The Lotus Page

I was at pista di Verano in Italy on Feb. 3rd 2002 for an "open to the public day". And what da ya know, the Lotuses came out in groves.  At one point there were 9 Elises and 2 Exiges racing around with other cars.  Yes, the Lotuses were serving the other cars their ass on a platter! It was wild to see normal people driving these "wanna be go-karts like mad".

I attended the 2nd Annual Italian Car Show of Georgia.  And there was a beautiful example of a V8 Esprit with O.Z. rims.  I guess Lotus felt included since the original design of the Esprit was Italian (and the rims are too).

A viscious looking 340R. It was my first time seeing this wicked machine, and I was blown away by the ability of the Lotus Company to go and produce such a wild car.

This Lotus dealership had all the goods. These Esprits all had my name on them.

To me, this is one of the wildest sedans ever built. The Lotus Carlton has  377bhp and 419lb ft on tap and a top speed of 177 mph. This has got to be the sneakiest,  "normal looking sedan", beast ever built. I feel lucky to have seen one.

That is a pretty site. Have you ever seen so many Elises before. You might notice the Lotus Carlton is parked at the curb.

In this picture it is hard to tell, but the exhaust is made of carbon fiber. You have to respect a car that has those kind of details.

While at the Georgia Mountain Drive, I saw this beautiful 1994 Lotus Esprit.  My father and I got a chance to talk to the owner of the car for a while and it turns out he even owns an Alfa Romeo. And he told me that "Italian and British do mix".  I am sure he is right.

While I was at the innaguraul Formula 1 race at Indy, my eye caught this very special Lotus 77 Formula 1 racer. It would be great if somehow Lotus could get back in the sport, but the sad truth is that it's unlikely.

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