Having spent many nights racing GT3 with the one of the driving forces of the Mazda MX5 (Bob Hall), and having recalled that Bwob said that they benchmarked the development of the MX-5 against the Elan, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two (a 62 Elan vs 04 MX5 1800 RS).
I've run 2 tracks that are polar opposites and suit both cars, Tsukuba, and Nurburgring, both in A spec as:
1. My B spec driver Hans is still a second or three off my pace
2. I wanted to feel the difference in driving both back to back
Both cars were stock no oil change, no set up tuning
First up was Tsukuba, one of my favourite small car tracks, with the Elan running first.
The Elan is an absolute blast to drive, underpowered by todays standards but has a remarkably agile feel, no corrections needed, no sliding and was pretty much nailed the whole way
Lap time: 1'07.690
Next the MX-5, needed more shoulder work to hustle into corners and understeered more than the Elan.
Lap time: 1'09.991
Next up was Nordschleife, where I anticipated that the MX-5 with it's extra grunt up and down the straights would compensate for the hiding it got at Tuskuba.
Again the Elan went first and by lap 2 I'd had the the little beast nailed to the floor, maxing out at 111 mph. The fluidity in change of direction was awesome and I just wanted to continue on and on, after lap 3 I knew there was bugger all improvement left in the car (more in the driver I'm sure)
Lap time 8'52.775
Next up the MX-5, and after 4 restarts for spins and tank slappers I finally got into it's groove, however there was a fair bit of wheel, and throttle control required to keep it on the black stuff, but with a top speed of 130mph I thought it might be a close run thing. Wrong again!!
Lap time 8'58.758
The MX-5 felt underdamped, overweight, and flexy, lets hope the NC is in GT5!
So what does 42 years of development bring?
The Elan 62 still spanks todays classic sports car!
Obviously a more comfortable daily driver for your commute, but when it comes to the track give me the original every day
Hat's off to Colin Chapman for understanding that weight is a track cars worst enemy
👍 👍 👍
GT4 87.7%
MX-5 owner
Edited because I previously gave the MX5 the Elans time at the Ring D'oh
I've run 2 tracks that are polar opposites and suit both cars, Tsukuba, and Nurburgring, both in A spec as:
1. My B spec driver Hans is still a second or three off my pace
2. I wanted to feel the difference in driving both back to back
Both cars were stock no oil change, no set up tuning
First up was Tsukuba, one of my favourite small car tracks, with the Elan running first.
The Elan is an absolute blast to drive, underpowered by todays standards but has a remarkably agile feel, no corrections needed, no sliding and was pretty much nailed the whole way
Lap time: 1'07.690
Next the MX-5, needed more shoulder work to hustle into corners and understeered more than the Elan.
Lap time: 1'09.991
Next up was Nordschleife, where I anticipated that the MX-5 with it's extra grunt up and down the straights would compensate for the hiding it got at Tuskuba.
Again the Elan went first and by lap 2 I'd had the the little beast nailed to the floor, maxing out at 111 mph. The fluidity in change of direction was awesome and I just wanted to continue on and on, after lap 3 I knew there was bugger all improvement left in the car (more in the driver I'm sure)
Lap time 8'52.775
Next up the MX-5, and after 4 restarts for spins and tank slappers I finally got into it's groove, however there was a fair bit of wheel, and throttle control required to keep it on the black stuff, but with a top speed of 130mph I thought it might be a close run thing. Wrong again!!
Lap time 8'58.758
The MX-5 felt underdamped, overweight, and flexy, lets hope the NC is in GT5!
So what does 42 years of development bring?
The Elan 62 still spanks todays classic sports car!
Obviously a more comfortable daily driver for your commute, but when it comes to the track give me the original every day
Hat's off to Colin Chapman for understanding that weight is a track cars worst enemy
👍 👍 👍
GT4 87.7%
MX-5 owner
Edited because I previously gave the MX5 the Elans time at the Ring D'oh
