Lotus Exige No.077, Model Year 2000.
Lotus Exige No.077, Model Year 2000.
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Discussion

KurtB

Original Poster:

50 posts

154 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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Hello All,

I'm a fairly infrequent visitor to these parts, mostly looking into Lotus forums. They're absolutely great, interesting and frustrating in equal doses, I thought I'd look in and post a couple of pics of my Series 1 Lotus Exige, the 77th of the type produced. Taken in early on January 2017, this is it:



I've owned the car since 2011, and it's by far the longest I've owned a car. I've owned 72 cars since passing my test in 1991, and the Exige is my third Lotus after an Elise 111S and a 1969 Europa S2. Because of my car buying affliction, and minimal disposable income, it's been under threat of sale a couple of times, but I've withdrawn it before wasting anyones time. I can't help but think there are so many cars to try, a finite amount of money and only one life; my name's Kurt and I'm addicted to cars!

Here's another pic:



Every time I pop down to the garage, it still draws me in. I suspect I've wasted many hours of my life just looking over it, noting the body lines, the purposeful stance, the imperfections of both design and aesthetic. Overall, it captivates me, creates conversation with strangers and makes me and others look back at it.

Another pic:



My car has had 6 previous owners (one of which was my wife, who collected it when I was away in Afghanistan), has the optional motorsport seats and harnesses fitted, has a Scholar tuned 1.9 litre engine and will soon feature in the upcoming "Absolute Lotus" magazine.

Last one:



Cars are such possessions of vanity, I like so many for their looks, but to my eyes, the S1 Exige has it all going on. Looks, performance, handling, it's a classic, and relatively easy to work on. Thanks for looking, I hope you like it.

Kind Regards,
Kurt

TR4man

5,525 posts

203 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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Great looking car, looking forward to reading of your exploits.

KurtB said:
I've owned 72 cars since passing my test in 1991
wow! That's some going!

mwstewart

8,538 posts

217 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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That looks really good. The colour really suits it.

205pat

247 posts

202 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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Been lucky to drive a huge array of ‘supercars’ over time, but nothing has made me buzz like a S1 Exige. Beautiful cars

coolchris

1,037 posts

231 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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Lovely example my friend has driven one and loved it to bits.I had one on a short list with a v8 esprit and a noble 2.5.Coming from an Élan s2 I think I just wanted a change and ended up with the noble but I know I would have loved it if I had bought one.

VTECMatt

1,371 posts

267 months

Saturday 3rd March 2018
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Best handling car I have ever driven in stock form, I have been lucky to drive a lot of super cars too. Enjoy.

MattyB_

2,326 posts

286 months

Sunday 4th March 2018
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They're just awesome looking cars, aren't they? I could never stop looking at it when I owned mine. From every angle, they just look so right.

Playing devils advocate though, I didn't actually enjoy mine. Too hot, too smelly, terrible visibility and generally only really made sense at 8/10ths and above. Much preferred my Sport160.

Yet oddly enough looking at this picture makes me want one again. Would love to try one with Honda power. And working air-con wink

SiT

1,242 posts

230 months

Sunday 4th March 2018
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I love these, timeless is the word I was used, they always look so aggressive even when just trundling through a 20mph zone.

Had a VX220 back along which was one of my favourite cars and a friend had a Stage 4 VXR220 which was mental so know what your talking about when you say it’s infectious.

Si

Leins

10,408 posts

177 months

Sunday 4th March 2018
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Fantastic looking car Kurt, love these

BrotherMouzone

3,169 posts

203 months

Sunday 4th March 2018
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Love these. Beautiful car and great colour.

Anyone remember how low did the price go? £20k? They were once my realistic ‘goal’ as a second car; not now as I don’t think they represent good VFM.

KurtB

Original Poster:

50 posts

154 months

Monday 5th March 2018
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They went down to £17k for a nice one, and £14k for a “much enjoyed” example. That was back in 2005-6 though. I got in in 2011 and paid nearly £25k. They’re going a bit loopy now, but as I said in my original post, it’s a keeper.

RS Grant

1,811 posts

262 months

Monday 5th March 2018
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Very cool wee cars and a bit different in grey too, sure I've only seen them in more bold colours before.

Hadn't realised how much the value had rocketed either, obviously the OP isn't selling but it would be nice to know that any cash you spend would be recovered if you needed to sell for any reason in the future.

scottos

1,337 posts

153 months

Monday 5th March 2018
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S1 Exige, awesome looking thing and great to see!

sheepdip

538 posts

204 months

Monday 5th March 2018
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Remember looking for one in about 2006 for sprinting and you could get a good one for 17k. I ended up buying an Elise Motorsport instead for approx. 15k. Seemed like a good idea as it had the built in cage, road registered and converted to right hand drive from centre steer. First time I sprinted it realised that I could not drive due to helmet hitting the cage! Had to sell it but just loved the shape and colour laser blue. How much would it be worth now!