Originally Posted by
JEFASOLD
It would depend on the road course, the Elise will run rings around the 'stang on a tight one and I think you might hear some dissenting opinions with the SRT6. I don't think the solid axle would be quicker than the SRT6 on most courses.
I drive a 2013 Boss 302 back to back with my Elise pretty frequently. While the Elise is much more rewarding to drive, the Boss can put down good lap times more easily. Part of that is that the Elise demands a lot of confidence. It depends on braking extra late and pulling really high lateral G through turns to make up time and keep the engine over 6,300RPM, where it falls off of the high lift cam. The track I usually run (High Plains Raceway, CO) also has a big uphill sweeper which the Elise really struggles with since it doesn't have a ton of torque.
I don't pretend to be a great driver but "pro" magazine comparos and in time trials match my experience: in their results the Boss usually does a few seconds better than an Elise. The Boss's lap times even around tight tracks are more comparable to the factory supercharged Lotus Exige models (S240, S260, and the Exige Cup Car) than to the Elise.
I think the Elise is still a better weekend-fun track car than the Boss, though. Not only is it more rewarding to drive but running costs are also a fraction of the Boss's thanks to its weight, narrow and smaller tire sizes with reasonable profiles, and relatively cheap to run and repair 1.8L Toyota drivetrain.
The SRT-6 would take heavy mods to compete with the Boss. The stock power to weight ratio is much worse (1:8.2 vs ~1:9.5) so it's already at a straight-line disadvantage. While the live axle definitely isn't the ideal suspension design, the Boss is set up much better for the track from the factory. Body roll is much more controlled and it steers fairly neutrally with the traction control off rather than dramatically understeering like the Crossfire does. The Boss brakes are also substantially better, and it comes with a factory LSD.
The live axle hubbub with the Mustang is really overblown IMO. It does just fine against plenty of cars with various IRS designs - it was billed as the M3 killer and sure enough it's generally faster than an E92 M3 around a track. Yes, the live axle is a drawback, and I'm glad they're finally getting rid of it, but they seem to have done a just fine job engineering around its flaws.
The SRT-6 is still the best deal, obviously. Even a mint SRT-6 would leave you with 10k+ in mod or running-cost money to play with vs. an Elise or Boss 302.