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Goodbye Cyclone, hello Mirach?
Alez - 17/2/04 at 12:56 PM

http://www.totalkitcar.com/tkc_article_463.shtml
http://www.limelight-exhibitions.co.uk/carcraft2003.htm

Alan B - 17/2/04 at 01:38 PM

Hmmm?....wasn't the Cyclone mid-engined?.....Vauxhall based IIRC?...

This certainly appears to be front engined......unless it has huge up front luggage space?...

timf - 17/2/04 at 02:00 PM

cyclone was a midi whereas the mirach is front engined the last time i say it at a saw it had a rover v8 in it.

btw

totaly useless info time.

did you know the gearbox on a lotus esprit v8 was derived from a maxi box.

TheGecko - 17/2/04 at 02:30 PM

Yes, the Cyclone and the Mirach are definitely unrelated. They have a passing similarity (to a blind man on a galloping horse) but that's it.

quote:

did you know the gearbox on a lotus esprit v8 was derived from a maxi box.
Interesting. I always thought all variants of the Esprit used a Renault UN1 gearbox. The Maxi was a transverse engine wasn't it? Aren't Esprit's all longitudinal?

Dominic

PeetBee - 17/2/04 at 03:15 PM

IIRC it was the Lotus Eclat that used the maxi gears in a Lotus casing, aparrently it was quite unreliable, but that's what you'd expect when combining BL & Lotus components!

I thought the overall styling of the Mirach is similar to that of the cyclone, but I think they were originally designed at about the same time, so both have that eighties look.

timf - 17/2/04 at 03:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by PeetBee
combining BL & Lotus components!


lotus were forever raiding the bl parts bin

dor handles off an allegro etc

it might be the eclat but i was sure it the esprit

GO - 17/2/04 at 03:58 PM

I know the reason they're stopping making the esprit is because of the gaerbox, they can't get anymore and apparently its too expensive for them to get one re-engineered!!

Don't know where the box comes from though.

Gutted about that really, I love the Esprit.

Alan B - 17/2/04 at 04:22 PM

Also I believe they ran out of exemptions from the USDOT regarding the head to 'A' pillar distance...hence phasing it out of the US market....and making the Elise vital over here....

Noodle - 18/2/04 at 02:35 PM

quote:
Originally posted by timf
quote:
Originally posted by PeetBee
combining BL & Lotus components!


lotus were forever raiding the bl parts bin

dor handles off an allegro etc

it might be the eclat but i was sure it the esprit


It was the Eclat/Elite that used a bastardised version of the Maxi's box. And yes, Maxi's were transverse installations. How did that work? Dunno

The Excel that replaced them used a Toyota box (Supra I think).

The Esprit used a derivation of the old Citroen DS I think, turned through 180 degrees.

I can't believe that Lotus would can manufacturing a car because their supplies of gearboxes ran out, they could have adapted an Audi box or somesuch.

I'll go with Alan's US exemption expiration theory. Sounds much more plausible.

There was an article in Autocar a couple of weeks ago about a front engined rear-drive motor and a NEW Esprit that was blah..blah times more rigid than it's predecessor.

Cheers,

Neil.

Blah..blah is a recognised scientific measurement. Well, it is in my local anyway.

GO - 18/2/04 at 02:48 PM

quote:

I can't believe that Lotus would can manufacturing a car because their supplies of gearboxes ran out, they could have adapted an Audi box or somesuch.


Thats exaclty what I thought when I heard that, but I did hear it from a guy who worked for Lotus, so I dunno...

Alez - 19/2/04 at 12:55 PM

Oops!! I thought that the reason for it being as ugly as the Cyclone was it being mid engined too!! But if it is not, then what's the point!!