Classic Car?

General General Lotus Talk
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I remember reading some time back on this BBS that 601 Exiges were made with 60% for the UK market and 40% to other countries. So originally there were 360 Exiges in the UK. Then Take away the cars for the UK that ended up in Japan and Cars written off.It would be reasonable to conclude that there must be less than 300 Exiges in the UK today.

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Hi All,I’ve been following this with interest…There can be little doubt that the Exige will become, perhaps even already is, a classic, regardless of what makes a classic in your world.Let’s see… a desirable marque name with a competition history (both as a marque and for this particular model), a genuinely stunning road presence, genuine performance and driveability. It wouldn’t matter if there were millions of them, people who do not have one would still want one in their garage. Definately a classic. Especially if its not been “buggered around with” ( i.e. probably less than half of them!)- not that I have anythjing against modified cars - provided the work is done for the right reasons and is included in the cars history as part of its life and development as an itemIncidentally, I don’t think you should relate “classic” to “valuable” and rarity alone is not enough (unless they are very rare and desirable like say Ferrari 250 GTO). The E type is a good example of a “classic” of which there are loads and which are quite cheap. As well as my Exige I own one of the rarest ever Lotus cars (132 built) and it’s not worth anything although I would argue that it is a classic. What is it? It’s a 1981 S2.2 Elite, a brilliant 4 seater road car, in fact the last of the Chapman road cars, with good performance and enough space for a family weekend. The handling is sublime and the ride quality better than any other Lotus I have tried but I guess it just isn’t exciting enough and, currently, has a terrible reputation for poor reliability(unfounded!). These are vastly under-rated cars and just because people aren’t paying silly money for them at the moment doesn’t mean they aren’t classics. They represent a piece of Lotus history and with only 132 to start with (all markets) I wonder how many are left? Rarity may one day count in its favour but for the time being it’s just another tired old Lotus that not too many people want. But, given the choice, how many would choose a Triumph Mayflower over a Lotus Elite S2.2(Type 83 in case you hadn’t worked it out!)To be a classic a car must hold a place in history for some reason. ANY Lotus would fit the bill but the Exige is right up there with the best of them. I think it will always be desirable and rare and, maybe, expensive in due course.All IMHO of course.RegardsMike

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I love my classic [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]

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A classic car puts as big a smile on the observer as the driver - Exige has this ability in trumps!! [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/grin.gif[/image] .

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Steve,Had my insurance renewal recently. After discussing different ways to lower the premium, a future classic policy was suggested by Esteem. Limited mileage, one driver only, reduced from �1580 to �800. Track days covered at �25 a time, 10% value of car excess.I can dig out the exact policy description and who it’s underwritten by if you’re interested.Cheers, DJ

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I would be interested too.

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Ken,I can think of one Lotus that has appreciated in value,the original Elan,i would be supprised if you can buy one for less money than the original purchase price,maybe even if you index link the original price to inflation,i could be wrong.Pete [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/smile.gif[/image]