After having a long-term lust for Lotus, my dream has finally come true. I apologize for the long story, but it helps to convey how meaningful this is to me.
My first exposure was in the summer of '71 when I was in college driving a Datsun 1600 and I saw a Europa S2 for sale near me. At the time I was following Formula 1 and had even travelled to see and exhibition race at Brands Hatch were Emerson Fittipaldi was driving the iconic JPS. When the opportunity arose, it was only natural to arrange test drive of any Lotus I could get to. It was unlike anything I had ever driven even if it had a disappoint end 15 minutes because it was overheating. Nonetheless; it left an indelible mark on my brain. The next car I bought was a 72 Datsun 240Z after graduating with my engineering degree, and that led to a succession of other Z-cars I've owned over the next 50+ years. That includes two 300ZX 2+2 cars (when we had our young kids), a 300ZX TwinTurbo (may favorite which got me started in HPDEs), a 40th Anniversary 370Z, and now my current 370Z Nismo which has seen the most track time. Of course all of these were MTs and cars that could be my daily driver yet satisfy my love for driving no matter if I was driving around town, on a rare twisty road around Dallas - Fort Worth, or on a track.
All the while though, every time I saw a Lotus Elise or Exige at the track or one come up for sale I thought "if only ..." I did a test drives in a beautiful Esprit and a Elise yet had to walk away because they could not be my daily driver and could not afford to have two sports cars. I was close to retiring when Lotus announced they were going to produce their last ICE car for around $80,000 USD; and I imagined that owing one could become a real possiblity. After seeing the unveiling in 2021, that lust ramped up to at least a 7. I placed my refundable deposit in Jan 2023 putting me at #120 on the list, but Iknew I would at least get my chance to do an early test drive. When that day came, to my unbridled glee, it was a Magma MT configured almost exactly as I had done on-line. That experience notched my lust up another level, but now the price had increased to $105K. My order slot finally opened up in Dec 2023, but I didn't feel like I had enough reserve funds to purchase, so I told my dealer to keep my deposit and I would wait for 2025 base which I hoped would be more affordable. Then in Jan 2024, I saw that Lotus was offering the Lotus Driving Academy was offering a full day "Tailor-made Advanced Experience" in Hethel for the price of my deposit. I told my wife that maybe this is another way I can scratch this itch. Well, four months later my daughter (who also occasionally tracks her 370Z) and I flew to London and made our way to Hethel. Our day on the track with our instructor Toby was incredible, and experiencing that full driving engagement and uncompable turn-in ability ramped-up my lust to 10+. You could say that scratching that that itch turned into a breakout of hives!
At long last, I now have dream car! I was able to find Magma FE with only 2,600 miles from a gentleman who needed to sell before moving to Europe and he gave me a much better deal than I ever expected. It is configured almost exactly as I wanted except for silver instead of black wheels. However I got that corrected as part of my full PPF and ceramic coating of full body, wheels and calipers.
I still have a few things to do before getting it on the track, but I already know that it is meeting all of my dream and expectations of my 55 year wait of being a Lotus owner. Thanks for letting me share this journey here and I look forward to sharing the best days to come!
My first exposure was in the summer of '71 when I was in college driving a Datsun 1600 and I saw a Europa S2 for sale near me. At the time I was following Formula 1 and had even travelled to see and exhibition race at Brands Hatch were Emerson Fittipaldi was driving the iconic JPS. When the opportunity arose, it was only natural to arrange test drive of any Lotus I could get to. It was unlike anything I had ever driven even if it had a disappoint end 15 minutes because it was overheating. Nonetheless; it left an indelible mark on my brain. The next car I bought was a 72 Datsun 240Z after graduating with my engineering degree, and that led to a succession of other Z-cars I've owned over the next 50+ years. That includes two 300ZX 2+2 cars (when we had our young kids), a 300ZX TwinTurbo (may favorite which got me started in HPDEs), a 40th Anniversary 370Z, and now my current 370Z Nismo which has seen the most track time. Of course all of these were MTs and cars that could be my daily driver yet satisfy my love for driving no matter if I was driving around town, on a rare twisty road around Dallas - Fort Worth, or on a track.
All the while though, every time I saw a Lotus Elise or Exige at the track or one come up for sale I thought "if only ..." I did a test drives in a beautiful Esprit and a Elise yet had to walk away because they could not be my daily driver and could not afford to have two sports cars. I was close to retiring when Lotus announced they were going to produce their last ICE car for around $80,000 USD; and I imagined that owing one could become a real possiblity. After seeing the unveiling in 2021, that lust ramped up to at least a 7. I placed my refundable deposit in Jan 2023 putting me at #120 on the list, but Iknew I would at least get my chance to do an early test drive. When that day came, to my unbridled glee, it was a Magma MT configured almost exactly as I had done on-line. That experience notched my lust up another level, but now the price had increased to $105K. My order slot finally opened up in Dec 2023, but I didn't feel like I had enough reserve funds to purchase, so I told my dealer to keep my deposit and I would wait for 2025 base which I hoped would be more affordable. Then in Jan 2024, I saw that Lotus was offering the Lotus Driving Academy was offering a full day "Tailor-made Advanced Experience" in Hethel for the price of my deposit. I told my wife that maybe this is another way I can scratch this itch. Well, four months later my daughter (who also occasionally tracks her 370Z) and I flew to London and made our way to Hethel. Our day on the track with our instructor Toby was incredible, and experiencing that full driving engagement and uncompable turn-in ability ramped-up my lust to 10+. You could say that scratching that that itch turned into a breakout of hives!
At long last, I now have dream car! I was able to find Magma FE with only 2,600 miles from a gentleman who needed to sell before moving to Europe and he gave me a much better deal than I ever expected. It is configured almost exactly as I wanted except for silver instead of black wheels. However I got that corrected as part of my full PPF and ceramic coating of full body, wheels and calipers.
I still have a few things to do before getting it on the track, but I already know that it is meeting all of my dream and expectations of my 55 year wait of being a Lotus owner. Thanks for letting me share this journey here and I look forward to sharing the best days to come!
and black wheels are the work of Satan.
