How much???

We know that cars are not cheap. And, to be fair, Lotus cars tend to be in the higher rather than lower price bracket.


But at an auction of historic cars at Kempton Park yesterday a Lotus 72 Grand prix car fetched a staggering £286,000!


The 72 is widely regarded as one of the prettiest Grand Prix cars of all time and was the model that carried Austrian Jochen Rindt to his posthumous victory in the 1970 World Drivers’ Championship. The example on offer was the sister Works car of John Miles, that was later raced by Graham Hill before passing through the hands of such other Grand Prix greats as Jo Siffert and Emerson Fittipaldi.


Now ripe for restoration, the single-seater was sold to a European collector who fully intends to return it to the track.

Nice to see you Mr Rolls ....

Our Dream Machines-supplied Lotus made a very special appearance in West Sussex at the weekend.

Invited along with other Emergency Services vehicles to give a demonstation, our Exige was priveleged to be at the UK launch of the new Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe at the firm's Goodwood plant.

The all-new Coupé is a two-door, four-seat soft-top convertible built on an all-aluminium chassis, and is powered by a massive 6.75-litre V-12 engine.

And the new car is one of the few that will give our Lotus a run for its money - the 453-bhp engine will propel the car from a standstill to 60 mph in 5.7 sec.

The new Rolls-Royce will be produced alongside the Rolls Royce Sedan at the Goodwood factory.

Catch me if you can

Our Lotus made a successful debut at last weekend's Eastbourne Motor Show and received admiring glances from the thousands of visitors to the show. The car will now be touring the county to hammer home the road safety message that speed kills.

Those who looked at the car were surprised at the size of the vehicle. Much smaller in height than the average family car, it weighs in at a modest 935 kg (2057 lbs). Powered by a supercharged engine which produces 218bhp, the Exige can accelerate to 60mph in just 4.1 seconds and it has a top speed of 148mph.

So, very little would outrun this vehicle if it were a fully operational patrol car!

The car was supplied by Dream Machines, main dealer for Lotus in East Sussex.

Supercharged police car educates boy racers

The journey has begun for our Lotus Exige Sports and the car has already made its debut on the streets of East Sussex.

The new 'star' of the Roads Policing Unit in Hastings wouldn't look out of place on the set of the latest Batman movie.

The unit has been loaned a Lotus Exige sports car - fully decorated with the Sussex Police insignia and complete with flashing blue lights. Powered by a supercharged engine and capable of accelerating to sixty miles per hour in 4.1 seconds the car will, however, purely be used for demonstration purposes as it tours Sussex over a six month period.

The aim of the iniative is to use the vehicle as an educational tool to engage with 'boy racers' and hammer home the message that dangerous driving wrecks lives.

Sergeant Paul Masterton explains: "Many places in Sussex have a problem with youths speeding around, with their stereos blaring, making a general nuisance of themselves."We get calls about it every weekend, but when we turn up they usually speed off in the opposite direction as soon as they see us. It means we can never engage directly with these young people, and tell them about the dangers they're causing."When we pull up in this Lotus, however, it's a completely different story. In fact, it's usually them that are approaching us to have a look at the car!"

The interest young people show in the car provides officers with an ideal opportunity to explain the horrifying statistics of deaths on the road caused by inconsiderate driving.

Sergeant Masterson said: "A huge number of 17 to 25-year-olds die or cause other deaths on the roads each year, and even more suffer serious injury. Any initiative that can help reduce these numbers must be welcomed with open arms."

The Lotus car has been loaned to Sussex Police by 'Dream Machines' of Heathfield.

Following its debut in Hastings, the car moved on to the Eastbourne Motor Show over the weekend of 14th/15th July.

Where next for our 4 wheeled hero?

Follow its progress right here!