Lotus Club Queensland
Dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the Lotus experience
Login
Register
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Membership
    • Member Login
  • Events
    • Calendar
  • Motorsport
    • Lakeside DTC Timed Laps
    • LAKESIDE DTC RESULTS
  • Magazine
  • For Sale
    • Merchandise
    • Classifieds
  • Posts
  • Galleries
  • Directory
    • Suppliers & Parts
    • Advertisers
  • Archives
Arriving at the Mantra

An interview with Elisa Artioli

We were proud to have Elisa Artioli, the person for whom the Lotus Elise has been named as our guest of honour at Lotus 2019.

Elisa is the grand-daughter of Romano Artioli, owner of Lotus Cars at the time of the Elise launch. Romano was the driving force behind Lotus building this new generation car, true to the Lotus heritage.

As well as having an intimate knowledge of the history of the Elise, she also attends Lotus National events all over the world, and has become a popular Lotus brand ambassador.

Checking in at The Mantra. Rob Stevens, left, gets his poster signed by Elisa.


You lived in England at some time as well as other countries and are now are based in Munich. Where do you feel is home?
I was born in Bolzano, Italy. I have two brothers and one sister and of course I am the oldest one or probably the Elise would have another name today.

When my grandfather bought Lotus we moved to England but Italy always feels like home to me. I’ve lived abroad for almost 7 years and it is always a good to be back home for a while.

Bolzano is a really nice town with a lot of mountain passes so it’s one of the best locations for an Elise, always sunny and with beautiful landscapes.

How many languages can you speak?
I speak Italian because it is my mother language and German most of the time because I studied in Vienna and I am working in Munich now. I speak Spanish because I spent 6 months in Madrid and I really like the language. I am working on improving my English daily.

How did it feel to be a star at the launch at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show at a very young age?
What else can I say than proud and lucky. I was part of automotive history. I’ll always remember holding onto the steering wheel proudly showing my t-shirt with “I am Elise” written on it.

And now you are recognised as an ambassador for the Lotus Elise.
In 2015, for the 20th anniversary I decided to share my memories and create the Instagram ‘iamlotuselise’ profile. From that first post my life changed. I got to meet people who share my passion and people who today are my best friends and who taught me a lot of things. Most of my best memories are correlated with the Elise.

You have grown up together with your Silver S1. Share with us your memories of the car.
My Elise was born in 1997, so since I was 4 years old I grew up with her. That is why for me my Elise is not just a car. She means a lot more.

Since I couldn’t drive the car until I got the driver’s license, I remember how happy I was when my grandfather once took me for a drive.

When I was attending high-school and I had a really bad day, I arrived back home and decided to go to the garage where I took the cover off the Elise. I just stayed there looking at her with that contagious smiling face. In that moment I remember thinking I can’t ask for more.

She is always there for me and I enjoy every single ride with her. I hope she can say the same about me 😉

You expressed interest in attending the track day at Lotus 2019. Do you follow any forms of motorsports?
I cannot say I’m a petrol head who knows everything about cars but I am totally a car enthusiast and especially a Lotus fan.

My grandfather used to take me to the factory sometimes and just to be sure to imprint his car passion in my DNA (after his daughters didn’t really show enthusiasm for the automotive world) he got me an electric ride-on car to use in the garden.

When he had to sell Lotus we came back to Italy where my life was not the one of the little star anymore. I finished High School and moved to Vienna to study architecture. After an Erasmus in Madrid and an Internship for Bugatti I am now working in Munich for an architecture studio.

Lotus 2019 Concours d’Elegance Lotus 11 in the Lobby

Related Posts

mp-banner

Events, Gallery 2022, Homepage, Racing

Morgan Park Sprints R4

duratec-banner

Articles, Homepage, Technical

Duratec Elise – better late than never

gold-rush-banner

Events, Gallery 2022, Homepage, Racing

Gold Rush Hill Sprint – 2022

Random images

MG_9512 concours-3 Clive-at-dusk Singer-Int Patricks-hockey-stick-solution the-line 21-Shane-coming-out-from-under-the-bridge John MG_6317 07 02 20151208_205336_LLS MG_8796 other_exotica Lotus_pack MGP2191 IMG_8422 lw01mg2 IMG_4439 IMG_7135 image_246 Race Grid IMG_3503 A-Lotus-Party David-Elisa Happy Spectators Liam ahead of Martin Andrew chasing Tony Pies-at-Fernvale Breakfast at Blacksmith Specialty Coffee The Recliners_gw IMG_0006 20170424_133139 Ian, Clive, Eddie SANY0076 front-view Ormiston-11 _MG_5010 as Smart Object-1 _MG_4680 as Smart Object-1 John Barram 3436 DS7_3433_full P1010441 IMG_5099 IMG_7352 Mar-Shane-and-Derek Mar-main-113 Mar-main-80 Jan-main-17 Tony,-Mike,-Maggie-and-John main-33 main-29 IMG_7486 P1010431 lotus_Ase_3513 P1060090 F1000012 Goodwood_Car_Park1 Ploughman's Lunch Ploughman's Lunch IMG_0041 DSC_5353 IMG_5057 IMG_3726 IMG_7415 IMG_3706 IMG_3662 10a IMG_4347 34_John_and_Cheetah IMG_7883 End_of_the_Super_Sprint_series IMG_3873 P8310143 P8310110 IMG_7481 P1020220 IMG_6357 IMG_7747 P9190113c1 IMG_8066 IMG181 Garry Garrys-Lotus-Cortina-1 6-Driver-briefing cid_440 Milla-Milla-1 Chris 20200801_121900 IMG_0512 Lunch-venue-gw Porsche-911 DSC_0355 vyv's-plus2-2 Lotus-Plus2-3 Craig-Elan-sign main-28 Summit-Estate_GW main-31 buick-1 IMAG6209

Recent Articles

  • Morgan Park Sprints R4
  • Kev’s Big Day Out
  • Duratec Elise – better late than never
  • Gold Rush Hill Sprint – 2022
  • Marburg Pub Run – 4 Sept 2022
  • Unique +2 Road Trip to Brisbane
  • Leyburn 2022
  • August 2022 DTC

Latest Gallery Images

20220220_093834 20220220_093818 20220220_093827 20220220_093743 20220220_093812 20220220_093730

Search articles by category

Archived articles

Lotus Club Queensland
© Lotus Club Queensland   |   Site by Black Eye Studios