i was told you do need an intercooler for trans oil as well as oil pan, also there is something about fuel starvation issue, not sure.

i would agree that lotus drivetrain wise probably would be more robust and reliable compared to any 997.1 or 997.2 non-GTx cars.

 

it may work fine. but if you loose a motor - well, it is a total $20K loss.
just do IMS upgrade right away as you`ll get it. put on x51 996 oil pan. if you will need to replace clutch or drop down transmission - put in motorsports AOS unit instead of stock unit, with tranny down it is just 1.5 hour project. that will fix most important issues.
next probably would be to put 3rd center radiator if you run in hot zones. all in all - any car has its own issues. sign up for rennlist 996 forum and search there as well.

 

Never heard of the trans cooler issue and I've not had that problem, even in GA summers. All cars with track pack have oil coolers and the 05/06 cars should have the lines replaced; Lotus will do that for free. The fuel issue is related to auto cross guys who wnt to run very light loads a weight advantage; again never heard of that at the track.

Lotus does sell an oil cooling system for the track cars that is great but even lotus insiders will tell you that a good baffled pan like Morosso or The gPan2 will fix that.

The Lotus guys who have issues are guys that are upgrading their cars and then finding the week links or guys who are trying to get the last tenth out of the car by doing extreme stuff. For example if you put slicks on a non track pack or older car you will really stress the drop links and they should be upgraded. In my experience they are good street/track cars. If you really get bit by the bug and want extreme track performne then any street car is going to be inferior to a track car. For those buy a GT3 cup, an Exige Cup, or Lotus 111 all of which are track cars.

You hit the nail on the head; you can almost buy an 05 Elise for the cost of a 996 motor. That's why I track a lotus... LOVE my Turbo but I don't want to write the check if I break it!

 

I haven't tracked one but have chatted with the 1 or 2 guys at each PCA HPDE who drive a Lotus and by and large it seems like an attractive proposition in terms of reliability, maintenance and fun. I also think that for a guy like the OP who street drives a 997, the Lotus would give him a totally different driving experience, that very light, "modestly" shall we say powered, and nimble feel, rather than another 911 that just happens to be more track suited. For non-cab 997 owners like myself, you also get a hardtop convertible. Worse case at current prices for an Elise, if you decide to sell it how badly could you possibly get dinged, 5k? Personally, since I pay monthly to garage my car, having two cars is out of the question, or I'd probably buy one to track at least some of the time.

 

I looked at several video reviews of the Elise and Exige today, and it does seem to be a great track car. The lap times are very impressive. And I agree that it would nicely complement my other cars.

Funny that you mentioned the garage part, since that is an issue for me. We currently have four cars and a two-car garage, and I'm not sure about leaving the track car outside. Maybe a prefab garage would work.

 

Put a lift or two in the garage & double your storage space!