Hi all,
I have to disagree with Jim Hill. Whilst the Ferrari, Aston and Maser are
all very pretty cars the Lotus Elite is, and was, the most beautiful sports
racer ever designed. Even today it stands proudly in any company. When
polishing the beauty it is hard not to find pleasure in every gently curve
of that lovely tiny body, it's almost erotic.
What other car, that was built primarily as a road car can claim 4 Le Mans
class wins plus index of performance in virtually stock trim? A slippery 0.9
Cd helped too.
Not that I would want to start an argument amongst gentlemen!
Grace, pace, style, perfect handling, and a cabin bigger than and XK150.
what more could you want. EAR PLUGS! Noisiest car I ever drove.
I still love the dam things and have done since is was 15, when I saw the
artwork for the first advertising for the new car on a friend's drawing
board.
It's funny now to look back on all the other sports cars I have owned and
remember the things that I liked or hated about them, such as the wonderful
deep throated throb of the TR3A exhaust echoing off the city buildings as it
climbed up George street in Sydney on my way to pick up my girl friend
Marion, now long suffering wife. Or the way the TC on 16" wheels would slide
perfectly balanced on the throttle with your bottom receiving all the
tactile information needed to keep it on the road, or the TD which I slept
in once or twice because the seat back would go way back down. Or that
infuriating truck of an XK150.
The Elite is, and will always be a pure pleasure to look at even now after
nearly 30 years of ownership.
The only other car I covet is surprisingly different, and that is the LM250
Ferrari, I almost burst into tears the first time I saw one up nice and
close,
It was the David McKay car being driven by Spencer Martin, at, I think
Warwick Farm. What a beautiful brute and the howl of the exhaust brought the
hair up on the back of my neck!
I guess I can forget ever owning one, unless Lotto comes up.
Cheers,
Bruce Mansell. Lotus 22, Elite, BT21.
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