Lotus 340

Does anyone have any real experince driving / owning one of these? There is one for sale that I am thinking of buying (since the Ariel Atom is not going to be street legal). Any info would be appreciated. I know they are made with a 190 hp motor, weight around 1400 pounds, and built a total of 340 units.

BT
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Call Mark Starr at Huntingridge Motors. Lotus dealership and he has owned and driven one plenty.

 

Hi Bill,

I second the recommendation to give Mark Starr a call. While I never dealt with him on the Lotus end, I did speak with him about a Ferrari I eventually passed on. He was a class act.

You might also want to check out www.elisetalk.com

Duane

 

Thanks for the responses. The garage addition is getting the roof dried in on Monday so now is the time to start the hunt!
BT

 

Atoms aren't street legal in Florida?

 

Nope. The original web site for Brammo was listing them as street legal, but now they have backed off and are advertising it as a track day car. Too bad, it would have been perfect.
BT

 

Never driven a 340R myself (have driven a standard Elise on track though and it was heavenly).

You may want to check out some old issues of Evo - they owned one (not sure if they still have it). There may be some info on www.evo.co.uk about it also (failing that, why not hit off an email to them? I've heard they're pretty helpful with handing out advice). IIRC the major issues they highlighted were the quoted 190 hp isn't completely bombproof - IIRC they had their car regularly tuned to keep it on top form. Other than that, I seem to remember one very minor accident damaged the body which being one piece was about £9K to repair!!

 

You are going to have lots of fun gettting that thing street legal...
But who cares? Its awesome, go for it!

 

Bill, there is a guy up in Port St. Lucie or Stuart that specializes in Brit cars, wirewheel.com I think is his site. Or you can go drive an Elise at Palm Beach Motorcars.

edit....i see the wirewheel.com banner on the windshield on the pic you posted......looks like you already found him.....i spoke with him a couple of years ago about one of his cars

I'd prefer (and plan on buying) an Elise/Exige; the 340 seems too open. But it sure does look fun!

Duane

 

just get a regular Elise. It is street legal and very cheap right now.

 

Damn ,it's ugly . . .

 

I don't think the 340 (which is essentially a rebodied first-generation Elise with the hopped-up version of the Rover motor) was ever imported to the US as a street-legal car.

It was probably brought in as a "race car" like the early Sport 190 Elises (I had one), which were also not street legal.

 

I have a friend who owns 2 of them. I had rides on track with him, on the 340R and on his Exige 2006 (192hp) and the 340r is faster. This car is a real track machine, it is so good, very quick in the corner, light, so it can brakes later, it sounds good, handling is awesome.......

http://img107.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc211&image=48624_CC.jpg

 

You are correct that car is not street legal. Lotus only imported a few as track cars. It's not legal but some states, with not so swift DMV employees, will register anything with a VIN. Now the question is will an insurance company register it and pay out on a claim should there be an accident on a car that is not DOT approved?? Oh, if you buy one make sure it has a new battery....... the smart people at Lotus put the battery under the body..... requiring yes, the body to come off to install a new battery.

 

i thought they were almost 2000lbs?

 

The 1999 Sport Elise 190 I had came with a MSO that had "COMPETITION VEHICLE NOT LEGAL FOR STREET USE" typed on it in a large bold font.

 

US Elises with crash stuff, airbags, air conditioning, etc., weigh about 2000 pounds.

Earlier non-US Elises were much lighter.

 

Thanks for all the info. I ran into another local Fchatter Friday at Best Buy and he said the car I am looking at (in Vero Beach) is not street legal. I guess I have to come up with another plan for the second sports car as all the cars I am trying to pursue are not street legal. From what I have read about the 340R it is an Elise to the extreme (lightened and with more power supposedly). They list the weight as 650kg which is about 1450 pounds.
BT

 

I have driven the 340 R.

I had one at The Palm Beach Supercar Weekend last year.

There is a way to make them street legal. : )

Email me [email protected]

 

Bill,

Considered a T-Rex? I thought there was a dealer in Delray Beach. If you want to go take a look let me know; I'll motor over there with you.

 

Ariel Atoms are absolutely street legal! People are buying them and getting license plates all over the country. You can learn more about it on the Atom owners forum: http://forum.atomclub.com

 

Thanks for the info. I might still pursue an Atom, but I am definitely going to go to wirewheel to see another car they have in the shop that is for sale. My new garage is getting close to being useable so I might take on a project where I build the car to the power I am seeking.
BT