The first time I saw a Lotus was about 10 years ago on my way to my apprenticeship work. It was a kings blue Elise, with body kit and huge wing and I was amazed by it. But I always had the opinion I was too tall till I sat into the Lotus 380 Sport GP Edition in March 2019.

The black and gold combination with carbon had me instantly. A true racecar made for the streets. So I sold my TTRS 8s a couple of months later and signed for the Lotus about 2 minutes later at the same dealership.

I have never driven a Lotus before, I got it without a test drive because I was convinced this is it. Pure driving, no compromises. The first start up, the first Kilometer. I was totally in love. Though I was concerned I would miss my 550 HP I didn’t miss them. The feeling, when driving, the noise, the corner speed – phenomenal.

I forgot about my TTRS after a week. But to be honest I had to get used to the very rural interior, uncoated plastic and noises. So the first thing I did was upgrade some parts to Carbon in the interior. Also on the exterior I was very happy with the work of Alias23 and GF Williams for the elegant looking rear mirrors – a final touch.

For the cherry on the cake I added some custom made carmats and a travel bag made from Alcantara and real Carbon to match the car perfectly. A couple of weeks ago I thought: a car like this – manual shifting, this sound, light weight race focused – will most likely never be built again. It made me sad for a second but then happy to be able to experience something like this. I will take good care of her and make sure to drive her for a long time.

By the way: I give all my cars a name. So her name is ‘Kira’. Short, light to spell and it has something cheeky. I feel it suits the Lotus well.

I love many things about driving a Lotus from the sound to performance. But what I value the most is the Lotus community and what the car represents. We have the “Stammtisch” group of regulars here in Switzerland. Very reasonable and great people. On my second day of owning my Lotus I joined them and was warmly welcomed.

In general my feeling is that the Lotus community is less toxic and very helpful. Driving around I feel that the Lotus has no bad image. Everyone seems to be cool with it, no bad image. I received more thumbs up in my first week than withing 2.5 years of TTRS. As the Lotus is my weekender I have a spark of enjoyment every time I can drive her. Still after a year it is not something I got used to. Every drive is special. Being able to drive this driver focused and reduced to the maximum car is something that is rarely seen in today’s cars. No luxury, no bling bling or fancy technology – just you, the car and the road.

In the end I would like to mention the awesome exhaust sound. When the Shelby GT350 straight pipe, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Corvette Z06 driver all tell you, you car sounds amazing and absolutely loud then you know it really is loud. The greatest thing about it – it’s road legal. Well done Lotus team!

My favourite driving road? Very difficult to answer. There are many beautiful routes. The tight curves of the black forest, the stunning views of the Swiss alps or the long costal roads of Italy or France. I guess if I have to decide it would be the coastal roads of Italy. Bella vita, many car loving people, good food and many curves.