Click to go to page -     1    2    4    5    6    7    8   
Text Box: 	Everyone with a computer Text Box: I've been suffering from driving withdrawals from my time away in Colorado, but I'm glad to be back with a track event just a few days away!   And a Mt. Hamilton run just two days later!   Although it's good to be back in good ole California, a friend of mine just left for England to tour the Lotus factory and to shop for some Elise variants to bring back to the US.  Now that would be a great vacation.  I've only seen a few Elises here and only one driven on the street.  As they are so rare here, I think we forget how popular they have been across the Atlantic, with many thousands of them having been built.  I'm not sure, but I believe that the Elise in its different forms may have surpassed any other type of Lotus car in production numbers.  I'm sure they could sell many more once they get their heads out and start selling them over here!

Speaking of Loti that seem rare over here, but are plentiful there, I asked my friend to look into another of my highly desired Lotus road cars, the Excel SE.  Many people have no idea what that car is, so here's a little background.  In 1974, Lotus introduced the Type 75 Elite, a larger, more luxurious, 2+2 than the Elan +2, and Lotus intended to go upmarket with this new car.  It was the top of the range for Lotus, and today, they have a funny decidedly seventies shape that is controversial today in that as many people think it is ugly as do those who think it looks cool (maybe more!).   It was built it the typical Lotus fashion with a steel backbone chassis and composite body.  The Type 76 Eclat was Text Box: based on the same car, with a different upper half of the two piece composite body.  It had a fast back styled top half of the body instead of the hatchback styled upper half that the Elite had.  The Eclat was positioned below the Elite with rear drum brakes, less nice interiors, and generally lower specifications all around.  Mechanically they were about the same with the new 907 engine.  Both the Eclat and the Elite were updated as time went on, and they were both replaced with improved series 2 versions with the new 2.2 liter motor in the early eighties.  Several thousand of these cars were made, although I've only seen one ever driven on the road here in the States, that one of our fellow members the Dubberleys.

The offspring of these cars that I'm really interested in is the Type 89 Excel.   As the Esprit came to be the flag bearer of the company and the Elite was discontinued, a derivative of the Elite was developed that was very high specification, but more based on the Eclat than the Elite.  Both the Elite and the Eclat were discontinued and the new Excel continued on.  This coincided with Toyota's investment in Lotus in the early eighties, and the Excel became a really cool car, especially in the SE form.  They used many Toyota parts as a result of the collaboraText Box: tion with Toyota, and I think the Excel is the one production Lotus that benefited the most from Toyota's involvement.  We all know that Lotus influenced Toyotas such as the MR2 and many other cars, but here we can find the reverse effect in areas that aren't so visible, but important from a practical point of view (especially with regard to dependability and maintenance).  The Excel used the Supra's transmission, differential, half-shafts, CV's, and brakes, as well as other parts, but instead of looking funny and controversial such as the Elite and Eclat, the Excel really took on a look that made it seem more like a part of the Esprit family, especially in the later years when the Excel shared rear view mirrors with the post 88 Esprit, and Esprit pattered Route OZ wheels.   The Excel looks sleek and modern with many Esprit cues.  In the SE form, this car had 180 hp, weighed the same as a Turbo Esprit, and had room for four adults!  A practical exotic in my eyes, as a front engine Lotus.   Several thousand of these cars have been sold, but I've never seen one.  Granted they were never imported to the States, but with all the gray market cars we have running around here, I'm surprised I've never seen one in any of the club events or club photos either!  I'd love to find one.  Well that's what I've been thinking about while being car-deprived in Colo