Much More Modern
Lotus only made a few GT3s, between 1996 and 1999, mainly in orange, yellow, blue and silver. The GT3 graphics were an option, as were leather seats and A/C. Mine has the graphics but not the A/C or leather.
Engine
The car has a 2.0 litre turbo engine with a chargecooler ( this is what Lotus call
an intercooler ) and delivers 240 bhp with 210 lb/ft of torque. 0-
Lots of Miles
My model was a 1997 which I bought with only 4700 miles on it, being less than a year old. It came from Christopher Neil Limited in Northwich, Cheshire. For almost all the time I had it I used it as my daily transport, so when I finally sold it I’d done 65000 miles over 6 years. It was fairly reliable, but it id end up on the back of a low loader 3 or 4 times as I recall.
Here’s a list of things that went wrong and needed attention over the years...
Very Bright
The colour is called Chrome Orange and as you can see the interior is all black apart from the backs of the body hugging seats ( no rake adjustment, only forwards and back ) and around the gear stick.
Knob
The brushed aluminium gear knob looks great but has a major disadvantage; it’s very susceptible to the temperature. In summer, leave it direct sunlight and it will burn your hand off and in the winter it feels like a block of ice on a cold morning.
Another Wing
Just as I added a rear wing to my Turbo, so I added a wing to this one. I think it really finishes the car off ( I should have done it when I bought it ).
Classics Magazine
My car was used for an article in Classics Magazine not that long before I sold it. These pictures were taken by them for the magazine:
© 2009 Adrian Mugridge