Lotus pray

Imagine a 130 BHP gokart that weighs 600 kilos.

Put a passenger seat(of sorts) in it,

have Heath-Robinson design a hood for it.

Make it nice and noisy ,

with the engine booming behind your ears.

Create an entry/exit suitable only for midgets

Dont provide any room

for a spare wheel or luggage

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT………………….

A LOTUS ELISE!

I bought SLY from the AUTOTRADER site.

Owned by a charming young man in Manchester

a pilot for Thompsons Holidays,

I bought the car for a good price

with the aim of registering it in France

and then selling

it here for a   profit,

after a couple of summers fun

(thats the theory anyway)

I,ve had to replace several coolant hoses

and the coolant reservoir /cap.

All the paperwork is ready now

-just waiting for a CT(French MOT)

to be done next week ,

and then

FRENCH PLATES !

How well do they go?

UNBELIEVABLE!

The amount of grip in corners is staggering.

You keep pushing and pushing-she remains unflustered.

The motor is perfect for the car.

Gobs of good usable torque

with a stonking midrange.

Braking is AWESOME

SLY is fitted with an alloy/ceramic disc setup.

My only criticism of the performance

is that its TOO GOOD .

I regard myself as a sensible,safe driver.

But even at 58 I behave like a teenager in this car!

No gap too small to overtake into;

No bend too sharp to brake into;

No road unsuitable for giving it the beans!

I,ve put the Lotus in the garage

It will stay there until the better weather arrives.

Ie no wet leaves or ice in the corners

I,m sure it will end in tears if I continue driving it!

OH WELL…...