Zolfe Orange: The next Elise?

[YSSMAN]

An interesting British sports car just poped up on Top Gear called the Zolfe Orange.

Plucky Brit Has Plenty of Juice

This little orange tyke could be the next big thing in British sports cars.

The Zolfe Orange is designed to be as home on the track as on the road.

Based in the Midlands and built by design duo Nic Strong and Gary Collins, the Zolfe Orange uses a Suzuki Hayabusa 1.3-litre motorcycle engine.

But don't scoff at the small capacity, because this motor pumps out 156bhp in standard trim to propel the 600kg Orange from 0-60mph in just 4.5 seconds and on to 135mph.

"We were uninspired by the choice of track day cars, so we designed and produced a car we wanted," says Nic Strong.

"It's been designed to be comfortable yet still provide lots of fun."

Zolfe already has a bulging order book for the £25,000 Orange, and the car is expected to go into full production in mid-2006.

A few photos:

Shes good looking, but the performance is a bit under the "standard" Elise. The £25,000 ($44,648.50 USD) is on par with the Elise as well, but we will see what happens.

 

[Vonie]

I like the Hayabusa motor, but the looks...
It looks like a cross between the 1st gen Elise and a Marcos Mini(the one in GT4).

 

[eliseracer]

Like mentioned, the looks are really iffy. That's somehting that draws a lot to the Elise, its really loud (for its size) design, which is very logical and well thought out. I'll keep an eye out for this car though, it looks to be a cracking li'l machine.

 

[Joey D]

I think the Elise is probably better...it looks better I must say.

But this looks like a Catherm 7 mated with an Elise. I can't say I very much like it.

 

[VIPFREAK]

👍 Wow, looks sweet except for the side vents. They aren't really lotus like.

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

Like the front, like the back, but the side needs a better profile. Contender for the Elise, but definitly not its successor. (sp?)

 

[Revheadnz]

Looks nice. Reminds me of a baby TVR.

 

[Kylehnat]

Looks like a TVR Griffith crossed with Chrysler Crossfire crossed with Lotus Elise. I don't like that color, but if it goes....👍

 

[niky]

If only they'd sell that here.

Best not to think of it as an Elise rival, more of a Caterham or Radical with full weather protection.

Who cares about the 0-60 times? It looks like it'd be hella fun to drive. I'd bet it's also close to 50/50 in weight, too. Ultra-light, small, still liveable for in-town use, hell, I'd take it. 👍

 

[TheCracker]

It looks a bit like a 'clothed' Caterham 7, a bit like their 21 but with a roof:



With its space frame exposed, the interior looks a lot like the latest Caterham CSR:



I bet that under the body the chassis will be heavyly based on a 'generic Lotus 7' - not that thats a bad thing.

 

[Tornado]

Looks like a cross between a Ginetta G4, Lotus Elan and an Aston Martin Virage. That being said, it's lightweight (even more so that the current Elise), FR and could legitimately be faster than the current Elise 111R.

 

[Layla's Keeper]

Honestly, its looks reminded me of the Lotus Elite, but then again it has a very traditional FR shape no matter how you slice it.

And this is a good thing considering how many bloody ugly cars are being produced these days.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

That looks cool. Kinda like a GriffithxCuppachino(sp?)xElise

 

[Onikaze]

Tiny, Screaming, Revvy 4 Banger, Check.
Hardtop, stiff structure, Check.
Seeing the look on my terrified passengers face as the Tach pegs 9.5k....priceless.

Oooh! Stick the 2.6 Liter Twinned Busa V-8 in there, paint it black, and give me a call...

I'll be in car geek heaven.

 

[Dave A]

I actually like the looks, they're a bit retro styled, classic European sports kind of look. I think it'll be a good car, not as good on a track as an Elise though.

 

[Cosmic]

So freackin' sweet! 👍
Just imagine a racing version of it!

 

[niky]

Tiny, Screaming, Revvy 4 Banger, Check.
Hardtop, stiff structure, Check.
Seeing the look on my terrified passengers face as the Tach pegs 9.5k....priceless.

Oooh! Stick the 2.6 Liter Twinned Busa V-8 in there, paint it black, and give me a call...

I'll be in car geek heaven.

Seeing your passenger go into conniptions as the tach swings up to 11k... worth a side trip to the E.R.

 

[Appie]

it looks oke

 

[Encyclopedia]

To me it looks like a cross between an Elise and a Cerbera.

 

[X5.]

I like the nicely pronounced edges 👍, this actually looks pretty good to be honest!

 

[YSSMAN]

I really think my only complaints lie with the engine choise. I mean not to say that the Hyabusa powerplant isnt a great choise as it does offer up performance that matches the Elise (in US-spec form), but I would much rather have a bread-and-butter I4 and a five or six speed manual.

...Maybe to counteract the Elise they should go with the Honda K20A (RSX Type-S and Civic Si) or F20C (S2000), or my current favorite, the VW 2.0T FSI...

 

[niky]

I think the choice of the Hayabusa engine was mainly for the weight. They do say on the site that different engine choices will be available.

In a bespoke track car, weight is just about everything. That's why so many of them use Hayabusa and Fireblade engines.

A K20A would be awesome, though.

 

[YSSMAN]

Who much of a weight difference is there between the motorcycle engine and K-series I4?

 

[niky]

Not sure... with the hayabusa at 220 kg, I'd say maybe 75-85 kg for the engine, and the K20 maybe another 80+ over that.

Hmmm... can't find it... (too lazy) nearest I can tell, with the twin-busa V8 being 100kg, the stock should be around 75 or less, sans piping and radiator.

 

[Onikaze]

Yeah, the point of the Busa engine is weight and compactness.

It's a tiny little thing (remember it fits between your knees on the bike) with a great specific output, and it handles turbocharging and other mods well.

Me, I'm just enamored of the idea of having a hardtop coupe to go with that awesome 2.6 V-8...260+ Hp and enough noise to make your eardrums move to china.

 

[niky]

Just checked Radical's site... they've dyno'd the 2.6 V8 up to 383 hp already. And it still weighs only 100 kg... which, in the Zolfe, would mean a kerbweight of just about 700kg... 1540 lbs...

 

[Onikaze]

Just checked Radical's site... they've dyno'd the 2.6 V8 up to 383 hp already. And it still weighs only 100 kg... which, in the Zolfe, would mean a kerbweight of just about 700kg... 1540 lbs...

*moans*

Oh...uh...

I gotta go clean myself up.

 

[JohnBM01]

You know, maybe I should move to England so I can be around all the cool British rides.

Zolfe Orange, huh? Dare I say, with the headights back and that fastback look, it kind of reminds me of one of my all-time favorite sports cars, the Datsun 240Z. Don't those overfenders scream "I mean business?" Doesn't its mean stance tell you it's ready for anything? If you're going to mention Lotus, you'll have to think about light weight (unless you're talking about one of the Esprit (or as I call it, a poor man's Lamborghini)). And 600 kg is pretty light. It's about as light as... uh, maybe Formula One race cars?

I am not critical of the car's color, even though I'd prefer deep blue, a candy-like red color, or even British Racing Green. It would likely make a nice club racing car if you're in Great Britain. Kind of like something to take to Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, or even Silverstone. VERY nice car. I can dig this car, can you?

 

[Onikaze]

If I could import one for a pure track day car, I would.

If I could import one to drive day to day, run the engine soft and sip gas, and stick my foot in it when I wanted it to scream, I would in an instant.

Though, thinking about it, I'm already worried about driving a Miata here in SUVland...something that small, I don't think a Suburban would notice hitting it.

 

[194GVan]

That thing looks sweet, I want one.