Leno praises the Elan... again!

[archigator]

Jay Leno, in his "The Collector" column in the March issue of Octane magazine once again writes a very complimentary article about the Elan. He owns a pair of Elans and wrote about them previously in Octane, declaring then that he was looking to further "adding lightness" by installing magnesium bell housings and other lightweight bits to his rides.

"I really didn't appreciate it (the Elan) until I read it was Gordon Murray's favorite car, and Jim Clark's, and all those people who I admired. I said to myself: "What's so amazing about this? and then I bought one, having never driven it. I just felt that I wanted one. And now it's one of my all time favorite motors." "... the Elan is the pinnacle Lotus for me."

Nice.

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[Carlos A]

Here is a link


http://www.classicandperformancecar.com ... _2010.html

"Jay Leno, March 2010
Jay Leno on Lotus

"My love affair with Lotus probably came from increased maturity rather than anything else because, when I was a teenager in the ?60s, a Lotus Elan cost more than a Corvette ? and the Corvette had a V8 with 365 horsepower and fuel injection, and it was something like 0 less than this tiny four-cylinder car from England. I mean, it was no contest. If you buy your supercars by the pound you could get the Corvette for hamburger prices. A Lotus Elan was like buying the best steak.

This was the era in America where the terms ?road-hugging weight? and ?more car for your dollar? actually seemed to make sense: a big, heavy V8 which made 3-4-500 horsepower seemed like such a better deal than a tiny little engine from England. Gas was quite cheap, maybe 25 cents a gallon; for a dollar you could get enough gasoline to almost go to New York.

But then, just as when you?re a kid and you like grape juice and then you get older and you begin to appreciate fine wine, you start to see the appeal of a model like the Lotus Elan.

I really didn?t appreciate it until I read that it was Gordon Murray?s favourite car, and Jim Clark?s, and all these people who I admired. I said to myself: ?What was so amazing about this?? and then I bought one, having never driven it. I just felt that I wanted one. And now it?s one of my all-time favourite motors.
Why? Well, I realise that in the real world of traffic and busy roads, not many modern cars can keep up with a Lotus Elan if it?s properly driven.

As much as I admire some of the power assists and electric steering and all this type of thing in modern vehicles, that one-on-one basic road feel which is in the Lotus Elan is hard to beat. It?s the fun of the car, too. There?s something to be said for sliding through the corners. Modern automobiles have such tremendous amounts of grip that when you do finally lose it, it all happens so quickly you don?t even realise what?s going on. You wake up in hospital and think: ?What happened??

With a car like the Lotus Elan, drifting becomes such a pleasurable experience. Because things happen at a slower pace, you?re still going quickly but you can just take it all in a little bit better. I think that?s one of the great things about the Elan.

The Lotus works because it is so light and nimble. When I talk to young people now, they think that 3000lb is extremely light for a vehicle, and when you tell them that the Elan weighs 1400lb with change they look at you as if to say: ?How is that even possible??

My first Lotus Elan (I have two) was owned by a guy who had got it for his 19th birthday ? he was the original owner. He took the head off to do some work to it and sadly died, I think of cancer. The widow had it in the garage for a couple of years and she wanted it to go to a good home. I promised that I wouldn?t sell it.

When I first sat in it, I was amazed at how much room there was. You sit right into it. Obviously I wouldn?t want to get hit by an SUV in the thing but, although it looked like a small car, it didn?t seem like a small car once I was in it. I?m 6ft tall ? a fairly good size ? and there?s more than enough room. With the windows up and the top up, it?s a snug place to be.

Just as the Aurelia of the mid-?50s is my favourite Lancia, the Elan is the pinnacle Lotus for me. It was the first one the firm really mass-produced and made some money on. I was never a fan of the four-seater models. Lotuses to me are two-seater cars to go from point A to point B as quickly as possible. I never really understood the 2+2 part of it. If I wanted to take people, well, I would just use another car. To me a Lotus was always a sort of four-wheeled motorcycle ? a free-spirit kind of vehicle that you could get in and zip around in.

Almost every weekend, when I go up into the Santa Monica mountains, I will see (and it must be a local club) a bunch of Lotus guys ? five, six, seven, eight of them, neow, neow, neow, just tearing by, chasing one another like cats and dogs through the mountains. It?s fun to see them and they are real enthusiasts. That?s what Lotuses are for. They are fast, they handle and they do it better than anyone else"

[ceejay]

On ya Jay.... couldn't agree more.
Col.