Hi all, I'm the new owner of B694KRX - Elliott's car. Bought last week and picked up this week. I have nothing but first impressions, which I thought were worth recording while they're fresh in my mind - they're mainly in contrast to my other fun car, also mid-engined and NA 3.0 litre:
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I picked up the Stratos today, and drove it back from North London to Cambridge. I drove about 300 miles in the NSX at the weekend, so that's still fresh in my mind. Some initial thoughts:
Steering: first thing I noticed - it's much faster in the Stratos, and I had to untrain myself from the amount of steering input needed for the NSX (EPS model). In the Stratos, a little goes a long way. I will need to get it checked out, because there's a little (of what I think is) bump steer. I can imagine that on a wet bumpy B-road it would be as easy as wrangling a slippery eel.
Acceleration: don't properly know, I didn't boot it at all. Engine seems very willing - it's dynoed at 240bhp - and there's a very obvious lack of weight (about 950kg, I think). So it feels subjectively quick for moderate throttle input.
Ride: far less composed than the NSX. And at low speed on potholed roads it's the exact opposite of the NSX.
Comfort: !!!!! there is none. Seats are thin racing types, and there's a 5-point harness which has a strap so wide that the one that runs between your legs is constantly annoying. Offset and quite narrowly spaced pedals mean a bit of precision footwork is needed. Plus on this car there's a jerry-rigged accelerator connection that adds a lever very close to the clutch, which without a good aim gives you gas with each clutch press.
The windows are unique in that when lowered there's some weird aerodynamic effect where you just get increased wind noise without any actual air entering the cabin. The coolant pipes run through the middle spine of the car and even in today's moderate heat, the in-cabin temp increased and got warm. Not unpleasantly hot, but on a really hot Summer's day...
Rear visibility is an issue. The louvres for the rear window are quite thick, and it's easy to lose sight of a distant-but-closing car completely. Need to add better door mirrors, too. It's a world apart from the all-round clarity of the NSX's canopy
It's a total cacophony inside. The combination of kit construction, complete lack of sound deadening and driver's proximity to the engine and rear tyres creates a non-stop racket. Add the noise of a slightly warped brake disk, and noise egress from the open windows and when I eventually stopped at the car storage space and switched off, I thought I'd gone deaf. The chances of my OH wanting a trip in this car really are zilch (she tolerates the NSX).
Driving: it definitely felt like an event to drive the Stratos. At no point did I feel relaxed - although it is still very new to me. I suppose it is the opposite of the NSX where the reviews all said that this was a car your Mum could get in and drive.
I will be doing a driver instruction day in the Stratos. ASAP!
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Sadly, my local storage promise didn't work out, so it's temporarily stored at a proper long-term car storage facility. Not sure if I will be able to get to an event before the end of the season. But there is some fibreglass work to be done, so I may get it shuttled around in the Winter (recommendations of a good bodyshop close to Cambridge would be nice!)
I will get to some events next year for sure. Hope to meet a lot of forumites.
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