antique lotus?

[aeronca65t]

Back in the Fall (before the snow….sigh), I went to a number of Brit car shows and saw many “unusual” cars. Here’s one……..this car came in to a local show wearing “Historic” license plates, which means that it’s more than 25 years old (snicker, snicker). I’ve thoughtfully blanked out the front plate numbers (to protect the guilty party). Soon after I took the front shot, the owner pulled both tags and didn’t re-install them until just before he left (checking to see if the “coast was clear” first, I’m sure).

 

[Devin]

I don't know about th eplates, but that's one fiiiine looking automobile!
Devin

 

[William]

I've seen that dodge on Elises as well. Saw one last summer that had Illinois plates that were clearly mounted over a set of German ones.
-Wm.

 

[BritishCarMan]

Last I heard the Lotus Elise is still illegal in the USA due to emissions not reaching our requirments. The guy at the show was probley paranoid about the authoritys showing up. But Devin is right, that IS a fine looking automobile. I hope they, one day, are allowed into the USA for purchase. Doubt I could afford one though. It would just be cool seeing them zoom down the interstate.

 

[William]

You can get Elises (I've seen enought to know they are there), but only for "off road use", in other words, racing, autocross, etc. There is a company called (I think) Classic Motorcars around here that sells Ferrari, Lambo, Lotus, Porsche, and just about any used performance car you can name (authorized Lotus, Ferrari, and Lambo dealer), that had an Elise, with a rollbar. Window sticker said, quite clearly, for off road use only, but Lotus is indeed selling them here. Whether or not people listen to the off road use warning is up to them, I suppose. (Presumably if you had enough $ you could get an Exige or 340R as well)
-Wm.

 

[BritishCarMan]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by William:
You can get Elises (I've seen enought to know they are there), but only for "off road use", in other words, racing, autocross, etc. There is a company called (I think) Classic Motorcars around here that sells Ferrari, Lambo, Lotus, Porsche, and just about any used performance car you can name (authorized Lotus, Ferrari, and Lambo dealer), that had an Elise, with a rollbar. Window sticker said, quite clearly, for off road use only, but Lotus is indeed selling them here. Whether or not people listen to the off road use warning is up to them, I suppose. (Presumably if you had enough $ you could get an Exige or 340R as well)
-Wm.<hr></blockquote>

Your right William. I looked closer at the photo and sure enough it has what appears to be racing seat belts. There is also a triangle support of some kind in the rear window. Could this be part of a rollbar setup?

 

[aeronca65t]

The roll bar and race harnesses are factory installed as part of the race kit on all "off-road" Elises imported to the US. They also have a fender-mounted kill switch (you can see it in one of the pics). Funny thing....even thought the race harnesses are much better than ordinary seat belts, they dont' meet our federal regs for passive restraint (no air bags......no cat or 5 mph bumpers either).
Interstingly, these "off-road" cars come with all their Euro street equipment such as heater, radio, lights, etc.

 

[JBsC5]

I believe a company is bringing them in with a Acura Integra 190 hp engine..for like 55 grand..with all the necessary papers to run on the street...

I'd have to say its a better way to go than running historic plates..JMO

190 ponies must make it faster too?

 

[aeronca65t]

Wow! looks like the Elise might end up here legally afterall! Check out this "AutoWeek" below.

https://autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=carnews&loc_code=&content_code=07436823