Lotus Esprit V8. My high school dream car was an Esprit, and then in '96 they started putting V8s in them. Everybody I've known who's owned one says they're a maintenance nightmare.
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So I was a young teen doing landscaping/pool maint after school at a nice apt complex not that far away from the old TWA
overhaul base at KCI. Lots of TWA folks lived there, and they had the wherewithal to keep a steady parade of
interesting cars traveling in & out of the complex for my viewing pleasure while manicuring the grounds with a 2-stroke Lawn Boy.
Anyway, there was a lefthand 70 degree uphill sweeper from the entrance towards the buildings on top of the hill.
Most cars (including some of the prettiest, 'fast-looking' cars) would roll over onto the RF tire & plow/understeer/squall & complain
if the owners were in a bit of a hurry to get home. (Think old Hawaii 5-0 episodes from the same timeframe. :0)
But there was this one car that dynamically stood head & shoulders above the rest. Where the owner would drift this corner
with such sheer finesse, light touch, no drama, just efficient translation of vector, time after time. Not a big, showy,
'look at me while I overpower the rear tires' kind of thing that most people associate with modern drifting...but the kind of
drift where the turn was being taken much faster than normal while all 4 tires are linearly losing their traction, while at the same
time the car never loses it's composure. Back in the late '70s it was the only Lotus Europa I'd ever see in the wild.
Some cars are beautiful sitting still. In person, this car was more eclectic than flowing with classic lines, but whenever that
car was in motion it always looked like a gokart amongst tugboats. In response, I always hoped to someday own a Europa, one with
a tweaked Cosworth Twin-Cam set on stun.
But it never came to be. But I also never forgot the car. So when the much more attractive Lotus Esprit V8 came out, I was already
predisposed to someday owning one. But instead my twin daughter hobby took precedence, and again I missed out. But I've
always wondered what it would have been like.
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Many years later (but not that long ago :0) I was comparing notes with a sharp mechanic who seemed to share my outlook on all things
automotive, so of course Lotus came up in conversation. This is when he shared a definition that made me laugh out loud:
LOTUS = Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious
That's pretty much bang on. But if I could locate/Barn Find one of these for the right price, I'm afraid I'd take on the challenge.
Remotor it with an all-aluminum version of the HiPo 289, and then spend the rest of my time on planet Earth trying to string
together 2 good maintenance-free sorties in a row.
It's a sickness I tell ya.
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By the way, what a tasty OKC Cars & Coffee show. Your truck is backed up to what looks like a '57 Nomad, the Esprit is parked next to
a Superbird, there's a suicide door 4-door Lincoln and a FFR Daytona Coupe. And old trucks galore. There's a little something for
everyone, no matter what's your pleasure.
Thanks for sharing -- brought back a lot of good memories of ultra-light machines designed to work in short bursts of pure pleasure.