Gordon Murray's Lotus Obsession

[surfguitar58]

Gordon Murray's name has come up a few times on this forum. Top Gear has recently released a 1 hour video walk through of his personal car collection here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg6VED1vQRw

It is a fascinating look into the man and his design philosophy. The whole video is worth a watch, but if you are pressed for time, skip ahead to 38:00 when they enter the "Lotus Room" where he heaps praise on Colin and Lotus. At first I was disappointed not to see a Europa in the collection until he mentions having a Twin Cam at home, presumably because he actually drives it. Several times in the video Gordon mentions the Lotus Kent-block twin cam as his favorite engine. Interestingly, Gordon is 6' 4" and appears to have no trouble driving his Europa, but has never driven an Elise because he "doesn't fit".
Tom

[BDA]

I can tell you from personal experience that it is much harder getting into an Elise with a hardtop than a TCS.

[EuropaTC]

I don't know about "doesn't fit", I suspect that's more like "can't get in". The sill is very high on the S1 and with the hard top in place, as BDA says, it's harder to get in (and out) than for the Europa. The S2 has a lower sill and is easier, but I'd say the Europa is more user friendly.

Brian

[S2Zetec54]

Great vid....thanks for posting

[GavinT]

Some years ago I drove my mates S1 Elise to a track day, about three hour drive away or a bit less.
I'm 6' 2" and don't recall difficulty fitting in. But yes, you notice the sills are wide.

What I also noticed was how quiet the Europa was after driving the Elise for the day.

[BDA]

The Elise I got in had its hardtop installed and I found the small height of the door coupled with the wide sill were the biggest contributors to how hard it was to get in and out. Once in, it was fine.

Gavin, if your friend’s had its hardtop on and was able to get in and out easily, my hats off to you! Do you do yoga? 

[BDA]

Surf,

Thanks for the video link! Murray and I view Loti very similarly. The Esprit starts to get big and loses some Lotusness.

He has an interesting collection and he’s certainly had an interesting career! The car of his that disappoints me the most is the BT46 (fan car). Fan cars were made illegal when the FIA banned the Chaparral 2J and I thought they should have known better (and the FIA should have seen it for what it was and banned it immediately).

I really did enjoy the video, though! Thanks again!

[GavinT]

Ha . . no yoga here BDA . . and now you have me remembering someone talking about about Vaseline as being helpful . . .   
Can't remember but I think he only had a soft top and we had it up for the trip, so, no stepping over the doors.


Does the Esprit loses some Lotusness?
I dunno but maybe there's something in that. I drove a mates Esprit S1 yonks ago on a Lotus Club early morning run. That was back in the days when subtle hooning was fashionable.

It felt a little heavy, underpowered and had a rather vague gear shift but what stood out to me was the staggering lateral grip. I guess it's probably a foot wider so that helps. Of course the shape of the original S1's is to die for.

I later bought an Excel on the strength of that lateral grip and it didn't disappoint.
Everyone here will agree the Europa handles well but they should have a go in an Esprit or Excel to feel the difference in that next generation of cars.

[BDA]

I drove a buddy’s Esprit (probably an S1). It felt and smelled a lot like a Europa to me. No doubt the turbo and later V8 made a big difference. I liked the body style of the later Esprit but I’m not a fan of wings. But while I think the styling improved, it seemed to get a lot bigger and heavier and thus had less Lotusness. At the same time, people like me should keep in mind that it is my understanding that one of the things that killed the Europa, and thus ushered in the Esprit, was safety regulations.

I had a little exposure to the Eclat, Elite, and Excel - sadly not t drive. I generally liked the styling (the interior styling was worlds ahead of the Europa) and I was amazed that the back seat of the Elite was so comfortable for a 6’ 2” guy like me!

I think the Elise, Exige, and Evora, were good continuations of the Lotus philosophy of simplifying and adding lightness - at least as much as can be practiced in this day and age.