Are you younger than your Elan?

[Tonyw]

I am 16 yers older than my 67 DHC you do the maths, seems to me there is a fair spread of ages which is nice to see, old farts and young farts all playing with a plastic car much like we did when in short pants.

I could buy a new performance car so why dont I? these cars are so unique and the history that surrounds them is so interesting. When running (mine is in a zillion bits) they go like a bat out of hell and stick to the road like S$#T to a shovel.

Easy to work on, easy on the eye, sometimes hard on the pocket and hard on the sanity but can you imagine being without one. Now where did I put those Tenax fasners???

Tony W

[Matt]

My +2 is 21 days older than me !

My D.O.B is 31/10/1973 making me the grand old age of 33.

Three of my friends of my age have Elises, they tell me i'm driving an old man's car ! it's then I bring up the fact they have all gone bald ! and I haven't

[mopho]

My +2 is 21 days older than me !

My D.O.B is 31/10/1973 making me the grand old age of 33.

Three of my friends of my age have Elises, they tell me i'm driving an old man's car ! it's then I bring up the fact they have all gone bald ! and I haven't

Hey, what's wrong with baldness?! It's more aerodynamic!


I regularly take the Elan out with the local Elise club (some who never heard of Lotus before the Elise came out) and I shocked quite a few of them when the little 40yo Elan was able to keep up with them in the twisties.
Wait until this Spring when my car has another 40+hp

[CBUEB1771]

Hey, what's wrong with baldness?! It's more aerodynamic!

Hmm, not necessarily. A little stubble is best to reduce drag. That is why golf balls are dimpled.

[mopho]

That is why golf balls are dimpled.

Got that too

[Over Steer]

Seems like my elan is the cradle snatcher of the lot... I?m 24 (1982) and my elan is 38 (1969)... And although I WILL have an Elise to throw around the road recklessly sooner rather than later, I still wouldn't part with the +2,

[1964 S1]

Hi Jan,
Yes, I'd suggest keeping the +2 and sell the Europa to help buy the Elise sooner. Eric

[msd1107]

I can remember first getting interested in Lotuses in the mid 50s. But never thought I would own one.

Did some original design work even back then on chassis design, suspension design, engine design (innovative valve mechanisims), and transmission ratio design. However, paying jobs led me into software, so car design fell by the wayside.

When I got married, I had a tricked out motorcycle, what is now a sports or racing bike. You know, clip ons, rear sets, lightened, modified, all that stuff.

We used to go riding in the canyons every weekend. One day, we came around a corner, and there was a stream with a line of mud across the road. The bike went on opposite lock (clip ons remember) and slid across the road (no guard rail and a steep drop off into a canyon). Just before the edge, the mud got worn off the tires, the bike picked itself back up, and we went up the road.

The next day my wife suggested(!) we get a sports car.

The Elan was the only car she liked.

So I have had the car for close on to 40 years now

Interesting how the technology has changed during the years, and how the Elan is still competitive with modern day vehicles when sensibly modified. Sometimes technology jumps ahead at a great rate, and sometimes advanced technology remains equal to more modern designs for a long time.

David
1968 36/7988

[lotusdelta]

well guys,

72 elan sprint coupe = 35 years
me: born 1955 = 51 years

I figured there would be a few people my age but it does the heart good to see the younger guys.

Saw my first elan , a sprint drop top at a local mall of all places....yes we had malls in 1972...I drooled and the other guys with me just looked and said...well where would you put a set of cragers and some fat tires ?........they didnt get it then and most dont now....

david

[twincamman]

we old farts prefer ' aged expelled flatus '-- --ed

[Hegg]

I guess this thread was probably left to die, but I just read through it and was pretty suprised at the number of young 'uns! I'm:

7 years younger than my +2
the same age as my Esprit
14 years older than my M100

I've always loved the older cars and have often thought I might have been born in the wrong era. But it is very reassuring to see the number of "kids" my age gaining an interest in this type of car the the heritage that inevitably goes along with it.

Oh, and happy birthday everyone!

[1964 S1]

This thread will never die, thanks at the moment to the Elise. Talented young drivers will always be attracted to Lotus due to their cars' capabilities.
Signed, 56 year old young Lotus lover (wishing I was 14 years older than an M100 instead of my S1)

[handi_andi]

Now that the summer is upon us, characterised by the number of heavy showers up here in North East Scotland, I am making a concerted effort to get my elan back on the road and hecne am back on the forum, I mean how else is one meant to keep a Elan going without the help of the forum, and I saw this thread so apologies for adding to an almost dead thread.

My Elan is just slightly older than me being that it was born some time during 1972 and I was born on the last day of 1972. Just before we joined the EU! So I think that makes me another young'en.

[dusty]

My '68 Plus 2 is 2 1/2 years older than me.

A lot of owners on here seem to be around the same age as their Elans, something to do with boyhood memories? or just fed up with the tedium of modern cars?

[handi_andi]

Or is it a case of having partner plus kids therefore the elan plus 2 makes sense if you want a fun car that you can take them in. That's certainly why i went for mine LOL
Andy