|
Lotus
Jun 13, 2006 19:44:21 GMT -5
Post by unclebill on Jun 13, 2006 19:44:21 GMT -5
Pentax Spotmatic F, 24 f3.5 SM Takumar lens, Ilford Delta 100 developed in HC110. I would love to own one of these....
|
|
|
Lotus
Jun 15, 2006 18:38:13 GMT -5
Post by Just Plain Curt on Jun 15, 2006 18:38:13 GMT -5
Cooool car. Not sure which Lotus this is but WOW. I've seen Europas and Esprits before but not this one.
|
|
|
Lotus
Jun 19, 2006 12:39:08 GMT -5
Post by unclebill on Jun 19, 2006 12:39:08 GMT -5
Its called the Elise, of course Europe had them for years until Lotus bought Toyota Celica GTS engines and used them as the drive train for North America. Fast and reliable, what a concept.
Bill
|
|
|
Lotus
Jun 21, 2006 3:26:25 GMT -5
Post by Rachel on Jun 21, 2006 3:26:25 GMT -5
The Lotus factory is only a few miles away from us.
|
|
|
Lotus
Jun 21, 2006 11:42:03 GMT -5
Post by kiev4a on Jun 21, 2006 11:42:03 GMT -5
Lotus was never the same for me after Jimmy Clark was killed. Jimmy Clark WAS Lotus, IMO. For the younger set, Jim Clark was F1 World champ back in the 1960s driving a Lotus. Only driver to ever spin his car three times during the Indianapolis 500 and still finish in the top three (he won the race on another occassion). Arguably the best Formula 1 driver ever. Was killed because a mechanical failure on a car her was testing.
|
|
PeterW
Lifetime Member
Member has Passed
Posts: 3,804
|
Lotus
Jun 21, 2006 15:57:56 GMT -5
Post by PeterW on Jun 21, 2006 15:57:56 GMT -5
Hi Wayne,
I agree with you that Jim Clark WAS Lotus, or at least brought the name Lotus to the public's attention even though Colin Chapman was the designing genius behind the car. Clark was killed on the Hockenheim circuit in Germany in April 1968, not while testing a car but while competing in the first round of the European Formula 2 Championship for that year.
Part of the circuit runs through a heavily wooded area and, at the time, the trees came dangerously close to the edge of the circuit. Clark had a tyre failure and went off the circuit into the trees.
I drove at the Hockenheim circuit several times in the 1970s (testing I hasten to add, not racing) and although by that time the trees had been cut well back I was always just a little apprehensive approaching 'Clark's Corner', even quite a lot slower than he was in the Lotus.
PeterW
|
|
|
Lotus
Jun 21, 2006 22:08:07 GMT -5
Post by kiev4a on Jun 21, 2006 22:08:07 GMT -5
Peter:
I was the odd Yamk teenager. All my friends idolized Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Johnny Unitas. My heros were Juan Manuel Fangio and later Jim Clark. Every month I waited impatiently for the latest issue of Road & Track to arrive so I could read about Clark's exploits. The R & T writer was a fellow named Henry N. Manney III. His descriptions of the F1 people and events were spellbinding. His writing was what got me interested in journalism. When Clark died I pretty much lost interest in international racing.
The nearest connection I had to Lotus was when I bought my first new car. My friends were sinking all their money into 409 Chevys and 406 Fords. For about the same money I bought a Lotus Cortina sedan (1965). The Cortina was one of the first cars with McPhearson strut front suspension. It had front disk brakes, a dual overhead cam four-cylinder (about 1800 cc, I think) engine and two side draft Weber carbs. The thing would go 130 mph but was just flat scary at that speed. The engine had such a buzz that there were certain bolts that I had to retighten about evey two weeks because they vibrated loose.
The Mustang had just hit the market and we used to take the Cortina over to Boise on Saturday night. We would find somebody with a brand new Mustang and destroy his ego when my ugly little car would just run off and leave him when the light turned green.
Unfortunately, I was "at speed" on a winding road, on my way to see my wife-to-be one night when a very large German Shepherd (an ex-Air Force guard dog) walked out in front of my Cortina. Totaled the car (didn't do the dog any good either). As I remember, I did get a pretty good price out of the engine, however. Bought a '67 Volkswagen, got married and dropped my subscription to Road & Track! Growing up is a real bummer!
|
|