There is something about Lotus cars. In many cases, designed to the edge of reason. Elegant. Innovative technology. A drain on the wallet.
It was a forgone conclusion that eventually this was going to bite me. First with an Esprit (and rebuilding it). Followed a short while later, once
I discovered that it was truly a one way trip, by a Seven.
And I wasn't able to stop there. In late January, 2002, I decided to go vintage racing so I bought a Lotus 18.
The Elise is finally coming to the other side of the pond! Road & Track has an article with some good initial information on the US spec car.
I later learned who the car belonged to and got a thrilling ride one afternoon on the way to and from a lunch with the car's new owner. Sadly he didn't own the car for long because they weren't legal in the US
and he wasn't able to do the work to convert the K Series Rover engine to something that could pass California smog tests. He drove the car for a month, then was forced to garage it and later sell it, I believe to
a gentleman in Washington state where it didn't need a smog test. Grumble, grumble.
I finally got to drive an Elise when I went to the F1 race in Melbourne. Keith had moved to Australia by then and knew of this interesting outfit called Great Cars and Boats that will
rent high performance cars to average Joes off the street. One day we rented a TVR Chimera and another day an Elise. The Elise was a great deal more fun
than the TVR. It felt as though the TVR would sort of fly apart at any moment.
In March 2003 I made a pilgrimage to Norfolk. Among the places I visited were Peter Denty Racing, Lotus Cars (not much there since you can't take photos),
and Classic Team Lotus. Truly a trip worth remembering and making again! If you make a similar trip to the UK, be sure to visit The Donington Collection
as well! Please send me email for contact information.
