Silliest thing done in a Lotus

[Al B]

From another thread, at some point we have all done silly things in our beloved Loti that afterwards, in moments of reminiscence, are worthy of a chuckle and a retell. Okay, maybe not all, but some.
How about sharing some of those shining moments with your fellow enthusiasts. If no one else, I'll listen. It's just that kind of day here at the office where a good chuckler is in order.

[Brian Skeoch]

I let my wife drive my Esprit once.. and only once..

she drove it about 1/2 block then looked at me sand said " This is it ? thats all you got ? after all the years of Lotus junk and books, this is all you got ? whats the big deal about this car " she says.

I said.. thats it. Get out. !!!

[GregWO]

Brian, Thats hilarious!
I have a similar story...

I let my wife drive my Esprit the day I bought it. We stopped on the side of the road in an industrial area in Knoxville and i jumped out and she climbs in.... no sooner could i get my seat belt on... she had it in first then quickly floored it and ran through the gears like a pro driver, When we hit 85MPH I was panicking because of the fast approaching stoplight.... I was impressed she handled the Esprit so well....

I bet your wife was expecting the Esprit to be a "beast" and a handful, like a typical sports car.... but actually its so refined and precise... my wife pegged it with "its so easy to drive" while she's doing 85MPH :)

Of course she hasn't driven it since...

[TWO OLD ELANS]

That other scariest thread supplies my silliest answers to this thread.
Riding with my blind father in my Elan.... and giving the iginition key to a beer laden friend...
...altho.... I once drove my Elan while dressed like a gorilla, in a parade....

[Martin]

Since I didn't respond in the "scariest thing done" thread, I will mention it in this one now that I am thinking about it.

Last month at Road Atlanta my wife and I drove up the Lotus to watch the historic races. On the second day I got there in time to do the "touring" laps.

We got started out slow and I thought that this was going to be waste of time after I had got a chance to see the track as a racer would. Well fortunately the lead guy started to really speed up!

We weren't going super fast but if you let a gap develop between you and the person in front you could go deep into a corner. So on the sharpest corner right before the back straight I was really pushing the Esprit hard because I had never had a chance to feel what this car would do under high stresses. About 5 times I pushed the tail out a bit and had brief four wheel drifts as I keep dialing in more power. The 6th time......:icon19: I pushed her too far :icon4a:
Plain and simple I spun about 240 degrees and put the back tires off the track. I have to say I got a little closer to the wall than I thought would even have been possible from where I was, but it was a good learning lesson. Now I know what she can handle and atleast I was in a good environment to find out. Right? :( :)

[Autocross7]

Just curious... where did you get off track. It seems like most of the off track and squirl moves I have seen there are a result of the down hill just past the "Suzuki" bridge when people get a bit nervous and lift off the throttle.

Personally, the few times I have been lucky enough to drive there I seem to start pushing too hard in turn 5...

Cameron

[Mark B.]

I let my wife drive my Esprit. She drove with the hand brake on of course, so it didn't drive very well, started to smell a lot and wore out my rear brake pads. Nice!

[Al B]

Is it me or is there a bit of a trend developing here?
A lot of "I let my wife drive" starts to the stories.
I may start another one but with a "I won't let my wife see this..." instead.

[Martin]

Just curious... where did you get off track. It seems like most of the off track and squirl moves I have seen there are a result of the down hill just past the "Suzuki" bridge when people get a bit nervous and lift off the throttle.

Personally, the few times I have been lucky enough to drive there I seem to start pushing too hard in turn 5...

Cameron

It is in the U shape in the back, turn 7.

[Kylie]

Arrh the old cheap shots at the wife eh.....you bunch of OLD FASHIONED lot, I should have you stringed up. :D I bet you havent told the story when you guys backed into poles or rear ended someone eh cause you spilt coffee in your lap!!! Oh and I bet you had the handbrake on when you first drove the Esprit too, I know my new owner was about to, until I reminded him again not to :D :p

Women on the whole do lack confidence driving and there are some shocking drivers out there but its no wonder sometimes. Most guys I know demand to take the wheel on long trips or anything adventurous as thats what their parents did and so on - its a man thing :D.

A funny story....We got a brand new A3 Audi courtesy car last year for a couple of days, and there was honestly a fight who was going to drive it, kept the neighbour entertained while we were pushing and shoving who could get in first!! After attempting to pull his shorts down in public, I failed and demoted to the passenger seat for that trip anyway. It was rightfully my replacement car afterall. :confused:

I know times have changed and women have more independence to drive and a better understanding of engines etc. From an insurance statistics point of view its cheaper for us as we are not likely to prang our cars. Fact.
I look at my cars = no scratches and no incidents, Simons car = scratches and a list of things hes done and had repaired, what does that say. Ok hes an exception perhaps.

So bring it on fellas :D :icon24: I am rubbing my hands :fire:

[Brian Skeoch]

actually, my wife is a good driver. I was all excited when she was going to drive my Lotus but when she did she said " whats the big deal "

my wife and I share a Acura TL sport with a 6 speed. problem is, she LOVES that car so I only get it a couple times a week.

Brian

[Autocross7]

A couple years ago I was working in the St. Paul area and had the good fortune of getting together with some of the guys from LOON. Seems Tim and Dave were up for some chatting over a beer with Tim's son and turns out Dave was taking delivery of his new Elise at the time. So, being really good guys that took some pitty on a me (having to drive a rental), they let me tag along for the "pick up". Daves Esprit was at the dealer as well, and he allowed me to drive it back to the club garage with a bit of a spirited run.

No problems, save fear of getting "left" and getting stuck with a Esprit! Hahaha... Anyway, got to the garage I needed to back Dave's Esprit up as I missed the proper entrance... and I could not get it into reverse! Dumbfounded... I stuck my head out and asked... "how do get this thing into reverse? Is the sycro gone or what?".... At that moment... just before he had to tell me (and he did and I'm sure got a laugh later at my expence)... I realized this car was newer and had a Renault gear box! Muscle memory simply would not allow me to lift the collar and go left - I am so used to pull up on the stick and go right!


As for Road Atlanta off track trips... Turn 7, I saw Morgan get wild and leave track back there in 97' (I think). It must have stuck with me because my speed back there really drops when it shouldn't...

Cameron

[GregWO]

Kylie..... :) :) its all good :icon24:

I actually think my wife is a very good driver... she can definitely shift better than me... my stupid feet get so clumsy sometimes... Were both avid drivers.. she has done some pretty amazing 4x4 rock crawling in her brand new Jeep... fully recovered from a 360degreee spin at 55MPH in traffic because she hydroplaned. I am trying to get her to do some high performance driving classes at the Mid-Ohio race track. Hopefully she'll get the bug and want to do some amateur racing, who knows....

The only reason she hasn't driven the Esprit again is because its been in the shop for repairs..... otherwise she would drive the Esprit to work! :gocart:

[Autocross7]

Nope, my wife is the sterio type. She cannot drive a stick shift at all. People have tried to teach her. The Mazda 3 she drives now has tip tronic and she will tell you she does not use it because she does not understand when to shift it...

For the most part she is re-actictive to most situations on the road. She is a fair driver with a automatic in normal traffic, and I do not mind her driving. However, her SA (situational awarness) is not very high and seems to be limited to right here and now and not several seconds ahead. She has been given the oportunity to drive several "cool" cars on a closed course and declined. I don't push the issue... she does we she likes and I do what I like. We both love racing as a spectator sport... so all is well.

My daughter however, 5 years old, will get into anything and wants to go fast! She has sat in my lap and piloted a DSR around a closed course quite well for her age!

Cameron

[Kylie]

I know its good fun guys, just interesting to hear peoples views as its a topic that comes up frequently. So you dont have to dig yourselves outa big holes. :D
Truly all is good!!!!

[WayneB]

You go Kylie girl!:D

I'm not saying anything negative about women drivers, as Mrs.Barratt has a better accident and speeding ticket free driving record than me. She also racks up more daily milage than me as her job involves a 100km daily commute.

And I have been driven around the Molson Indy Toronto Circuit by a variety of members of the all woman PPG Pace Car Team including Deserie Wilson (only female to have won an f1 race) in a Lambo Diablo, Trish Hessinger and Kelly Williams (not one of them made any mistakes like leaving the handbrake on).

What concerns me more is the amount of men drivers I have been in a car with, who thought they were great "competition"drivers (but made so many dangerous mistakes it wasn't funny).:(

[TWO OLD ELANS]

Deserie who? " Deserie Wilson (only female to have won an f1 race)"

[jimmybondi]

I won't let my wife, errm girlfriend driving the Esprit, 'cause I know that she is going faster than me :D

My silliest thing in a Lotus? too many to mention them all. ;)
Well, here is the last one: I reversed into a lower pole two years ago, cracking my rear bumper. Good thing was: I learned that Lotus has used plywood in the bumpers - And I teached myself fiberglass repair during the winter season :D

[WayneB]

Deserie who? " Deserie Wilson (only female to have won an f1 race)"

Desire Wilson (I added an extra e for some reason)

http://www.padokf1.com/images/dosyalar/11042007194444-d_wilson_1.jpg

http://www.wilsonmotorsport.com/public_html/Images/Media/2.jpg

[Autocross7]

You go Kylie girl!:D

What concerns me more is the amount of men drivers I have been in a car with, who thought they were great "competition"drivers (but made so many dangerous mistakes it wasn't funny).:(



Yep... I'm in Alabama remember? I grew up with people going... "Hey, hold my beer and watch this"....


scary.
Cameron

[Martin]

I have to say that I was unaware of a woman ever winning an F1 race. That is really cool. :thumbup:

I just though of another "stupid" thing I've done.
I took my wife into downtown Atlanta for a fancy dinner for our anniversary. So naturally we had to take the lotus. :icon18:

I'm having trouble finding parking:helpsmilie:
Finally I find an entrance that is practically a blind drop off over a hump, from the perspective of the Lotus, so a manage to not see a big curb that is sticking out and I high-side the right corner of the front bumper:angryfire: I was ready to explode but I had to be on good behaviour because it was our anniversary, so I asked for 5 minutes to pout and then I was good.:innocent:

That was a silly moment brought to you by our new smilies :shuriken:

[Brian Skeoch]

thats pretty cool because I remember the Walter Wolf race car and it was pretty quick in Long Beach and wasleading for a while in 77 but then Mario came out of mid pack and passed the Wolf easily .

I cant remember who was driving the Walter Wolf car but it seemed about 1 foot shorter than the Lotus and Ferrari.. It had a mean Cosowrth tho.

I think the transition from Ocean Blvd to 17th street was too much on the tires becasue the cars would power slide down the hill and the tires probably went bad.

fun seeing someone win with that car tho. I loved this picture of her driving it to a win.

Brian

[WayneB]

Jody Schecter was driving the Wolf WR1 at Long Beach, Brian

I know that car quite wall as it is currently on display at the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in Toronto(I sat in it once):001_smile:

http://www.motorsportscentral.com/cmhf-06/06.jpg

[Brian Skeoch]

Oh my gosh.. thats right.. Great picture..

I have that tape on VHS.. Jody was leading and was passed by Mario on Shorline and he passed Jody like he was standing still.

great car tho.. tiny little short wheel base thing.. great colors.

it had a ton of lateral grip and turned in better than the Lotus.. the tires were soo big on that thing that when he stood on the brakes the entire car would shimmy back and fourth. it was scary.. he controlled it tho, and Long Beach is a NARROW track..

Brian

[Brian Skeoch]

great picture.

I see the 1992 Lola Indy car that Scott Goodyear drove to a 2nd place at Indianapolis... " closest finish in history "

Brian

[WayneB]

I knew Scott when he was an instructor at the Spenard -David racing school at Shannonville.

He was one of the guys who would always wear sunglasses inside the workshop (even at night)

[Esprit2]

A couple years ago I was working in the St. Paul area and had the good fortune of getting together with some of the guys from LOON. Seems Tim and Dave were up for some chatting over a beer with Tim's son and turns out Dave was taking delivery of his new Elise at the time.

Yes sir, I remember that. We're all still here... let us know when you head back this way. Ed Young from the turboesprit list is visiting this weekend.

Regards,
Tim

[Esprit2]

Back in the '70s there was a Texas based Lotus club called LOU... Lotus Owners United. One of the members told a story about his youth, when he was dating the girl he ultimately married. They would take the Europa to the Submarine Races, where one thing usually led to another and... well... you know where it led. It was close quarters in the Europa, but they did it. The only problem beyond a few muscle cramps was that it invariably put a matched set of bruises on his elbows.

As I mentioned, they married. Many years passed, then one day his wife noticed bruises on his elbows. She didn't say a thing... she just divorced him.

Later,
Tim

[Martin]

Back in the '70s there was a Texas based Lotus club called LOU... Lotus Owners United. One of the members told a story about his youth, when he was dating the girl he ultimately married. They would take the Europa to the Submarine Races, where one thing usually led to another and... well... you know where it led. It was close quarters in the Europa, but they did it. The only problem beyond a few muscle cramps was that it invariably put a matched set of bruises on his elbows.

As I mentioned, they married. Many years passed, then one day his wife noticed bruises on his elbows. She didn't say a thing... she just divorced him.

Later,
Tim

Was he also a contorsionist employed by "Circ De Sole"?

One more thing, what are submarine races?...races involving submarines? :confused::no:

[WayneB]

I herd a similar story about a Lamborghini Miura SV that Rod Stewart had owned.

There were two supposidly stilletto heel marks in the headliner , apparently leftovers from a romantic encounter he had with a lady in the car.:flowers:

I saw them , they looked like a couple of cigarette burns to me, but the other story sounds more juicy when you are trying to sell the car.:mf_dribble:

Me , its as much I can do to even get into a Europa.:wheelchair:

[Martin]

Best use of a smiley so far = :wheelchair: