Hello from LOG29! NOW WITH PICS AND VIDS!! EVORA

[tweetdriver63]

Guys and Gals,
I'm at my first LOG now. I arrived about 10:30 tonight, so I didn't do any of the few Thursday things on the schedule. I'm starting my fun first thing in the a.m. with the scenic drive to Talladega, and laps. Then, who knows?

One note of coolness. Until tonight, the most Lotus cars I'd ever seen in one place was at the New Orleans British Car Day, where there were, I think, 7 of us. Tonight, I drove into the Wynfrey parking garage, and I was like a kid in a candy store (except, not allowed to have any). The place was just wall-to-wall Lotus. 7's, Elises, Exiges, Esprits, first generation Elans, Elites, but mine was the only M100, until a nice couple pulled in and parked next to me. He said his name is Mark, and he bought his M100 new.

So long for now.

[tigerdog]

Enjoy LOG. I hope to make it to one some day. In case any of our UK brethren doubt the rarity of our cars on this side of the Atlantic, your anecdote is a great illustration. The Elan is truly a rarity amongst rarities! Keep us all posted about the proceedings. Please post some pictures when you can!

[tweetdriver63]

As requested, here are a few pics. These are from Friday.

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I had my camcorder mounted on a bracket I made that went into the map pocket. I took about 30 minutes of video on the scenic drive to Talladega, and I caught my whole time on the track at Talladega, too. I'm working on figuring out how to load it up to youtube, and when I do, I'll post the links. (I'm only going to load a few minutes of the scenic drive, when we were going through some real twisties.) It may take me a while, since I had to record on 8mm, as I didn't have a memory stick to put in the camera that was big enough to record more than a few minutes.

[tweetdriver63]

Here are some pics from today (Saturday) at the concourse event.

M100 zone. The yellow one in front is Mike Kennedy's car that was featured in the movie "Honey, I blew up the kids!"

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The other red car (the one with the roll bar) belongs to Mike Pearce of Birmingham. He's one of the big cheeses with Lotus Ltd, and he has an LEC decal on his windscreen.

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What are the odds?

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[tigerdog]

Sweet! And not a BRG Elan in the place. Thanks for taking these - and especially good to see Evora on our shores.

[tweetdriver63]

A little video fix to go along with the pics. (I had to divide things up into <5 min parts due to software constraints)

Talladega laps, part 1
Talladega laps, part 2

[tweetdriver63]

Here are the videos from the scenic drive. Don't expect non-stop, edge-of-your-seat, excitement, but there are moments.

Departing Barber Point Motorsports Park, scenic drive part 1
Scenic drive part 2
Scenic drive part 3
Scenic drive part 4
Arrival at Talladega and entrance to the infield area

[GeoffSmith]

Inside the Wynfrey. Not sure what it is, exactly, but it's shiny and 1-of-a-kind

Looks like a Mark VIII. There are only a handful left and if that is a US car it could be number 4 - there is not a photograph on the HLR website however.

PS So what did you think of the Evora?

PPS I don't like it so much in red.

PPPS Sarah likes it in red.

PPPPS She also likes the 211 in orange.

[tweetdriver63]

Inside the Wynfrey. Not sure what it is, exactly, but it's shiny and 1-of-a-kind

Looks like a Mark VIII. There are only a handful left and if that is a US car it could be number 4 - there is not a photograph on the HLR website however.

PS So what did you think of the Evora?

PPS I don't like it so much in red.

PPPS Sarah likes it in red.

PPPPS She also likes the 211 in orange.

I did gather from people around talking about it (the shiny thing) that it is a one-off, specially modified type (something) -- can't remember the number.

As for the Evora, I'm going to start working on winning the lottery so I can get one. I think it's b-e-a-utiful. In person, the red really looks amazing. My favorite lotus color, though, is this:

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This was the only Elise of that color in attendance, and I voted for it in its class, just because of that (there really isn't that much to distinguish one from another).

I don't know how the Evora would look in that color blue, though. I found this picture of a blue one, but it's not the same color, and the picture is at a bad angle IMO, as it makes the car look like it has a huge arse.

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[lotos]

You bastard! I was looking for flights since they announced the dates... but couldn't find anything remotely affordable this time. (And the drive... 2 days each way)

Wish I was there... looks amazing!

[nitroman]

I found this picture of a blue one, but it's not the same color, and the picture is at a bad angle IMO, as it makes the car look like it has a huge arse.

Well, either it do or it don't. Did you take a proper arse-sniffen picture?

BTW, great videos & such.

[Nige]

I'm fairly certain the shiny one is a Mk VIII. Total of 7 built in 1954. If it really is a one off then it could be a VI with a VIII body (chassis were largely similar).

[DeanG]

I talked with some of the Barber Museum staff about the shiny aluminum car in the hotel. It is a Lotus Mark VIII. The car looks very good. They had been working on the final bits (e.g., cutting down the carburetor bells to fit under the bonnet) over the last week. I have heard and read that they acquired a Seven, a type 16 open wheel formula car and one other Lotus open wheel car recently. The museum staff has been traveling around the world buying Lotus race cars.

We didn't bring the M100 to this LOG. A shame since it is such a nice driving car. It would have been excellent for the scenic drives. The M100's that were in attendance were all good examples. When I looked, most had significant millage (60-90K) so they are getting used. It was tough picking a car to vote for in the concourse.

At least one M100 ran the autocross and track day.

The Evora looks very good in person. Some of the lines that look a bit harsh in pictures do not look out of place in the flesh. I got to sit in the drivers seat and it feels as good as the M100. My wife and I both want one but will have to wait until the convertible version makes it to the second hand market.

We had a wonderful time at LOG. There was too much to do. We left tired and after a half day drive hung out and rested before heading home.

[tweetdriver63]

We didn't bring the M100 to this LOG. A shame since it is such a nice driving car. It would have been excellent for the scenic drives. The M100's that were in attendance were all good examples. When I looked, most had significant millage (60-90K) so they are getting used. It was tough picking a car to vote for in the concourse.

So, did you vote for the red one with "The Stig" on the license plate?

Just out of curiosity, were you there for the awards from the concourse? I had to come home because my son's band was playing their first gig, and I wasn't going to miss it. Do you recall which M100(s) got awards?

What do you consider "significant mileage?" Mine is about to turn over 70K, but I think that's pretty good. The car is almost 20 years old. My wife's car will get that in about 3 1/2 years of driving. I'm putting about 10K a year on it since I got it, because it's my daily driver. Forgive me, but I think a car like this is meant to be driven, not parked in a trophy case.

[nitroman]

What do you consider "significant mileage?" Mine is about to turn over 70K, but I think that's pretty good. The car is almost 20 years old. My wife's car will get that in about 3 1/2 years of driving. I'm putting about 10K a year on it since I got it, because it's my daily driver. Forgive me, but I think a car like this is meant to be driven, not parked in a trophy case.

When I was initially driving all over the southeast looking at M100s, I ran across Jade's in South Florida. His stated philosophy was to "drive the car the way it was intended." That may be true, but my way of describing his style would be "drive it like you hate it." Combine that with parking the car uncovered right beside one of the many man-made canals filled with warm bath tub water, which are endemic to the far South of the state... and you have a car which says "no mas" in just a few short years.

Now the flip-side is 10k year, garaged, driven like you don't want to have to repair it!

[DeanG]

Sorry but I don't remember who won what or even who I voted for. I believe one of the yellow M100's from MA received one of the awards. I may have voted for their car since they take it to shows, autocross and track the car. The whole family drives the car and it still looks pretty good. I consider significant mileage 50,000 or more. I hate it when I see ultra low mileage cars <2,000 or so miles being driven, they belong in museums.

Our car is approaching 90,000 miles. I need to start driving it more. It just sits most of the time which isn't good. Our plan is to take it to Alaska and back in 2011. It will have to be in top mechanical shape. I hope to get rid of the precat this coming week.

[tweetdriver63]

I could see the NMY car that was in the "Honey, I blew up the kids" movie taking an award, even though, if you looked inside, there were an awful lot of bits missing as a result of the install of the roll bar, and the racing seats in it don't fit in the roll bar, which looked a bit strange. The other "stig" car came from the pound. It's owner has done well with it (except for the rims looking like it was one of the charriots in Ben Hur), considering it came from a salvage yard when he got it. I can honestly say mine looked the best in the interior. All the others had the original upholstery (in expected condition), except the movie car. I keep hoping I'll get an email saying I won something. That would make me feel really good. There were a lot of people who took pictures of my car. That also makes you feel appreciated, too. Mike Kennedy's car (the movie car) definitely looked the best under the hood -- shiny pipes with re-circ BOV (IIRC), first-run LEC oil cap, very nice under the hood.

[uk08462]

An M100 without a front number plate looks 'the muts nuts'. Shame they need to be there by law.

[tweetdriver63]

An M100 without a front number plate looks 'the muts nuts'. Shame they need to be there by law.

I've never seen a car that front plates look good on. Fortunately, I've also never lived in a state where I had to have them. I don't think they serve much purpose on the front either.

[uk08462]

An M100 without a front number plate looks 'the muts nuts'. Shame they need to be there by law.

I've never seen a car that front plates look good on. Fortunately, I've also never lived in a state where I had to have them. I don't think they serve much purpose on the front either.

We have mobile camera cars and forward facing speed cameras here in the UK and numberplate recognition in Police cars. They'd have our 'nads' if we removed them....