340 R for sale stateside

[Martin]

Not saying I have the money to do so, but it would be really hard to spend the money on such a cool car and know that you could not drive it legally on the roads. :(

I would still buy it if I had the means :D

http://i.ebayimg.com/11/!BPS9eigBmk~$(KGrHgoOKi0EjlLmWv+IBJy8Prq6sg~~_1.JP G



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RARE-Lotus-340R-1-of-10-in-the-US_W0QQitemZ170315257587QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars _Trucks?hash=item170315257587&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A7%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318#ebayphotoho sting

[Autocross7]

Not saying I have the money to do so, but it would be really hard to spend the money on such a cool car and know that you could not drive it legally on the roads. :(

I would still buy it if I had the means :D

http://i.ebayimg.com/11/!BPS9eigBmk~$(KGrHgoOKi0EjlLmWv+IBJy8Prq6sg~~_1.JP G



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RARE-Lotus-340R-1-of-10-in-the-US_W0QQitemZ170315257587QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars _Trucks?hash=item170315257587&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A7%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318#ebayphotoho sting

I am not so sure... it has head lamps, tail lamps, and signals are not hard to do if it does not have them... in Alabama that meets the requirement. The VIN recognition could be an issue, but I doubt it. Could prob. tag it as a modified vehicle with very little trouble here...

Cameron

[Lotus69F2]

I am not so sure... it has head lamps, tail lamps, and signals are not hard to do if it does not have them... in Alabama that meets the requirement. The VIN recognition could be an issue, but I doubt it. Could prob. tag it as a modified vehicle with very little trouble here...

Cameron

If the 340R is driven on the road, even with a valid state registration and liscence plate Federal Law is still being broken and the owner of the car would be subject to penalties including forfeit of the car.

[WayneB]

I love those 340R's, they had one in the Lotus Sport garage at the factory when I visited, great minimalist design:thumbup:

[Autocross7]

If the 340R is driven on the road, even with a valid state registration and liscence plate Federal Law is still being broken and the owner of the car would be subject to penalties including forfeit of the car.

It gets real grey in Alabama at times... hence the "grey market" cars. I inquired about a Europa to the state DMV a while back and they gave me papers I would need to "get the car to Alabama". At the time I was not sure I had the money and it would require a dealer to import it (not hard for a dollar given). I know my insurance company also has provisions here to insure grey market cars as well. I do not really know how it is all done as I never really tried to do it? I am only aware of folks that have done it.

There is a 959 owner across the bay in Fairhope. The car was never supposed to be in the USA - but he got it tagged and titled etc... never had one problem. A Miami Porsche dealer "grey market imported" the car for him. As far as I know, it might be the only 'real' one outside of Cali? I think it gets back to the money. If the county and the state get paid, they will cover your back with the Feds. Alabama was never real fond of the Feds to begin with in most cases :icon18:. During the Clinton Administration, Alabama continued to be a source of "pre-banned' automatic and semi-automatic rifles that would find their way into the port in Mobile. No state law enforcement office was real keen on stopping this or enforcing the federal rules. In some case those state and local offices completely failed to cooperate with the federal offices. I figure it is similar with cars given some of the cars around the state that are questionable :huh:. BJ's 512BB was technically not supposed to be imported. Like Martin... I do not have the money to try it! But, that 340R sure appears to be fun (and way impractical for our weather)!

Cameron

[Lotus69F2]

The point is that regardless of how the state laws are, and regardless of whether a car can be registered in a state and driven legally according to that states laws, the 340R was not homologated for federal importation for road use. All 340R's that are legally in the US came as track only cars. They are not eligible for the DOT exemption either.

So if someone had a 340R or S1 Elise or Vauxhall Viva in the State of Alabama, I have no doubt that they could legally register it and drive it. Heck, a friend of mine who is no longer with us registered his Lotus 22 Formula car in Alabama. But, they would still be breaking Federal law, because....all of these cars are illegal to import into the US for raod use!

It's too bad really, because there are a host of Lotus that would be really nice to have and drive, but the Fedaral laws prohibit it. The Lotus Carlton/Omega was, by the way, exempted by the DOT, but it still has to meet EPA requirements for road use.

I'll be interested to see if it sells, and for how much. The starting bid is $25k and is reserve not met. One can get an S2 Elise for that and be able to drive on the road and on the track. Then again, from a collectablity standpoint the 340R is a really rare and unique pice of kit.

[Autocross7]

It will def. be interesting to se how much it goes for (or if it sells at all I guess?). The market is not exactly a good one for the seller these days. I only hope a buyer that will drive it (track, neighborhood, wherever) gets it and it does not end up some garaged "investment". While it will no doubt be a fine collection piece, to let it sit would be a crime IMO. There are too many paper weight cars out there now just sitting in various states because the owners think they are going to make them rich one day. I always think about that Lotus 7 that Brian found in a trailer in Atlanta... how sad :no:.

Cameron

[eurosport]

This car has been making the rounds in a variety of sales forums for quite some time, not sure it's actually ever sold. Usually with an asking price in the $60-70k range. It was last advertised out of Oregon, on Craigslist, no less. It's hard to gauge the market for the pre-federal Elise and "track only" cars over here like the S1's, 340r's, Motorsport Elises, Cup cars and even the 2-11. A Motorsport Elise was recently reduced to the fire sale price of $29k, though it was a RHD car, due to lack of interest. Most of the 340r's probably get driven with dealer plates or end up as showroom queens, this seems like one of them. Still would be a blast. :yes:

[Martin]

Good point, at 60+k wouldn't you rather get a 2-11 for a bit more? And the 2-11 has a warranty!

[Brian Skeoch]

Dave Schmidt in our lotus club has one.. its the prototype. he drives it but not on the road.