Lotus Day Timings

duncan · Post by **duncan** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:22 am

I woke up exactly 10 seconds before the alarm went off :lol:

Gerry H · Post by **Gerry H** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 7:12 am

Am I the only sad git who had to turn back with a puncture?

Sorry for the early wake up Stu!

Have a nice day! :roll:

Post by **Ben** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:59 pm

Just a big thanks to Stu and Dunk for arranging - a thoroughly fantastic day !! .. those little lotus's ... I have a new found respect for them - what a hoot.

slarty bartfast · Post by **slarty bartfast** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:11 pm

As Above really top way to spend a morning.
You can magine what the Exige must be like!!!

RX7 · Post by **RX7** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:12 pm

Well I was awoken by Kev on the phone at 7.45 saying there is a place but I had to be there for 8:15. Shieet, dashed downstairs grabbed some food and clothes and out the door.The trusty Rex fired up first time despite not using it for a few weeks because of the crap weather.

What an absolutely superb day, the tour was very informative and gave me a new found respect for lotus. As we walked through the factory it was impossible not to appreciate the sounds, sights and smells of a car factory. A particular highlight was some tan leather sports seats I could see fitting nicely in my Rex ! I think everybody wanted to fill there pockets with goodies !!!! Seeing some gorgeous finished cars with paint finish to die for was superb!!

Then the drive, I must have drawn the short straw as I was in the last group out and had to put up with everyones stories and smiley faces as they came back in. Finally my turn and I went in the black Elise with the roof off (because of a certain giant - Mr Staples). Driving round the track I was impressed with how well balanced the car is and how good the brakes are.As the number of laps increased so did my confidence and I explored the cars potential, a late brake for the chicane and a clip of the cone being a particular highlight.

Finally to finish the day the passenger lap, mine was straight after my drive so I shifted to the passenger seat with instructor driving and we headed back. Now after feeling qiite confident with my laps I felt sure the instructors would only be slightly faster....how wrong was I !!! As we hurtled full speed past braking markers I was hard on the brakes at I felt sure we were going to be close to the tyre walls. But the little Lotus responded beautifully and the instructor showed me how smooth you can be with such a great car.

Overall it was a fantastic morning and if it happens again would recommend anyone going. It has changed my opinion of Lotus cars and bet everyone will be on pistonheads today looking at secondhand prices !! I went home and bought one on GT5.

Big thanks to Dunk and Stu for sorting this out !!!

duncan · Post by **duncan** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:25 pm

Superb morning out. Great factory tour to whet our appetites first then driving the base model around the track for 20 mins or so. For a base model they were very impressive and I am sure are on a lot of people shopping lists (including mine)

Awesome fun and a great track - loved it :thumb:

Post by **maff** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:35 pm

Brilliant fun, and very impressed we were allowed to get on with it with no rev limits or other nanying

Took a couple of laps to get brave enough to brake at the markers but after that confidence was up and I loved every second of it, cant beleive how nice and precise the handeling and braking is. (anyone wanna buy a s13? )

Thanks for setting up a great day guys.

Mr Fletcher · Post by **Mr Fletcher** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:42 pm

10 out of 10 for sorting out this guys,a fantastic way to spend a saturday morning ,thankyou.

for sale;
03 sti subaru
2x rangerovers
a small child
whatever else i can find
:-D :-D

cheers

jason

TonyB · Post by **TonyB** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:57 pm

brilliant brilliant brilliant :-D

I am stunned at the fun to be had from these little lightweights!

Now to the point in hand; For sale;
Celica GT4 - minus the complete engine, ecu, fuelling/ignition components ;-)

Thanks to Duncan and Stu for sorting this out, and to Duncan for the lift :thumb:

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:58 pm

As has been said by the others, What a great way to spend a saturday morning

:) The cars are absolutely awesome for such a little car. The balance is superb and the brakes are just out of this world. I guess it is due to the car being so light but it pulled up sooooo quickly and stayed nice and stable whilst it did it. They are surprisingly nippy for 135 ish bhp and when the instructor was throwing it about (quite literally) it just seemed unshakeable. The level of grip was immense and the handling was mind blowing. A thouroughly enjoyable experience that I would recomend to anyone.

As for the tour, it was an eye opener for sure. I knew that these cars were hand built years ago but to see that they are still fundamentally hand built (with the aid of a few computer operated bits and bobs and the odd jig) is a testament to the company and the cars themselves.

If only I had