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Lotus Corp is a great social club that does some touring, a track day or two, and some other fun things together throughout the year. Great people that are very welcoming.
There are also quite a few people around Chicago that like putting together spirited drives. If you're interested in spirited drives then just keep on eye out on this section of the forum.
The Lotus Corps group does a lot of events - track days, bbq, drives, car shows.
No offense to some of the Lotus Corps group that comes here (hey Sanj), but they tend to scale a bit older. Many are vintage Lotus car guys. That might float your boat, it might not. But super nice guys and very welcoming.
Do check this section frequently. We do the 'car stuff' a lot - Supercar Saturdays and I try to line up as many spirited drives as possible (usually Chicago Western Burbs in to farm land). We used to have a VERY active Chicago group, but for whatever reason, people don't come around as much. The group is still active, but it's the Cheesheads now carrying the torch!
Check the other posts on this section and you'll see prior drives/pics/etc. We've had drives with a dozen cars and we've had drives with 30 plus cars!
I'll be trying to set one up for late April, early May.
Swinglo is spot on. It is interesting to see how the dead the Chicago group is. Just 4 years ago it may have been the most active group in the country...
I'm not sure the Chicago group can be proclaimed as dead... Maybe more like hibernating (that sounds nicer than comatose). When Todd (Moto44) pursued other interests the activity level took a hit. As long as Swinglo is there Chicago still has a pulse!
Maybe it's time...
(Jake) "We're putting the band back together."
(Elwood) "We're on a mission from God."
Welcome! As you dive into the local Lotus world you will find several communities, it struck me a curious as I bought my Exige back in 2008 how little crosspollination there was (is). There is the social gathering crowd, the “Let’s get together on a nice day for a drive” crowd and the track crowd.
Lotus Corps is the established, organized group that has been around for quite some time, they offer monthly social gatherings, a drive or two over the course of the year as well as a couple track days each summer. Many folks who have not organized events don’t quite appreciate how much work goes into coordinating a track day and the like so I always tip my hat and offer a “thank you” for being the group willing to put in that effort. Lotus Corps
The Lotus Talk “Let’s go for a drive” crowd, is VERY active here. Great group who certainly drives at a more rapid clip than you’ll experience at the Lotus Corps’ drives. You should at least try it once to see if it’s for you and if nothing else attach a face to the LT name.
And then there’s the track rats. What you now own is one of the best purpose built machines to be able to drive to the track, at the track and then back home. What the Exige truly excels at is not something you can (or at least should) experience on the streets. The Lotus Corps Blackhawk Farms event this coming Monday, May 16th is a great event (ok, I’ll be the first to admit I’m a bit biased as I generally volunteer to help with their classroom portion of the event) to dip your toe in the water and see what you think. Many folks who thought they were fast on the street have an interesting perspective check once they get to the track and many folks who regularly get to the track don’t feel the need to drive quite so fast on the street (thank you, my wife and kids share those streets with you).
Also, if you haven't already done so go check out Gator Motorsport in Indianapolis, Gator Motorsport | Unrivaled Excellence great group of people, TJ is an amazing wrench and Dino is your guy for all parts OEM.
As others have suggested keep an eye on the board. You’ll find many opportunities to meet fellow Lotus enthusiasts in a format that fits your interests. I’ll hope to have the chance to meet you and play cars togher!
My name is Mitch and we live in Delavan. We have a 1991 Elan M100, 1994 Esprit S4, and a 2013 Evora (just sold a 1974 Europa Special). I think there might be a critical mass to plan a get together in Peoria!
I'm John and I live in Bloomington. I have an Evora and attend the Central IL Cars and Coffee, Supercar Saturdays on occasion (both on FB). Also am a member of http://iflbcc.club/.
We used to have several Lotus owners in Peoria that would get together and go on drives or come over to my house to work on cars. The guy that organized it moved though. I'm always up for a drive. I also have a 6 car garage and a kegerator if any locals wanted to get together to work on the cars. I'll be going to the Lotus Corps Track day on the 16th.
There is another local group that does Delorean / Lotus Gatherings and they are meeting up before the Champagne British Car Festival in June.
I'd be interested if I wasn't going to be out of town on business this weekend. I'm usually around and interested if anything cool and car related is going on.
I usually make Cars and Coffee, unless my kids talk me into taking them up to Supercar Saturday instead. That would be my next planned planned car activity before the Lotus Corps Track Day.
Cool, there will be a few of us going up from Peoria on the Sunday before. We will also likely spend some time in the preceding week in my garage getting the cars ready. Let me know if you want in on any of that.
There is a Cars and Coffee in Peoria next Saturday. I'm consistently the ONLY Lotus at these events.. Anyone want to swing by and help me answer the burning questions (1) how much does it weight, and (2) does it handle like a gokart?
I'm also heading to the AutoX event in Rantoul this weekend (probably Saturday only).
Next Saturday is also Supercar Saturday at Promenade in Bolingbrook. It's a little bit of a hike from Peoria, but the turnout is usually great from Lotus cars and other great eye-candy. Consider coming up to Bolingbrook this month?
Is the Cars and Coffee always on the first Saturday of the month? Supercar Saturday is the first Saturday of each month so thats usually where the Chicago area lotus are at during that time.
I've made it to most of those over the past few years. I've missed a few this year though. I don't think those are the common questions though. I think those are the ones you want to hear. The actual questions are; how big is the engine, how much HP and what is the top speed? Then you have to get all defensive about power to weight ratio and how you don't top your car out on a race track.
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