High Hopes For Elio - The Sport Edition

[skychief]

A year ago, things looked kinda "iffy" for EM. But Today, the company seems to be on track for a late 2017 release of the production vehicle we've all been waiting for.

Many people on this forum have expressed a desire to immediately make performance mods to their autocycles the day after they take delivery. Which is fine, of course.

There are reasons why the Elio is only 55 HP and has skinny tires and takes nearly 10 seconds to accelerate to 60 MPH from a dead stop. We all know these reasons, and its been discussed in great detail on this (and other) forum(s).

I think eventually, when EM has a solid foothold in the automotive market, at some point they will probably introduce some more "spirited" models for autocycle enthusiasts.

It will still look like the stock "commuter" Elio, but there will be a slight bulge on the hood to accommodate a supercharger. The front tires will be wider profile (60's instead of 80's) and the rear tire will be massive. It will be a bit heavier - around 1450 pounds. It will get 85 HP and go 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. And it will have a little chrome badge on the rear quarterpanel that says "Sport"

The downside is, that $7300 price-tag? Ummm. Nope. Probably closer to eleven grand. Which is still relatively inexpensive. 84 MPG? Fuggeddaboudit. On a fair day, with a decent tail-wind you might see 55 MPG - which is still great. (My HD Road King cant even do that).

I will buy my sluggish production Elio. I want to keep it bone-stock. When the Sport edition comes out, I'll sell the old Elio to some wide-eyed kid dirt cheap. And then I'll get the Sport Elio. Booyah.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

got to buy a lot of goodies to get the OTD price 11k (still cheaper than our bikes!!) I'm good with air, and auto for these bad old knees. A good prospective - I agree with your time line, I'm not needy 0-60 time, but will happily jump in to a EV.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Or you could modify it yourself and give us a reason to make a new category on ElioOwners.com

 

[Chaz]

I just bought a used Ford Fiesta with the Ecoboost 1l 3 cylinder engine. The thing makes 123hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. It has some get up and go.

 

[Ty]

I don't see the need for a massive rear tire. It's like those massive rear tires on motorcycles... it isn't like traction is a problem with stock size tires. The rear tire on a the Elio ('the Elio" is how Elio refers to the Elio and I think it'll be their eventual name -- I hope not) just drags along. Anything beyond handling improvement size just seems like a waste on the Elio. Why put a really wide, hidden tire on the Elio rear end that will just end up costing money in lost MPG without any real gain? Look? Only if you can see it. Other than that, it's just going to make your the Elio handle more roughly.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I agree with TY.
BUT it is all about the look!

 

[Ekh]

I bet Roush Engineering and Continental could team up to gin up a sports-tuned suspension, which, coupled with an ECU adjustment to emphasize "go" over "economy," would give us the Elio-S (or the SuperElio). I could see this happening at the start of Year Two of production.

I bet this could be done for under $1,000 price difference from the base car. I further bet a bunch of us would be all over that like flies on a Moon Pie.

The Elio - T would come along a bit later, and cost another $1,000 to $1,500. So you're looking at a hot little screamer for $10,000 plus options etc, call it $12K all together. Yummy!

So who's in for the S? Who's in for the T?

 

[skychief]

Why put a really wide, hidden tire on the Elio rear end that will just end up costing money in lost MPG without any real gain? Look? Only if you can see it. Other than that, it's just going to make your the Elio handle more roughly.

It woundn't really be cosmetic. A wider rear tire will improve lateral traction allowing for more aggressive cornering. Think of the opposite extreme - if you had a 1.25 inch-wide bicycle tire for the back wheel, the vehicle would be sliding all over the place - even with normal driving.

I agree that a wider rear tire will affect the "ride". Some folks like a stiffer ride. I always pump up the air shocks on my motorcycle to maximum stiffness.

 

[Ty]

It woundn't really be cosmetic. A wider rear tire will improve lateral traction allowing for more aggressive cornering. Think of the opposite extreme - if you had a 1.25 inch-wide bicycle tire for the back wheel, the vehicle would be sliding all over the place - even with normal driving.

I agree that a wider rear tire will affect the "ride". Some folks like a stiffer ride. I always pump up the air shocks on my motorcycle to maximum stiffness.

Well, I DID say that anything wider than necessary for performance is dumb.

 

[xtspode]

It woundn't really be cosmetic. A wider rear tire will improve lateral traction allowing for more aggressive cornering. Think of the opposite extreme - if you had a 1.25 inch-wide bicycle tire for the back wheel, the vehicle would be sliding all over the place - even with normal driving.

I agree that a wider rear tire will affect the "ride". Some folks like a stiffer ride. I always pump up the air shocks on my motorcycle to maximum stiffness.

I would have you consider the motorcycle tire on super bikes. Not real wide. It is the combination of weight on the tire and sticky or soft rubber. The tires on the Elio do not have the weight on them, so performance is going to have to come from stickier rubber. That is the way I see it. Wider tire is going to hydroplane and slip an sand or road film more. I think the narrow low profile tires are going to be the best bet.