though possessing nice, firm pedal feel, shows a hint of fade and doesn't quite spawn the confidence that the Acura's system does.

There's a likable lightness in the way the Esprit changes direction, but that dreaded understeer, not-insignificant body roll and a relatively less precise handling feel tarnish its overall entertainment value when pushed to the limits at the track. Driven at aggressive speeds on the street, though, the Esprit returns more of a race-car feel than the NSX, by virtue of its more high-strung engine and steering that reacts more quickly just off center.

For 1994, Lotus will be offering the S4 Esprit, claimed to be a tauter, crisper-handling car with 17-in. wheels and tires, stiffer springs and significant styling revisions inside and out. Said Roger Becker, Lotus' director of vehicle engineering, in Britain's Autocar & Motor: "We engineered understeer into the old Esprit to keep its handling safe but, to be honest, we overstepped the mark. For the S4, we wanted quicker responses, a neutral to oversteer handling balance, less roll and more grip." That's music to our ears, inner and otherwise.

And much like people's taste in music, taste in exotic cars is a highly subjective thing, having no completely rational explanation. On one hand there's the NSX, dynamically superb, exceedingly well mannered and civil to a fault. If a fault is to be isolated, it's that the car is a little too ordered and antiseptic, with styling that takes few risks. On the other hand there's the Esprit, certainly a little rougher around the edges but thoroughly saturated with personality, style and heritage. Observers who didn't give the Acura a second look have been known to trip all over the Esprit parked adjacent to it; evidently the essence of Giugiaro's original design has weathered the test of time."
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Old 01-27-2002, 02:59 PM   #2
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Dated, but excellent article! Where is it from?
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Old 01-27-2002, 03:21 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally posted by jay@af
Dated, but excellent article! Where is it from?
http://www.espritfactfile.com/Articles.html
Look this and more
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Old 05-30-2002, 09:27 AM   #4
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THAT'S LONG!!!
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