Drove up to a Bank of America here in Raleigh, and there she was! I got permission from the owner to take pictures of her.

He just picked her up from Atlanta, and apparently, this is the only one in Raleigh, possibly North Carolina. He's planning on selling it already to get the turbo charged version coming out soon.

$50K, if you are interested

 

Eh...

 

never was a fan ,reminds me of a mr2

 

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the interior of this thing is spartan to the extreme. The seats are nothing more than a fiberglass shell covered with what amounts to a thin cushion. Everything about this car is keeping the weight to a minimum. Nearly all of the 'solid' parts are extruded aluminum, including the foot controls.

Personally, it's a bit too spartan for my tastes. But I do like how it looks, and if I had bags of money that I was tripping over all of the time, I'd consider it.

 

OK, ignore for a moment that this is parked in a handicap space, the Sinatra CD, and the fact that the 0 through 3K RPM only take up 1 inch of the tach. Now someone tell me please what this sticker is in this car!

 

I love blue *****, no that couldn't be it.

I hate when perfectly fit people park in a handicap spot. Plus, the idot can't part straight.

 

I sat in one before buying the RX8, and drove the big brother Esprit. Lotus has succeeded in selling a go-kart described as an automobile. I was shoulder to shoulder with the salesman when i sat in the car. The one that I saw had the hardtop, and listed for $50K.

The funniest part of the car is the glow in the dark trunk release. I have seen bigger gloveboxes than that trunk. The size of human (a newborn baby) that would fit in the trunk could never operate the lever to get out LOL.

On a more serious note, I see a cross between this Elise and the Lotus 7 in the RX8. The fender look of the 7 and the lights of the Elise, with the nose of the 7.

http://www.lotus7.com/img10.html

 

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn




see them all the time

 

Those things are pretty nice. Saw one in traffic a few months ago and we gave each other the thumbs up.

 

Along4TheRide you need to post the pictures of the other red car you saw this weekend, lol. You don't see too many of those in the Raleigh area.

 

yup. i typically see 1-2 a week.

 

I see elise's more than I see other 8's

 

haha, unfortunately the rx8 is the most popular sports car here in LA, i see 3-4 every drive i take

 

I see 1 every month at most on average

 

Elises outnumber 8's around here infinity : 0. Of course, I live in Canada. :p I wish I could see them all the time.

 

i didnt know lotus didnt import there.

 

They are absolutely amazing handling cars. They weigh about 2,000 lbs and stick to the road like poo. They're not designed to be daily drivers, rather they're toys for the respectably wealthy. They're also great looking cars IMHO.

 

yes they look great(very exotic looking), but it still doesnt seem to have a timeless look like the classic espirit, i was discussing with a lotus owner that it may seem dated in 10 years

 

the esprit looked dated 20 years ago.

 

...right, anyone have any useful opinions

 

I've got to agree with BlueEyes. Just saw an Esprit driving around while I was out for a drive and that thing looked like an old 70s exotic. I wouldn't have known it was new had I not seen the round tail lights.

 

How often do you see car companies stick with such a similiar design in all these years. The Esprit is a true sports car in every sense of word. The design simply never gets old. With all the evolution and changes you see in cars, it's nice to see something sticking with it's exact heritage and design. I loved the Esprit in the 80s, and I love it now.

 

OK. I guess I'll be the one to do the inevitable then...

 

Yeah, I would love to hear the opinion of someone who can drive

So pretty.

 

ike, how did you get onto blue eyes's account last time i talked to him i remember a perfectly rational mature adult

would you like a scan of my drivers license? maybe some pictures of me autocrossing my rx7 and rx8? perhaps pictures of me driving a ferrari 575m Maranello on the Nurburgring(i kid, i kid :D )