Arregueti

Hi Seb, Nice effort. Thanks for sharing. Is your car N/A or an S (compressed)?

Fair enough if it is not for you, but you are comparing apples and pears, IMO. For starters, the Alfa you know by heart, the Mazda you don’t, which must have an impact in your confidence. Plus, smaller cars behave differently, by definition. They just react differently. For illustration purposes, having driven both, my Evora is much more sure footed than an Elise, but then it has wider tracks and is designed with a different use in mind. IMO, the Mx-5 is clearly a “momentum” car. You tend to catch up with “faster” cars in the bends but it is not a giant killer. Playful or sure footed, what are you looking for? Just my two cents (and to keep the ball rolling in this nice thread).

Some years ago I was hanging around in the garage, about to take the car out, when my neighbour’s son (probably ten at the time) came all the way into the garage (unexpectedly and unannounced) to show my car to his mates. They spent a good minute looking at it and walking around, to my astonishment and amusement.

TLF Quality Independent Journalism everyone talks about

I would actually call that a clear example of cultural appropriation… IMO, the ev industry should create their own icons. If they can…

There is plenty of buying guides out there, and nothing better than to try some and make your own mind up. From some reading, my conclusions would be the following: NA is probably going up in value now but it is getting a bit older and “rustic” for current users . Some say that the 90 bhp is the best. I don’t know. NB is the ugly duck but is supposed to be better than the NA, except that it does not have the lifting main lights… NB 2 (facelift) had some improvements over the initial NB and looks a bit better in my view, so the upgraded 1.8 l 146 bhp, would be my choice (I still own one!). NC was heavier and less MX-5 like for “purists”. ND seems the return to the original recipe. If I could I would probably choose an ND 2L with the improved 184 bhp output engine. But a lot of people, say, as above, that the1.5l is the one to go for. Rust can indeed be an area of concern so look carefully under the car, around the wheel arches, etc..

And can be raised from inside the car with just one arm (in the older NBs at least). At a time where the Mercedes SL had a plastic rear window which fades badly under the sun the Mx-5 already came equipped with glass. I have owned mine since new for over 22 years now. It is a pleasure to drive and extremely reliable (only unable to move under its own steam once due to a leaking clutch master cylinder). Last year when my Evora lost its clutch I joined the French Lotus Club in Champagne with my Mx-5 and some Elise owners were surprised that I could keep up with them. My neighbor prefers it over his Cayman GT4 for road use. It is a very nice simple little car. Forget the branding and try one.

Hi Filip, Thanks again for hosting this. I am closer to you and I will most likely only be able to make it for one day and back in the same day, so please go ahead with whichever day suits you and most of your more distant guests better.

Thanks for the pictures, @jep. Excuse my ignorance, but what car is it in the last picture?

The cars look great but that lift… hard to judge from the picture but isn’t it a bit “home made”??

I thought Andy and me were over stretching your kindness but a TLF day in Leuven sounds good to me! I just need to find a suitable car to join the party now. I don’t think Luxembourg’s beer can compete with yours either. 😀

That is very kind. I may well abuse your hospitality. I would love to learn to do some basic mechanic stuff in an older car and, as stated above, yours post are inspiring to get into those dark arts. I did try to do some basic mechanical training in Luxembourg but did not find anything. I did consider the Matra, further to our exchange of posts, but I would not have any where to store it, and these days it would not see much use with me, being realistic. Maybe, if you struggle to sell it, we can discuss next year, in time for my 50th birthday. 😉

Wow. From strength to strength. You will soon need a work planner for your workshop. 😁 From previous posts I thought the Bagheera was yours as an in-kind recognition for your assistance when freeing that warehouse/garage. That says even more about you, if you spent all that time on someone else’s car. Thanks for your thoughts on the car’s abilities, too.

Oh, so you moved the Bagheera on, already. I thought you still had work to do on it. Will it stay in Belgium or is it heading back to France?

I do not want to derail the thread, but that sounds like a win-win, if you manage to have some fun sorting the cars and relocating them among your friends/contacts. This is a great thread, by the way, and shows the affinity between Lotus and other brands of cars developed against all odds. I can see myself identified with some of the options of the op. An Elan +2, a Bagheera, an Elise S1, S3, a Mazda Rx-8 or an original Mini could fill my garage one day. Trouble is, I can’t decide! To try to stay on topic, I know someone in the French Lotus club, working in a high position for a very large manufacturer who says that if he had to keep one car it would be the Elan… (he owns an Elise S1, two Elans and has driven/owned a load of hot cars)