Ferrari’s the global titan and Lotus the waking giant
Sweeping generalisation alert! Ferrari is about great engines and Lotus great chassis. Right? Nah. Maybe once. But no recent Ferrari has wanted for agility or stability (except maybe the wayward F12tdf, whose early iteration of Maranello’s agility-boosting Passo Corto Virtuale – Virtual Short Wheelbase – system made it as unintuitive and confidence-sapping as the rear-steer RS Megane – but with nearly three times the horsepower). And similarly, when I finally drove a Lotus for the first time, an Evora 410, the driving experience’s dominant gene was the engine – or more specifically the supercharged V6’s buzzsaw-through- barely-held-sheet-aluminium rasp. But the two reputations persist, and not without reason. Maranello’s apparently immortal V12 has a lot to do with it, as does the Elise – arguably one of the most important sports cars ever…
