Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

So....what is it? I built it, what from? There`s another in the pic. (but not as nice).
Jim

As you know Mark my mate also has a V6 Clio in silver which is back on the road and he loves it. Very iconic cars and always get a positive response from other motorists and public alike.

jimj wrote:So....what is it? I built it, what from? There`s another in the pic. (but not as nice).
Jim

So want something like this, although not sure where I could take it. Have never driven one, not even a Honda Pilot. I know I?m missing out. Fancied an Ariel Nomad but they are silly money for right spec.

Another blast from the past. Great fun and did 4K road miles over a summer, no helmet, just shades. Complete visceral overload. Incredible acceleration.

On a hoon out with friends, one of the guys asked if his passenger could have a passenger ride . So gladly took him out and get it some stick. We came back and the guy looked white but thanked me for ride. Spoke to my friend a week later and asked how his mate was. He said he loved the car, had never experienced anything that accelerated so fast, but was off work for a week with a burst eardrum ! The air intake at head level on the Atom was the culprit

Ultimately fell out of love with the look of the car , as it kept reminding me a of a shopping trolley from the rear

The chap I bought the Clio from was in Evesham, so you may well have seen it around there. He also had the mad Raptor (with 50 gallon petrol tank...and it needed it) and Atom...you must have seen one of these about!!

Does a reliant Scimitar count for this?

I had one for a while (in addition to my Elan), Massive engine, automatic gearbox. ...

Despite having a fibreglass body, there was a towbar design for it which I got fitted and I used to tow our divers club RIB. The Scimitar barely noticed that it had that boat hanging on the back.

Main snag with it was despite being a much bigger car, the rear wheels & arches were so big that there was less luggage room in the back than in the Elan.

I'm not sure but does my TVR Griffith qualify? It can be a handfull but maybe not as raw as some.

Westfield 11. This is pretty raw to me.

Scimitar and Griffith are cool . Always wanted to try a Westfield 11 but wonder if too tall at 6ft ?

DJW:

No problem. I am 6ft, too.


Chris

The original Westfield 11 bought directly from Chris Smith as a basket case and restored to new condition. Sold to a collector in the USA a couple of years ago.




Then a 1962 Lotus Super 7 fitted with a Cosworth head. Brilliant fun and so fast in it's day that they were banned from racing.

That 11 is stunning

So going from stunning cars to probably the ugliest car I have owned, but I loved it and regret selling it





I found the padded seat made me sit too high in car, so removed it and basically had a single layer of carpet underlay on top of the sculptured carbon fibre base, with some waterproof tape plastered over it. I drove that all the way to Spa and Nurburgring , no heater, no screen , no helmet unless it rained. Now that was a challenge

Took it on both tracks/toll road. Going through Eau Rouge in the damp was an interesting intro to the track

Will have one again at some point.

I?m not surer what ?raw? means, but if you mean basic, then off the top of my head, I?ve owned a: Lotus 7 ?America?, MG-TD Mk.2 (My first sports car), and Sprite. A number of a little more than basic, like a MGB, 914, Alfa GTV (2), Early Sunbeam Alpine, Lotus Elite, Early Elan S3 Coupe, Austin Healey 100-6, and '57 Alfa 750 Spyder. Not so basic: '61 Ferrari 250 GTE and ?63 Corvette.
I don?t include race cars as they aren?t road cars, but to make the list almost complete: Lotus 23, Lotus 51, Lotus Elite, Sunbeam Alpine (aluminum panels), Titian Mk.6A, Merlyn Mk.4A, and a ?50s Rochdale Mk.2 Austin 7 Special.
Most of these cars were bought for considerably less than they would be worth now, but then most were bought in the '50s to '70s; when you could buy a Ferrari for $2500. Do I wish i still owned them? Not really, I had a great time with them all, and at least I had a chance to drive them without the worry I could crash a very expensive car. I owned my first car a '35 Chevy, when i was 15, which is 62 years ago.
Tim
'62 Elite
'63 Elan

Wow at the 250 but love the early Alfa and Sunbeam and always have a soft spot for the early corvettes. Would love to see some photos of these cars.

Goes to show how special the older Lotus cars are for you to own them now though