Hertfordshire Area

The only one owner Elan Sprint in the world? Stuart's Sprint is his second new Lotus, the first being a Super Seven 1500 bought in kit form from Cheshunt in 1965. The Gold Leaf Sprint, bought and built in March 1971, was regularly used and maintained over 60,000 miles till 1976. It then "retired" to Stuart's garage, to emerge in 1991 for a complete strip and rebuild to original "factory new" spec. at the hands of Paul Matty Sportscars.

Photo: Stuart Pole

In the late 1960's when my interest in motor racing was aroused, my love-affair with Lotus and the Europa in particular began. I was captivated by its tiny size and that unique shape, but being a mere apprentice, I could not hope to own one. Many years passed, but in 1995, when watching BBC's Top Gear, my interest was reawakened by the Banks Service Station Europas, and I decided that I would like to try to restore one if I could find one. This article is continued.

Photo: Graham Taylor

One thing that detracts from the appearance and value of any car is stone chips, and the Elise, being a low car with a large frontal area, is more prone to them than most. My car, with 4500 miles of driving on varied roads, has its fair share, particularly on the front spoiler above the 'winglets'. Also, the fact that Lotus uses a grey primer doesn't help, because the chips are more apparent against a dark colour, Nautilus in my case. Having said that, the paint does seem to be hard and brittle, and chips ridiculously easily. I reported this to my dealer, London Lotus Centre, who inspected the paint and were sympathetic but ultimately said: "you're bound to get them". This article is continued.

The Lotus 50th Party was an expensive outing. I had avoided visiting the merchandize tent, until the heavens opened, and I was forced to take shelter. There was Dave Minter explaining the Lotus Sport accessories, including the so called Stage II Tune-up Kit. I had intended to upgrade the engine of my Elise over the coming winter, but there was one more track day left, and I had enough money in the bank. If delivery was timely, and the kit was complete, and my race engineer was quick, and there were no snags in fitting, then we might just get the job done in time to get the car run in before the scheduled track day on 7th Oct. The following Monday I popped round to the London Lotus Centre and placed my order. The order went to Lotus on the following Thursday, and delivery direct from the manufacturer was forecast in 7 days. Just enough time. This article is continued.

Photo: Alan Hulley