What made you choose a Lotus?

[Veloce_Rosso]

IMO it isn't how fast or racy they, but like Alfa Romeo it's how they make you feel. 

More smiles per miles.

Both brands have a lovely analogue feel to them, the quick steering rack and accelerator are immediate, feedback from the steering is great when you corner hard. And like some of best people, they both have imperfections but have enough redeeming features to overlook their deficiencies.

[C8RKH]

I chose Lotus for my first real sports car as:

1. It's built in a field in England by a bunch of turnip scarecrows

2. It has the feel (some would say build quality) of a car that was handmade by a time served engineer in his shed - the cars I swear are alive and breathing

3. When I bought the Evora, NONE of my friends, neighbours etc knew what it was - I liked the feeling of being different. Of being an individual

4. On my first test drive (which was after I had decided to buy it and placed a deposit) I just giggled like a kid

5. When I'm out driving it, people shout, stare and point - but not in a bad way

6. Women come up to me in the supermarket car park and compliment me on my choice of car (it has happened several times since I bought the Sport 410 new - it's the colour!)

7. I don't feel like a prick when I say i drive a Lotus - I would, if I said I drove a Porsche

8. When I'm out in the mountains and glens up here in Scotland, driving on my own, I just feel like I'm blessed - the noise (oh my god the noise), the steering, the scenery. Nothing beats it.

9. I love the history and the motorsport endeavours. The backwater upstart, taking it to the mighty Ferrari's, Fords, etc and using ingenuity and good old british inventiveness to get ahead

 

[eeyoreish]

James Bond 🤨

[NG5]

Because I wanted something different. Back in late 1979 I was given a company car (Ford Escort 1.3 LX !!) and found it boring as hell. I decided with the massive budget of £2K I wanted something interesting as a second car. Anything that looked interesting at the right price I went to see including a Piper GT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Cars and even the adams brothers probe 15 https://web.archive.org/web/20161022200749/http://adamsprobe.com/adams_probe_15_photos.html
That was definately interesting but at the time a non runner and I thought beyond my mechanical abilities. I kept looking longingly at the adds for Ferrari Dinos but they were about £2300 for what was probably a rubbish one, so just beyond my budget. Slowly I homed in on the Europa and after the 1st test drive I was sold. Never had I dreamed a car could handle like that. So in April 1980 I became the proud ower of an S2 Europa and not only do I still have it, I still think it's the best handling car I have ever driven. I've thought of selling numerous times, but then I go for a drive and think "don't be daft!". I've driven lots of faster cars, but nothing that puts a smile on my face to the same degree on a twisty British B road.

Edited March 18 by NG5
links fixed

[Bibs]

Wanted one ever since the first moment I saw this...

I spent 8 years saving for my first Esprit.  

[Dave Eds]

Born in Cheshunt.........

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Needed something to transport the family.

[tim_marra]

R4 LOT, meet R5 LOT I have loved Lotus since the late 60's starting with my S2 Europa matchbox car in pink!

I'm on no6 of real cars now, everyone has been a joy and seem to be liked by all who see them 

[Veloce_Rosso]

Once you get the taste for Lotus they are hard to resist. Very addictive 😍 

My old Elan not only drove differently but had a distinctive smell, inside and out.

Edited March 19 by Bibs

[Veloce_Rosso]

3 hours ago, Bibs said:

Wanted one ever since the first moment I saw this...

I spent 8 years saving for my first Esprit.  

And designed by the person who designed the Alfa 156 facelift

[Escape]

When I was looking for a fun car next to the Range Rover and had the budget for something special, Lotus was high on my list. I had looked at an Esprit while a student, but just couldn't make the finances work. But the fire after that first encounter remained burning.
I can relate to much of the above: special, different, rare and with loads of heritage. It helped that I was already drawn to British motors.

It also helps that there is a great community of Lotus owners. Just

And an Esprit is just gorgeous! They look like they're doing a 100mph just standing still. And prove to be an absolute joy to drive once you get behind the wheel. I was hooked while still in the passenger seat, a bond that was cemented on the 300mile drive home after buying my first Esprit. When that was lost, I briefly looked at other brands, but quickly decided I wanted another Esprit, and specifically another Turbo SE as that just seems to be the sweet spot for me.

My Excel was bought when the opportunity presented itself as a swap for a Triumph Stag (I loved my first Stag but never bonded with the second one, so she had to go). I was looking more at an Elite or even a Scimitar GT, then an Excel came along and has proved to be a great choice, very reliable and good fun, especially on road trips. As above, once you have experienced the joy of a Lotus, it's hard to find alternatives.
When I was offered an Elan +2 JPS, it was a deal I just could not resist. And so the family grew again. They seem happy together, and so am I. 🙂 

Filip

 

[Chillidoggy]

I'm a masochist.

[Gadzooks]

Couldn't afford the Ferrari 458 Speciale that I really wanted.  To me, the Evora Sport was the best mid-engine Sports Car available.  More steering feel and theatre than an equivalent Porsche.  Plus (unlike the Bosxter) it didn't make me look like a semi-successful dentist having a mid-life crisis.

[ChrisJ]

17 hours ago, Bibs said:

This

[Barrykearley]

it was before this magazine tbf - probably since I was about 15. In 1994 I saw the St Tropez that’s now in the garage and lusted madly. In 1996 I had the money to buy and esprit and looked at an S1, an Essex and one of those fibreglass fezza 308s that used to be sneered upon. I bought a house instead. So that kinda explains my now mental illness and owning a few along the way.
 

[tomcattom]

I was curious about the Lotus position.

[mdavies]

I didn't actually "choose" a Lotus.  Rather, one forced itself upon me.

I'd gone to a Caterham showroom to pick one but being long of leg and quite large of foot found that there were issues.  Leaving to mull over second thoughts I walked past a traded-in Series 1 Elise. Tried a sit in, then a test drive. My decision was obvious very quickly - and still the case after now lots of Lotuses and failed trials of alternatives.

[Royal]

When I was about 12 I used to collect the F1 race cards from the Shredded Wheat boxes of cereal. In those days most manufacturers gave away tiny toys and stuff with their food. I had a fair few cards of Jim Clark and also Graham Hill, and from then on I followed Lotus in F1 etc.

[Veloce_Rosso]

Love that story. We only had Cornflakes... no toys.😊

[RobinB5]

 

On 18/03/2024 at 21:47, Bibs said:

Wanted one ever since the first moment I saw this...

I spent 8 years saving for my first Esprit.  

From exactly this point at the Odeon Marble Arch in August 1977. Only being 6 at the time I had to wait quite a while

 

[exeterjeep]

For me it was the launch of the wedge Elite, just had to have one - awesome shape, bought it from the dealer in Chelsea, without even driving it - or indeed had not driven any Lotus up to that point. (did not even drive on the test drive!)

The only Lotus I had ever been out in before, was an early S2 Europa, the guy threw it around some streets in High Wycombe.

[Veloce_Rosso]

Also, I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. Even back in their heyday there weren't that many on the roads. Once I drove my Elan I realised what a genius Chapman was.

Bear in mind at the time I owned a smart Triumph Dolomite Sprint, which was no slouch.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Back in '84 I saw a JPS Europa parked up in London, that was it, I was hooked on all things Lotus. After that I started following F1, then Senna moved to Lotus, things looked up, exciting times. I may have slightly swapped allegiance when he joined McLaren though...

[snowrx]

It was cheaper than the Ferrari, although in hindsight I should of taken both.

 

[Veloce_Rosso]

I have a passionate dislike of Ferrais from era. The only one I really like is the old 246 GT Dino.

Give me a Lotus any day.

Edited March 26 by Bibs
REMOVED QUOTE OF PRECEDING POST