For the first time this millennium I am not a Lotus owner. Doesn't sound too serious, but indulging myself in some outrageous drama queenery (and not for the first time it must be said), it is a realisation that is more difficult than I would have thought to come to terms with.
Sure, the four cars from the marque that I have owned in that time, plus one replica in the form of my much-missed Westfield Eleven (argue among yourselves over whether I should be allowed to include that), are hardly going to trouble the numbers stacked up by serious marque addicts, but they still left an indelible impression on me.
Checking some dates reveals that for most of the last 15 years, I have in fact had two Lotuses at any one time… and now there are none.
And how do I judge their impact? Not so much by the treasured memories and pictures I cherish from those years with Elan, Elise, Elite and Elan +2 as by the myriad peripheral ways they seem to have infiltrated my daily life.
