ListerBell Stratos
Discussion
Caddyshack said:
Great photos as always. Looks fantastic.
Thanks. You should see the other 174 bad pics in the bunch 
Caddyshack said:
Personally I would prefer to own the Ultima.
I get that. I loved being an Ultima owner for the 7 years I owned one. Driving it for fun and enjoyment on the roads... not so much tbh.
There's a lot to like in terms of looks and awesomeness. Some of the best Ultima runs I remember were in a convoy of other Ultima's heading to car meets or breakfast meets all at sensible speeds. They would have made a great spectacle for anyone seeing them. Driving it quickly on normal roads felt at times like it was just a bit too much effort to be on the right side of enjoyable. There are a few compromises that come with essentially sticking a big lump of powerful engine in the back of a lightweight car.
The Stratos as an OTT rally replica ticks all the same "awesome" looks boxes for me. I love the noise. The Ultima was always very loud, the STR is very loud and sweet. The biggest difference is that I can jump in the STR and drive it on the back roads in the same way I'd have driven any number of Elises, Exiges, Caterhams and even Ferrari's, safe in the knowledge that you can have a lot of fun (and even be a wee bit daft) knowing that the car will do what you'd expect in terms of road handling without ever feeling that you needed to be a hairy chested lion tamer to make sure you don't fall off the road and end in a bush. (full disclosure: I fell off the road in my Ultima once and landed in a bush. No lions were injured.. only my Pride
)Of course, having both was great. The practicality of a house move meant I had to make a choice and it wasn't really a difficult one.
photo, just 'cause
Edited by renmure on Sunday 28th May 20:03
Holy Thread Resurrection and photo dump!!
House move has sort of gotten in the way of life in general so I've been out and about in the Stratos less than I'd have hoped. I did head off down one of the glens a couple of weeks back in glorious sunshine but forgot my camera. The only thing that confirmed is that I do need to sort out the aircon as I was embarrassingly soaked getting out the car.
Anyhow, back up and over Glenshee recently. Left the house in sunshine and ended up dodging thunder and torrential rain up in the mountains. Incredibly I never had to use the windscreen wipers and am not sure I ever have so far.
After unpacking the box that had my 1/18 scale models I had a little bit of fun.... before getting back to painting walls.
House move has sort of gotten in the way of life in general so I've been out and about in the Stratos less than I'd have hoped. I did head off down one of the glens a couple of weeks back in glorious sunshine but forgot my camera. The only thing that confirmed is that I do need to sort out the aircon as I was embarrassingly soaked getting out the car.
Anyhow, back up and over Glenshee recently. Left the house in sunshine and ended up dodging thunder and torrential rain up in the mountains. Incredibly I never had to use the windscreen wipers and am not sure I ever have so far.
After unpacking the box that had my 1/18 scale models I had a little bit of fun.... before getting back to painting walls.
birky said:
I was cycling between Muirhead and Newtyle last friday when you went past, looked and sounded great 
Thanks, I sort of live in the middle of there. I’d have been heading to the cars ‘n’ coffee meet at Glamis last Friday. It finished at about 9pm. That’s the first time I’ve driven it in the dark 
T5GRF said:
Absolutely stunning - very jealous!
Last time I spoke to LB was circa 2016, lead times then were I think around 9 months. Do we know what kind of wait there is now for either a chassis and kit or for a “turnkey car”?
when I maild them back in 11-2019 I got the reply (last part): however as our order book is now full until 2022 we are currently not taking any orders.Last time I spoke to LB was circa 2016, lead times then were I think around 9 months. Do we know what kind of wait there is now for either a chassis and kit or for a “turnkey car”?
So that was almost 3 years from then, no idea how it is now, I guess a bit more relaxed.
T5GRF said:
Absolutely stunning - very jealous!
Thanks. I've been washing it and polishing it more than driving it recently but aim to do better next year.
T5GRF said:
Last time I spoke to LB was circa 2016, lead times then were I think around 9 months. Do we know what kind of wait there is now for either a chassis and kit or for a “turnkey car”?
I know for certain that the lead times for both LB and Hawk are currently very long. Hawk might still be taking orders for kits but were quoting 2 years plus for delivery. The order book for LB is currently closed and they are operating using a pre-order list system where you put your name down and wait for your name to come up and to then pay a deposit.I think the only way to jump the queue is to buy a 2nd hand car. Obviously that's easier to say than to do as the cars come up for sale very infrequently. Additionally the economics of supply and demand mean that there are no bargains to be had in relation to the prices of 2nd hand cars. You are effectively paying in the same ballpark that you would be for your own turnkey car but saving the 4 or so years time before you get it. Flip side of the economics is that is that your money is in a fairly safe place I guess.
There's a fantastic spec as-new 2023 Alfa engined LHD GP4 LB for sale here
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1635465
And a very low mileage 2022 Lotus Exige Supercharged V6 LB for sale here:
https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1628917
Edited by renmure on Wednesday 1st November 14:25
both are lovely, bot have some plus points, which I would choose? hm, I love the V6 supercharged idea, also like that sort bodywork, the RHD not so, price looks ok, say that yellow one if it was LHD and offered in the Netherlands on Dutch plates (RDW and so on) it would be very interesting.
GTRene said:
both are lovely, bot have some plus points, which I would choose? hm, I love the V6 supercharged idea, also like that sort bodywork, the RHD not so, price looks ok, say that yellow one if it was LHD and offered in the Netherlands on Dutch plates (RDW and so on) it would be very interesting.
I think you can almost disregard the purchase price. It is what it is and can be taken as simply the entry cost to ownership at the moment. Once you've got the car then, within reason, anything is possible. Even converting from RHD to LHD and vice versa. A change of colour is a simple paint job. Similarly a change of wheels or conversion to a more rally orientated look is a simple change of body clams or dash style. Obviously there's a bit of work to it but I doubt there's anything that hasn't been done. Clearly, choosing the engine you want to end up with is a good place to start tho. renmure said:
GTRene said:
both are lovely, bot have some plus points, which I would choose? hm, I love the V6 supercharged idea, also like that sort bodywork, the RHD not so, price looks ok, say that yellow one if it was LHD and offered in the Netherlands on Dutch plates (RDW and so on) it would be very interesting.
I think you can almost disregard the purchase price. It is what it is and can be taken as simply the entry cost to ownership at the moment. Once you've got the car then, within reason, anything is possible. Even converting from RHD to LHD and vice versa. A change of colour is a simple paint job. Similarly a change of wheels or conversion to a more rally orientated look is a simple change of body clams or dash style. Obviously there's a bit of work to it but I doubt there's anything that hasn't been done. Clearly, choosing the engine you want to end up with is a good place to start tho. those cars are lovely though. the red one looks good as well, have you also seen that one in Japan? RHD same sort like yours by 'looks' but from Hawks long time ago, no price with it though, but maybe interesting for some here, sadly only 1 picture...
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1631298
Looks like the current lead time is 5 years - fully completed cars only they’re not supplying kits to home builders. The estimated 5 year wait is until the point they begin building - add another year for the car to be completed.
Based on those lead times for me that would be one very special 60th birthday present to myself….
Based on those lead times for me that would be one very special 60th birthday present to myself….
T5GRF said:
Looks like the current lead time is 5 years - fully completed cars only they’re not supplying kits to home builders. The estimated 5 year wait is until the point they begin building - add another year for the car to be completed.
Based on those lead times for me that would be one very special 60th birthday present to myself….
God, to own a business like that. Six years of guaranteed turnover, with a guaranteed profit.Based on those lead times for me that would be one very special 60th birthday present to myself….
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