Tag: Lotus
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(Help Me) Ronda? Yes, it’s a Rover Honda.
Today’s feature is a Rover 216SE, falsely advertised as a 316. Why is this a Ronda? It’s because this is essentially a rebadged Honda Ballade, which, in turn, was a slightly fancier Honda Civic. If a Sterling is too common for you, this Rover 216 should do the trick.
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1976 Lotus Eclat Project
We’ve always been intrigued by these 70s Lotus Elite and Eclat (sometimes called the Lotus Eclair). These front-engine oddballs were large for Lotus, but still used the “just add lightness” formula and were known as excellent handlers. The Elite, with its shooting brake body type, is more the oddball, while this Eclat has a coupe…
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Sibling to Previous Orphaned Hot Hatch Post: i-Mark Turbo Sedan
We recently featured a rare Isuzu I-Mark hatchback, complete with turbocharged four cylinder engine and Lotus-tuned suspension. If you liked the idea, but wanted four doors, today’s feature is all you. This car gives you i-Mark RS Turbo performance in a small sedan package. Versus the hatchback, that’s less practical for lovers of cargo space,…
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Orphaned Brand Hot Hatch
The Volkswagen GTI started the hot hatch craze in the early 80s, and just about every OEM (except Ford in the US market?) played the game at some point. Maybe Ford is making up for that today with its ST and RS products. Anywho, Isuzu was a hot hatch player back in the day (you…
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British Black Gold
Ahh…the Lotus Europa. Never has such a great car been so amazingly ugly. Add in the black and gold John Player Special color scheme and you have one of the coolest, weirdest things ever. Unfortunately, this car’s owner had some health issues, so the car has sat unused since 2007 and was not prepped for…
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1974 Lotus Elite (No, not Elise!)
In the early to mid 70s, Lotus launched a whole new lineup, moving away from the tiny (and beloved) Elan and the bizarre (and beloved) Europa. The first all-new car replaced the four-seat Elan +2 and was our feature car, the Elite. It was a larger more practical Lotus, but still weighed next to nothing when…
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Part II of Scariest Project Ever?
We previously posted something we thought might be the scariest project ever. That was a Lotus Esprit V8 in need of engine work. Today’s installment is also a Lotus Esprit, but it’s a 1977 Series I car, mostly disassembled. This one comes with two engines and two transaxles – maybe you could build it as…
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Lotus Esprit V8. Scariest Project Ever?
These aren’t old enough to fall into the ‘project’ category often. Would you take it on? The engine is out of the car and, supposedly, two of everything needed will be included in the sale. Why? Click for Craigslist ad Riverside, CA $17,000 Ad text: Vehicle Basics: 1998 Lotus Esprit V8. Black on Tan 29xxx…
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Plaidless S1 Esprit
Here we have a series 1 Lotus Esprit. These didn’t offer the rocketship acceleration of the later, turbocharged versions, but they offered high-revving fun in a package that weighed nothing. While yellow is a fairly common exterior colour on these – and one of which we approve – it’s a bit disappointing that this one…
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The Car I Like to Call the Lotus Eclair
Many of our readers may know that the Lotus Elite of the 50s/60s was one of the most beautiful sports cars ever made and had the track credit to match. We previously posted a 70s Elite and noted that it was, well, nothing like its predecessor. Today’s subject car is the Eclat,which was a fastback sister…