A 25 year love affair.

[Paul Alexander]

Hi everyone.

my names Paul and i am a new member. i thought i would say hello and tell a brief(ish) story about my love for the Lotus Elan. 2 weeks ago i was walking through Crich in Derbyshire with my wife. when we walked past a row of small cottages, i just stopped in my tracks because on the driveway of the last cottage was a silver Lotus Elan. i was immediately transported back to my 25th birthday (i'm 47 now). my wife said "what's up, it's only a car". i had to tell her what happened on my 25th.

i drooled over the elan when lotus first announced the car in the press, and the photos of it were stunning. it was my dream car. my girlfriend at the time knew i liked the elan, so after 2 years of dreaming and attending motor shows, she secretly arranged a grand day out for me. she rang the nearest lotus dealership to us (hatton sports cars) to ask if they would let me have a test drive in an elan on my birthday. they said they could do better than that as they were organising a Lotus Day at a hotel on the outskirts of Nottingham (near Bingham), and Lotus contacted most of the wealthy types around Nottingham to come along and view the range of Lotus cars, and drive them if they so desired.

they said i could go along and they would let me drive the elan around the local roads. when my ex told me this, i was gobsmacked. she didn't want to go but i could take my brother. when we got there we were taken to a small conference room where there were a few 'moneyed' people there as well as the reps from the Lotus factory (one of them was a linda curl). a buffet was laid on and drinks as well. as sat down, we were told i could drive the elan (a silver one) in about half an hour. could i wait that long? yes because it was worth it. i went out in the elan with a salesman from hatton cars, and i thrashed the elan around the back roads until we drove through a small village. i slowed down (obviously) and at the side of the road were a group of school children, who all stared and pointed at the car. i had a grin like a cheshire cat on acid. i had the best 25 minutes in a car i've ever had (with my clothes on that is).

when we got back, my brother was waiting for his turn. "what's it like?" he said. i just grinned at him. off he went for his drive, and when he got back, he had the same grin.

that was it. we were both hooked.

back in the hotel, we were treated to more food, and then one of the lotus guys came and took my brother out in a black esprit turbo (but the rep dove). he frightened the crap out of my brother. the acceleration of the car was amazing.

at the end of the day, the people from lotus knew we couldn't afford the cars, but they knew they had made our day, and they gave us some lotus keyrings and tie pins as well as brochures.

so, that was our grand day out, and i have to say a much belated thank you to the lotus people who treated us to the best day possible.

and i still have my lotus keyring in its packet. i vowed i would only open it, when ive got an elan.


now, back to the present day, my daughters grown up, the mortgage is tiny, and the pay packet is large,i feel i can now treat myself to the car of my dreams, an elan. hopefully, next year (after a new garage is built), i can find an elan to put that cheshire cat grin back on my face.

[niall]

Welcome aboard. You have come to the right place. (I even have a low mileage Elan
for sale.).

[Paul Alexander]

Welcome aboard. You have come to the right place. (I even have a low mileage Elan
for sale.).

ha ha. thanks niall. your elan has come along to soon. not got garage started yet, but the base is down. good luck selling it though.

[chipp]

Hi Paul, like your story.
Most members will probably have a Lotus story to tell from when they could only wish to own one , one day.
And another thing we all have in common is that 'grin' you mention, it is infectious.

chipp

[RayD]

Good story Paul,

If you pop up to Marsden on Sunday lunchtime I'm sure someone will give you another run out in one.

Ray

[Paul Alexander]

Good story Paul,

If you pop up to Marsden on Sunday lunchtime I'm sure someone will give you another run out in one.

Ray

thanks for the tip ray, but this sunday i am going to silverstone, i have a track day experience in an aston martin (xmas pressy from wife). just my luck with the timing .

[niall]

Have a great day at Silverstone. I hope that the Aston Martin does not disappoint.
I had a Porche day there a few months ago which was very impressive (but that is not why my Elan is for sale!).

[Paul Alexander]

Hi Paul, like your story.
Most members will probably have a Lotus story to tell from when they could only wish to own one , one day.
And another thing we all have in common is that 'grin' you mention, it is infectious.

chipp

hi chipp,

glad you liked my story. no other car has made me smile like the elan. i'm hoping next year that that grin is back .

[tigerdog]

Welcome from the Left Coast of the left side of the Atlantic! Thanks for sharing this experience. I confess mine was the opposite: when the Elan came out in '91 (in the US), I thought Lotus had lost their minds or at least lost their way. A FWD sports car? Impossible. Fast forward and I now see their wisdom and the folly of my youth. The Elan in the garage puts that cheshire cat grin on my face every time! Even though I live near an area where Benleys are a three-a-day thing, where you can't go a weekend without one or two Italian exotics, where moms take their kids to school in Range Rovers; even with all of this, when the Elan drives by, school kids still stop, point and yell like they've just seen a UFO. It's great!

You are in the right place - LEC will definitely help you find a car to go with that keyring!

[Enright]

'Scuse me for the delayed welcome, but after an extended hiatus for the last few months I've been enjoying my latest Elan rather than just reading and writing about them.
If/when you are seriously in the market for one, give me a yell as I'm pretty local to you. I'll be quite happy to show you a few pointers, and you can have a look around my 2 to see a few typical, er, foibles.
You'll be amazed at how little you need to pay for a decent car, and delighted at how they still make you feel.

[steve matthews]

Paul, hello, Your story is echoed in many different places.

Steve - Living the Dream

[muley]

Lovely story.

Welcome - you'll find some great folks here.



Jim

[Tuga2112]

Nice story,

Sadly i cant talk about any stories like yours for myself, i was only 2 when the car was released, 5 years ago i was looking for a used sports car with a small engine, i came across the elan, and i was hooked on it just by reading the details about the car, took me 5 years to gather the conditions to own one.
even tho mine was in a really bad shape when i first got it, it has been worth every hour of work put into it! and trust me, everytime that turbo gauge starts rising theres that "cheshire cat grin"

Im sure you will find the right elan when the time comes, take advantage of the offer Enright made, even tho i consider myself very lucky when it comes to buying cars, I wish i had pointers about the cars i bought in the past, i would have avoided a couple of surprises, even tho im an owner for only a couple of months i can assure you the car is great fun and if you decide to do the maintenance yourself the people in the forum are extremely helpfull, i have saved a fortune on my project thanks to the shared knowledge of this forum.

[Enright]

i was only 2 when the car was released

You can go off people you know!

even tho mine was in a really bad shape when i first got it, it has been worth every hour of work put into it!

I agree. And if you look at my recent project thread you'll see how economically they can be refurbished if you just have a decent base to begin with. Conventional wisdom used to be that it cost as much if not more to turn an average Elan into a good one (compared to starting with a good one in the first place). But since then I think that the goalposts have moved. There are now some real bargains to be found, and turning those cars at least into average ones shouldn't be as difficult or expensive. Also there's a lot to be said for becoming familiar with your car yourself. After all, they're nearly all over 20 years old now, so the vast majority have been messed about with or gone through periods of neglect in their lives. Familiarity can at least forewarn you what preventative maintenance you need to take before it's too late. Prevention is almost always better than cure.

and trust me, everytime that turbo gauge starts rising theres that "cheshire cat grin"

I refer to it as "the funometer". I'm sure I could make other comparisons with the angle of the needle rising and the driving getting more exciting, but this isn't that kind of forum so I'll refrain.

Im sure you will find the right elan when the time comes, take advantage of the offer Enright made, even tho i consider myself very lucky when it comes to buying cars, I wish i had pointers about the cars i bought in the past, i would have avoided a couple of surprises, even tho im an owner for only a couple of months i can assure you the car is great fun and if you decide to do the maintenance yourself the people in the forum are extremely helpfull, i have saved a fortune on my project thanks to the shared knowledge of this forum.

That I believe is our greatest strength - the fact that together we can help to keep these lovely little cars on the road, and ultimately turn them into the classics that they always deserved to be.

[Paul Alexander]

hi guys,

surprised to see this thread resurrected, but thanks for the comments people. and yes, Neil, cheers for the offer, i will take you up on it. i'm only about 40 minutes away. once garage is done (i phoned the company up today for them to come out to ensure the concrete base is suitable), i will contact you Neil. cheers,

Paul.

[Paul Alexander]

'Scuse me for the delayed welcome, but after an extended hiatus for the last few months I've been enjoying my latest Elan rather than just reading and writing about them.
If/when you are seriously in the market for one, give me a yell as I'm pretty local to you. I'll be quite happy to show you a few pointers, and you can have a look around my 2 to see a few typical, er, foibles.
You'll be amazed at how little you need to pay for a decent car, and delighted at how they still make you feel.

Hi Neil,

i have sent you a PM.

Cheers,
Paul.

[roselea]

Hi, I had my last Elan when I was 21, 34 years ago !. A yellow coloured 1968 Elan Sprint, I wish I had kept it. 45 sports cars later like you I am now looking to buy a M100 to rekindle the spirit. Nothing compares to the purist driving experience offered by a Lotus. Good luck with your search, mine has so far been unsuccessful. Dave.

[Doug]

Welcome Paul,

Your story strikes a chord in many of us here!

I am sure you will find an Elan to go with your key fob someday; there are some very helpful chaps here who can help steer you to a good one too.



Reminds me of my story. I had always loved the Esprit. I almost never saw them here in the US, but a man down the street got an S1 when I was an early teen. It was lovely.
A school friend's dad had a 4 seat "Sprint"/Eclat--he drove us to a sports game once and luckily he drove like a complete maniac; it was incredible, and exactly how one should drive such a car!
I still remember that ride and it must be what sank the hook into me.

I remember I saw an Elan on the road in 1991; it was, of course, beautiful. I went to Beverly Hills Lotus and checked them out. The lines and curves were just amazing. The sales man was smart and let me drive one around the block and I was hooked!
It took me another 5 years to eventually get a job and get an Elan; I had found a small chrome plaque in a catalog and ordered it: Lotus Logo on the left and then engraved "Made Especially for (my name)"
I kept it around, brought it with me the day I got my Elan, and affixed it to the dashboard above the glovebox on the spot!


I think you should start your search now; no more procrastinating!....

[Paul Alexander]

Hi Roselea and Doug,

thanks for your comments. i have now had my garage built (done this Tuesday) , so am now looking for an elan. i do have my eye on 4 of them at the moment (not all 4 , just one of them ). i am hopefully seeing Enright (Neil) soon as i don't live far from him, and he's going to show me his elans and give advice, but i'm an impatient bugger.

i have a couple of calls to make this weekend, to hopefully arrange viewings, and aim to have an elan by the end of February. wish me luck.

[Rob P]

Welcome Paul and good luck with getting the Elan, trust me you will not be disappointed, I bought mine off a member on here and I am still in love with it despite a couple of minor hiccups along the way. They truly are a great car to drive. I'm sure Neil (Enright) will point you in the right direction and he has two examples for you to review so you should get a great feeling of what they offer and the issues to be aware of.

Will watch with interest and hope to catch up with you on a run out in the summer months