South Australian Lotus Talk: October 2018

Graham Smith's Class Winning S2 111RS at Collingrove

Image: Graham Smith

An occasional insight into the South Australian Lotus community, thanks to SA contributor Andrew Stevens. Get up to date with the latest edition of South Australian Lotus Talk for October 2018.

South Australian Lotus Talk, October 2018

An occasional contribution from our SA correspondent.

by: Andrew Stevens

photo: Graham Smith

SA Lotus Monthly Run

Despite a glorious spring day in the Adelaide Hills, our October run was a little quieter than usual. A combination of cars in rebuild or repair, a ‘tintop enduro’ at some NSW township being broadcast on the TV and the expectation of who wunderkid Max would collide with at Suzuka saw our numbers down. Alternatively, it was the lure of a latte with the masses at Glenelg beach in the sunshine. It was, however, a definite a case of quality over quantity with Ardent Red the dominant colour.

The mixed bag of vehicles covering 50 years of Lotus wended their way to the southern vales, and one of our most popular destinations in McLaren Vale, home of Vale Ale, some of the world’s great wines, and an idyllic place to relax after a leisurely drive.

We congregate on the first Sunday of every month by 9:00am in the Sikh Centre carpark, at the bottom of the SE Freeway, near the Toll Gate.  Everyone is welcome to join in, even if your Lotus isn’t red.

Congratulations to Graham Smith

After a winter of hard work acquiring, rebuilding, and installing a tweaked 2ZZ engine into his 111S Elise, SA local Graham Smith used the extra grunt and revs behind his ears to not only knock over 1 second off his best ever time up the Collingrove hill, but he also walked away with a class win in the SA Hillclimb Championships.

A smiling Graham modestly granted that the 2ZZ installation had “paid off” and was grateful for all the tips and advice from members of the Lotus community who helped guide him along the upgrade path and overcome its occasional challenges.  So, is an S2 Elise S with a 2ZZ able to be re-christened as a 111 RS?

Well done Graham.  It just goes to show that red ones really do go faster.

Christmas Run

Our December Run will see us heading to Younghusband on the banks of the mighty Murray for a BYO Christmas BBQ.  Where has the year gone?

Cheers and happy motoring

Andrew Stevens

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