Lotus Collection

[EliseAtLeast]

Thank you Andy for these pics. They made my day. The Lotus owner is very nice in his willingness to share his collection. You should ask him to join Lotus Talk if he is not already a member here. I'm sure he will like it here.

[Jeff Torrey]

Originally Posted by ...m...

...these pictures have given me a newfound appreciation for the elite - very nice...

Exactly what I was thinking too...

[adamjayp]

Thank you so much for sharing your pictures with us!

[xceed]

Damn!

Thanks for sharing those pictures, top notch! I can't say I'd mind having that red and yellow Esprit in my garage.. *drool*

[DreamCar]

Is that one of their soap box racers hanging on the wall??? That's probably the rarest of the bunch!

[erics75218]

wow that's very cool....I never thought that Lotus was the kind of marque that people would just collect over the years. Awesome to see!!!! Tell him to get that Italian piece of crap Ducati out of there...just kidding I have one myself...HA!

[kmhepler]

Andy-- Welcome. I love this chat group almost as much as my Elise.

Lesson I've learned from this is if someone says 1)okay to look in the garage 2) okay to take pictures then next logical question is to ask for a ride?

And since mein Deutsch ist nur ein bischen, a useful trick is cut and paste to freetranslation.com -- now I know Hinundhergeschleudert does mean literally thrown to and fro auf Englisch.

Froehliche Weinachten!

[Rodewaryer]

This is an awesome discovery! Great post, Vielen Dank!

[speed-freak]

Hi @ all!

@ appleseed, yes, the yellow Esprit is an absolute Dream-Car.
I would like to have that car in my garage too

@ ...m... and Jeff Torrey, his Elite is a very awesome car.
The Elite is very tidy and clean (like every car in that collection),
and the car is 33 years old. Dragi told me he drives that car to some
historical events, and can pack his kids in.

@ EliseAtLeast, thats right, THAT collection made my day too. He allowed me
to make pictures but he has never asked what i am going to do with that
pics. Yesterday in the evening i have told him that i was so fascinated with
his cars that i have posted it to LotusTalk. He answered: Oh, i thought the pics are
for you privately. But its not a problem. He said he will come in and say hello.

@ adamjayp, xceed and Rodewaryer, no Problem. I am goining to look that
its possilbe to make some more pictures.

@ DreamCar, the little one hanging on the wall is a Lotus Pedalcar, not a soapbox
racer. But i do not know more about that toy. I will ask him.

@ erics75218, Dragi told me that there are many Lotus Collections out there.
In Germany the chief from the Lotus Club Deutschland (i do not know his name) has
also an awesome collection. In the Netherland is a guy collecting Lotuses and Bugattis.
In Styria (Austria) is a Lotus Museum from the Club Lotus Austria.
In both Dragi is a member.

@ kmhepler, that question will come. Sure. With hin und her geschleudert
i have tryed to tell you how my emotions are spinning around.


@ EliseAtLeast, yes he is very nice and willingness.
Dragi was always friendly to me. He took his time for me and told me some history
about his cars. He shared his collection with me. I think he is not a Egoist.
I am sure that i am not playing in his league, i have no Lotus. But he made no
difference, he talked to me like to one of his friends.
And he promissed me some cool pics of his Esprit ( to hang it on the wall in my garage).

All the best from Austria!

Andy

PS: once i have news i will be back.

[gospeedv8]

Well, it seems that Andy has introduced me a little bit on LotusTalk. I have promised to come in and say hello to you all.
Now here we go:

My name is Dragi. I`m 37 years old, and my home is in Hohenems. Thats close to Bregenz, the point where i meet Andy.
He came in and i`ve got the feeling that he was very irritated. Don`t know why.

He told me that he is one of the worlds biggest fan of the marque Lotus. Same here! He asked if it`s possible to take a closer look on the cars.
Ok boy, don`t let me stop you.

My love to this kind of cars had its beginning when my father took me to some races in Hockenheim and Nürburgring when i was a little boy.
The races and particularly the racecars dominated my life from now on. After i got married my wife said we had to build our house at first.
The second point on her list where the kids. Now i am father of 2 childrens. My son Robin is 15 years old, my daughter Jenny-Loraine is 7 years old.
After that points were done, i said to her now its time to look at my hobbies.

In that time a close friend had 2 cars with italian origin beginning with F. (Not Fiat). And he had a lot of problems with his cars.
After all he sold both cars. His next one was a red Lotus Esprit V8. And that was the second beginning to my love to Lotus
(the first were the Movies James Bond and Pretty Woman and the races my dad took me with).

After i have bought my first Lotus i was very happy at all. After the first came the second, and so on. So the collection had its beginning.
Some of the cars had to go again. The Eclat was a real lemon. The whole car was a real problem. Nothing was working. A lot of gremlins in that car.
A other which had to go again was my Elan M100 S2. A superb car, but the money i have got for it was a true argument.
I have always tried to keep my cars in a good condition. I think that`s real love

Well, to complete my indroduction i have attached a picture of me sitting in my friends ( the owner of the red V8 ) 2-11.

Let`s have a good comunity.
Take care and have fun!

Dragi

[Alphonse]

Dragi,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on having such a fine collection. A nice variety of items Lotus indeed. You are indeed fortunate!
I believe I caught a glimpse of something Ducati in there as well. Most excellent.
Best wishes for continued success in 2009 and a happy holiday season.

Al B.
Houston, Tx.

p.s.
my collection is not nearly as nice, but you've provided an inspiration to have it grow.

[ms355]

Hallo Dragi,

Ihr beiden - Andy und Du - seid hier eine echte Bereicherung. Da Du noch recht jung bist und die wichtigen Dinge des Lebens (Familie und Haus) offenbar schon gut eingerichtet hast, hoffe ich, daß Du genügend Zeit findest um Deine Schmuckstücke auch zu bewegen. Sollten Dich Deine Wege einmal in Richtung Nürburgring führen, dann laß´ es mich bitte rechtzeitig wissen, denn ich wohne in der Nähe.

Es ist schön, daß manche Menschen ihrer Leidenschaft nicht nur frönen, sondern auch andere daran teilhaben lassen.

Gruß aus dem Rheinland

Michael

[Moto44]

Welcome! I have enjoyed this story very much.

Todd

[gospeedv8]

@ Moto44 and @all, thanks for the welcomes.
Sorry for late answer, but we were a few days out over christmas.

@ Alphonse, thanks for the wishes and welcomes.
It would be fine if my "inspritation" let your collection grow.
All the best for you and your family!!!

@ ms355, schön hier so aufgenommen zu werden. Andy hat mich mehr oder minder überredet mich hier anzumelden.
Ich bin nicht so der Forums-Typ, und schon gar nicht in Englisch.
Danke auch für das " du bist noch recht jung". Bin mit meinen fast 38 Jahren wohl nicht mehr als Jugendlicher zu bezeichnen.
Noch mehr bedanken möchte ich mich allerdings für Deine Einladung und Deine netten Worte. Ich möchte diese zurückgeben: solltest Du mal gegen Süden fahren, bitte um Info an mich. Ich bin quasi direkt am Bodensee zu Hause.

Grüsse aus dem Ländle.

Best wishes.

Dragi

[abhik.light]

Hey! Its a nice collection.