Leaderboard

well I've gone and done it, Conner and Andy at Central did me a deal I Couldn't turn down 🙂

Today at LITP, after the charity auction, which included the £150 track day voucher I donated from Badger (it sold for £180 which goes to Rainbows charity) a special thing happened. To my surprise I was presented with this glass hologram of Badger and was informed that he's being made the official MLOC mascot. I was moved to tears and so was my wife when I showed it to her when I got home. Special mention to Ray who quite frankly is a top bloke

So, here’s an unlikely but true tale…. We have a cottage booked this weekend in Castleton for LITP and Mrs S was following me up on the journey from home. We get to the Grangemill Crossroads with a car between us and I head straight on for Bakewell, at precisely the same time as @John m is heading in the opposite direction in his orange Elise….. 🤔 Mrs is unsighted, John turns left…… you can probably guess the rest but it ends in John being followed all the way home by my missus and me thinking she must know a better route until all becomes clear as she pulls up next to the wrong Lotus on Johns drive. So…..moral of the story; pay attention to make sure you follow the correct orange Lotus. Very sorry John 😂🤣

Red. Been thinking of getting an Emira for a while but a new one wasn't going to get approval from the Finance Committee. However, there are plenty of newish ones around for far less (still a lot of £ though!). After trying the 2.0 and not really enjoying it, I've gone for a V6 in Magma Red. Only picked it up last Thursday and still getting used to it. So far so good. Lotus really make purchase difficult - had to go to Silverstone to test drive the 2.0, and to Bradford for the test of the V6. Then over to Stratton's in Norwich to buy it. Better photos will undoubtably follow, but here's a starter for 10 (Son's AMG E43 in the background...) When I get a better picture I'll change my profile pic.

Picking up my new car , and a little sad saying goodbye to old mate

Finally got a test drive today and have pulled the trigger on this….. Slightly different from my Elise (which goes in a week). Can’t wait!!

just got back from Classic Lotus where I enjoyed a very interesting talk given by Peter Wright who has just written a book about his life including the 60 years he spent engineering and designing racing cars. Well worth the early start, I did find some fun roads to drive so although I'm Knackered now I have had a good day

Merry Christmas everyone I hope you all have a Great one and an even better New Year! 🎅

Absolute Lotus magazine have agreed to do an obituary for Badger in their April issue, and they're going to use this photo (the licence plate is a giveaway)

More pictures from our 7 hour drive around Scotland 🙂

P1050921.MOV

The forums are a bit quiet at the moment, so thought I'd fire up a new thread with a whirlwind tour of my Lotus journey . Mine started back in 2006 with this ex-Lotus 2006 Exige S (a 2ZZ screamer with a very addictive chain saw supercharger sound-track) in Storm Titatium, bought from Nick Wale Sports Cars in Bromsgrove... Next up was 2007 and a brand new Elise R (with N/A 2ZZ screamer) in Canyon Red with cream leather interior, bought from Lipscomb down in Maidstone. The car was already in their showroom just begging to be bought!! Then... in 2008, along came a factory ordered Elise SC (another 2ZZ screamer but now with neat little integrated supercharger. Never once had any heat-soak probs though), in Canyon Red with cream leather interior (yep, again!), bought from Hadley Green down in Barnet. Loved that car, and only decided to sell in 2011 when temptation got the better of me with a once-only opportunity (up next)... And this is why, in 2011. A brand new 2011 Exige S 240 PP (with 2ZZ screamer, monster supercharger, and AP Racing big brake kit) in Ardent Red with black leather interior (didn't really have a choice). This car was already in the showroom at Stratstone in Leicester and after a couple of hours of tough(ish) face-to-face negotiating, the deal was done. Gosh, another Lotus that I loved to bits... and guess what, only decided to sell because of yet another once-only opportunity (up next!)... And this was in 2015. A brand new N/A Evora Sports Racer in Nightfall Blue with superb Recaros covered in premium Venom Red leather (and black piping). The car was in the showroom at Westover Sports Cars down in Poole (now part of the Hendy Group, of course). And it's still mine after 25,000 blissful miles, and still love it to bits. The only change I had to make was to have those dowdy black wheels professionally re-finished in silver. It's on its second set of Pirelli P-Zero Corsa rears, but I suspect next time it'll be Michelins... I did kind-of skip part of the story, but only to maintain the flow of successors. Anyway, in 2014 I had the idea of buying (don't laugh) a 1.6 Elise to use as a daily driver. So... off I went to Lotus Silverstone in January and dropped in a factory order!! Aimee couldn't quite believe how easy and straight forward that was - I knew exactly what I wanted, what extras to include (pretty much everything), colour, etc. And that was it, the car arrived at Lotus Silverstone after a humongous delay due to a massive specification cock-up (Lotus first built a left-hand drive car!!!), and then a shortage of parts. I think it's fair to say that buying that car was a huge mistake - the 1.6 was (IMHO) one of the worst cars Lotus ever produced and I couldn't wait to get rid of it. And I did - later in 2014 I did a trawl round all of the Lotus dealers at the time, asking whether they had any factory orders in the pipeline, and Westover came through again, with an Elise S (supercharged 2ZR) order already submitted that just needed tweaks to the final spec. So... off I went down to Poole and test drove an in-stock Elise S. Wow, what a revelation - I was blown away by the new-found mid-range grunt of that 2ZR, and also a very strong top-end too. Once again though (and mainly because of Lotus' unmissable 0% 50/50 offer at the time), I ticked almost every option available - Ardent Red, Touring Pack with black leather, Sport Pack, AirCon, and Hardtop. It also took longer to arrive than anticipated (thanks once again to a parts shortage at the factory), but it was worth every minute of the wait... Sadly, I had to sell my beloved Elise S in 2021 due to serious illness. But... we're not done yet, because after a long recovery, I started to get the Elise itch again around mid 2022 - ha!! And so started the search for a low mileage car with a good history, and, after a fairly dodgy start (I won't go into detail about that yellow piece of sh*t - bought from JCT600 and returned for a full refund), I found this one - a 2015 Elise S with 8,500 miles on it and a full Lotus main dealer service history, down at Caffyns Lotus in deepest Kent. It had all the right bits - premium paintwork in Aspen White, Touring Pack, Sport Pack, AirCon, and very good PPF. So, nipped down to Caffyns in October 2022, had a test drive (all good) and did the deal. Car arrived on a low-loader soon after... Now, you might think that this was the journey's happy ending, but you just never know what opportunities are going to pop up next!! And when this next beauty came up for sale, well, it was love at first sight (yuk I know, but true), so Hoffmans was paid a visit and the deal was done in early August 2023 - a pristine 2017 (2017.5 MY) Elise Sport 220 in Laser Blue with alcantara interior and Red interior colour pack, AirCon, silver forged alloys with red calipers, 6,500 miles and full service history (plus geo set-up) at Hangar 111. It is most definitely a keeper and completes my perfect pairing... So that's it folks. How about YOUR Lotus journey?

Left home at 9.30am this morning, just arrived home. Trip to a classic car dealer near Kettering, then thought I'd pop into Lotus Silverstone before heading home using part of Fosse way. Around 150 miles or so with the roof of. I'm biased of course, but if you've never driven an S1 Elise, I implore, with every fibre of my body that you need to drive one of these remarkable cars for at least a day. At various times today I uttered "suits you sir" to myself. What a feeling they give you. I bow to it.

Working to get the store open very soon

7

Hello, I'd just like to say a massive thank you to all involved with organising the LITP weekend!!! I had a great time and really appreciate all the hard work put in to making it all happen. Thanks again, and look forward to doing it again next year!

Yes a massive thank you to everyone involved but in particular Ray, Paul H, Rich Marten and Dunc. Without those guys stepping up months ago and making the commitment to put in the huge amount of hours required to make it happen and happen well, there would be no event. And let's not forget Mark H quietly running the MLOC site behind the scenes. Please bear in mind no-one has committed to putting on LitP next year - I bet some of the guys mentioned above will but we can't take it for granted. If anyone has any time, skills and motivation to get involved do please shout up! It is very rewarding. I really, really enjoyed it today. It was one of my favourite LitPs (and I've been to all of 'em!). Really chuffed to see so many other people enjoying themselves too. Dean

Foooooooking Hell!!! I love this car!!! Picked it up at 1200hrs and not stopped driving it since. I have a smile like the Cheshire cat. Awesome. 🚗 💨

Nope, I checked! They won't fit in my boot

Here we go A Fantastic prize Donated for this years 'Lotus in the Peak' Raffle an 'A' Service or equivalent for your Lotus by Gav at Unit4 , Gav has supported 'Lotus in the Peak for many years , and is always there to help any Lotus owner. Thanks Gav for information of this years Event Please follow the link below https://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/litpbooking/

Hello Everyone, We are thrilled to be partnering with MLOC and wanted to introduce ourselves, we are a family owned and run business offering specialist detailing and valeting services to predominantly Lotus owners. As Lotus owners ourselves we know how special they are and want to ensure each one is treated with the care it deserves. Between us we have over 50 years experience of car detailing and an extensive back catalogue of Lotus we have transformed and helped to maintain. The treatments we offer vary from valeting right through to dual stage paint corrections and ceramic coatings with brilliant results for our customers and their cars. For anyone else looking to learn more about detailing or getting the most out of their own setup we offer bespoke and personalised 1-2-1 training sessions. We look forward to chatting with you all, maybe meeting you at a few events and if you want to book your car in please feel free to call or visit our website for further details. We offer 10% discount for all MLOC members. Book via telephone on 07555 228739 Book via email on [email protected] All treatments and information here: wainwrightsdetailing.co.uk Thanks Alex P.S. This was my daughter's first LITP last year (2024) which as always was a fantastic event and we were honoured to attend and be part of the weekend.

Hi Ray, I have a couple of pics of the Old Smoker from the Osprey book on Elans, taken in the Peak District Got 🐑 & drystone walls 😉

Just a quick message to wish everyone a happy Christmas and a happy new year. Hope you all get to create lots of Lotus memories in 2025. Best wishes, Luke

Exhaust now sorted for something much more in keeping!! No more pig nose 🐽 Looks and sounds much better! I think that’s it for mods for now……… 😆

At last!! The surfboard that was fitted to the front of my Exige has gone!! Replaced with a standard splitter. IMHO it looks so much better. I’m looking forward to not hitting every bump in the road on the run out Sunday morning.

Here's a nice bit of silliness. A link to a video showing all the Lotus exiting Thornbridge Hall after the breakfast stop. If you want a challenge you could count how many Lotus. It's not quite every Lotus that was there because Ray and other left earlier to help at Bamford https://youtu.be/XlmnnKdgRSE

Wonderful start to the weekend …

... the cover is off and the cotton gloves have checked for dust

You know when LITP is looming, when you’ve used every product in your ‘detailing’ armoury !

Even your LitP mug is cleaned and ready for action 👍

After nearly 6 months of a winter rebuild/refresh, my T49 is back in the game 😊

Hi all you lovely MLOC people. We're hopefully going to create a series of teaser videos for Lotus in the Peak 2024 and post them onto social media. Maybe you have suitable footage that could be used, or if you have ideas for getting more then please let us know. They'll be posted onto the Lotus in the Peak Facebook page, so please like and share onto other Facebook groups. Here is the Link to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LotusinthePeak/ For more info and to get booked on follow the link https://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/litpbooking/ Here's the first of the videos: LitP teaser 1.mp4

Absolute Lotus came good on including an obituary for Badger

Here we go in Chronological Order!

Hey all, it’s taken a while (after asking questions here http:// https://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/70475-dropping-in-to-say-hello-%F0%9F%91%8B/) but I finally took the plunge and I’ve had this for a couple of weeks now. Got LOADS of questions about bits and pieces that need doing, but for now I thought I’d share the new member to the forum! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I had Alex come over on Saturday from Wainwright specialist Detailing who is a great supporter of Mloc and LitP to detail my Emira well he worked his magic and the car looks Majestic. another great thing the polish he used is amazing, after a run out in the Peaks yesterday morning the car got covered in the muck of the thick brown nasty stuff 😜 so when I got home I thought I had better rinse the worse off ready to wash it properly on Monday as I had to go out to my amazement it all easily hosed off so in 20 mins the car looked great again 😀 I would recommend Alex to anyone who would like to treat their car to a makeover it's worth every penny you can reach Alex on 07555 238 739. and if your coming to LitP Alex has donated a couple of auction make overs your chance to get a bargain maybe

Andy Do you mean that turny thing with a flat blade at the end?? Seriously............good to find a like-minded builder so close to me. Here are before & after shots of the Elise 111s plus one of the race car I built and recently sold (750 Formula) Dave

Merry Christmas to all you lovely Lotus folk. 🎅🏻🎄

I went around Silverstone the other day, good track, but favours higher powered cars. Here's some highlights.

Still buzzing from the trip. Thanks again Ray for leading and the route was awesome Pete. I think I have a gpx of our route now after some fettling which I'll post later. Mark I have some video footage if that would be of use to your filming exploits? pretty miserable trip back on the motor way with no 5th gear 3500rpm for 4 hours in the slow lane.

thanks @richbk for the advice. Not goona lie, "go with the Elise" was the vibe I picked up too 🤣. @Oakman that's a beautiful looking car, I love that colour! So yesterday I popped along to the Bamford recreation ground for Lotus in the Peak. It was genuinely amazing to see that many Lotuses together and to be honest I was a bit overwhelmed because I simply didn't realise the number of models of Elise that have existed over the years. Not gonna lie - I'm still learning about the differences between the S1 and the S2 😅 but I've found this page to help me: https://allonwhite.co.uk/lotus-elise-specialist-and-lotus-exige I didn't speak to that many people as I can be very subdued among people I don't know and definitely felt out of my depth when hearing the levels of conversation going on about the cars! But it was lovely to hear the passion you all have for them. I had a look at the M100s that were there and the Elises (also the beautiful green Esprit but that one will have to remain a very long term dream)! My main takeaway was that the M100 interior had more of a "daily driver" feel to it... the Elise looked super sparse in comparison. I'm not saying one is better than the other, they're just different. It did seem like every Elise had a different dashboard though. All in all, I wasn't there long, I didn't speak to that many people (all my fault) but really enjoyed it and was awesome to see the passion you all have. Another plus point was that I really enjoyed the drive over to get to Bamford, even if I was in a 1.0l VW Up 😂. For all that were there... hope you had a great weekend, and thanks for showing off your car!

Okay I'll go first if you insist. You know you're nearly ready for LiTP 2024 when... ...you've freed up your binding rear brakes so they don't set on fire mid LiTP run. 👍 ...and have just blacked your tyres. ...and thought far too long about just the right tyre pressures to use 🤣 (If no ones guessed I'm v. Excited)

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Booked on for my first LITP yesterday, very excited!

The biscuits have landed!!

Hey Jack. I bought my first Elise 4 months ago, having wanted one for over 20 years! Always preferred the look of the S2, I went for the 111r. A 2006. I love it. Use it only in the dry, so every time I go out Im grinning. I like the extra power boost between 6- 8k rpm, and if you go for it from 1st gear, the Toyota engine races so smooth at the high rpm. It has a Larini exhaust, so sounds great too! Keep looking, and save up for your dream......

My mum and dad got me a driving day for 21st birthday (nearly 16 years ago now!) I drove all sorts Ferrari/ lambo etc but I fell in love with the Elise. A few weeks later I bought a red VX220 turbo. It was quicker and cheaper for 21 year old me to insure at the time! 6 weeks later I wrote it off… Then I think about 5 years later I bought a red Elise 111R. I loved it and it was my only car for 3 years or so, I only got a practical daily when I changed jobs and had to tackle the m6. Unfortunately the day after my mum died I went out init and I couldn’t shake that feeling so it sat in the garage for 12 months more or less not doing much and I sold it. I dabbled in a 981 GT4 big mistake I didn’t like it. Lotus fan boy at heart! 3 years ago this September I man mathed myself into a new 20th Anniversary Exige in orange. I absolutely love the car but I don’t use it much. Hopefully I will use it more this year!

My journey started in 2006 when I was 36. Was all poised to buy a brand new Sports Racer in red with white stripes. Left it for a week as I mulled over the finance deal Lotus were offering at the time, then lost my job before I had the chance to make my decision Come 2008 I got the offer to move to China. 2015 I moved back to the UK, finally settling on a decent job in 2017 and a new house which needed a lot of work Then followed an 18 month placement to Romania but the thought of owning an elise was never too far away And then it finally arrived, walking the dog in Feb 2021 I said to myself, if not now then when. A search quickly followed and a month later bought this S2 2008 Elise S which I converted into a JPS colour scheme. Then one bored October evening in 2021 and a search on pistonheads, and a month later I found an S1 Elise Type 49 sitting on my drive to. Both great cars and still have them

Back in 2000 I bought an Azure Blue S1 Elise (2.5 years old with 3.5k on the clock!!). I kept it for 3 years before 'life' got in the way and it had to go!!! Looking back, I should have kept it as I enjoyed every minute I spent in it - It was my daily driver!! I had a couple of very memorable trips to Le Mans in it. Something I plan to do again. I don't have any pictures of it but it was standard except for sports exhaust, de-cat and hurricane induction (I think??). It really did sound great driving through the tunnels in France. Very recently, the Lotus bug bit again and I bought another Elise. This time a 2008 S2. Again, it is my daily driver but I am loving every minute I spend in it despite the shocking weather we are currently experiencing. I've done nothing to it but the previous owner(s) have fitted a titanium sports exhaust, Cup 220 rear wing and front splitter. It also has a hardtop. I will probably upgrade the suspension to Nitrons at some point but I'm in no rush just yet. The car I always wanted when I had my S1 Elise was a S1 Exige. They were just a little too expensive back in the early 2000's. Now I have my S2 Elise, I am so tempted to move up to a S2 Exige. However, as it my daily, I think the Exige maybe a little hardcore for everyday use.