Bump steer is also good as long as it's done properly. Most OEMs dial in a given amount of bump steer in the front suspension for the car to remain stable in a straight line as the front wheels encounter different bumps at different times. It's only in race applications, with stiff spring rates and an experienced driver, where bump steer is minimized so there's a mild amount of instability and a precise connection with the steering. Whereas modern jet aircraft are designed to be unstable to increase maneuverability, bump steer elimination isn't necessarily good for a street car-not even a Lotus.
Even with everything else set up perfectly, damping and damping control is everything. While this magazine has gone to great lengths to compare dampers through shock dynos and damping force curves, we're still only scratching the surface. Aspects such as damping repeatability, actual damping force versus spring values, piston design and a damper's digressive nature are much harder to evaluate through a shock dyno. And just because it works on paper doesn't mean it'll work on pavement. Lotus' Bilstein dampers are so dialed-in from the factory that the minute but noticeable change in turn-in feel between sport and regular modes are strictly a result of valving changes, not spring or alignment.
In the end, I realized I already knew the answer. There was nothing I could do to make Project NSX (or any other project car, for that matter) turn the tricks the little Elise was capable of. What ultimately makes a Lotus a Lotus is the well-focused and uncompromising direction of a small, passionate company composed almost entirely of staff members involved with professional racing, who are willing to spend endless hours of development time on making a street car exactly as they want it. Brilliance is designed in from the ground up and isn't something a tuning magazine editor could come close to replicating. It's discouraging, but at the same time inspiring. Until we can afford cars like the Elise, all we can do is to continue learning and trying.