By Alex Molocznyk, photos by Elisa Artioli & Gloria Wade.

Following the concours a scenic drive into the Sunshine Coast Hinterland was programmed. Lotus 2019 Guest of Honour Elisa expressed an interest in the drive, as she had been mainly on the freeways up to that point of her stay and wanted to experience some of our more interesting Lotus oriented back roads, so it was arranged to take her out in my car.

The drive was organised as a choice of alternative routes lasting 75 mins or a longer 120 min run and as the choice of route and departure times were left to personal preferences there was no formal convoy Elisa’s preference was the longer run. We left the concourse leading three other cars.

Instructions for the routes was a handout showing a basic map of the runs, so we engaged the assistance of the phone GPS for guidance. As you are aware a GPS will send you along roads you don’t want to go and this one was determined to get us on the motorway. Consequently, on the road out of Mooloolaba we had a few wrong directions at the roundabouts and in Palmwoods lost the three from our convoy amid the confusion but picked up two others.

It was then a straightforward spirited drive through some open forest and up a nice twisty hill to give the Lotus a good workout. We stopped at a scenic spot at the top of the range for Elisa to take over the wheel.

One of our convoy turned back a few kilometres past Maleny after reaching the end of a short drive option. Elisa mentioned she was starting to feel the sun and fortunately the other car had some sunscreen that they shared around.

Elisa was enjoying the drive although she had previously been a little apprehensive about driving a right hand drive car on the left side of the road. She was well in control and we were soon discussing the differences between driving the S2 and her S1. She explained it was good experience for her because she recently became half owner together with a girlfriend of a right hand drive S1 that they intend to prepare as a track car doing their own mechanical work learning as they go.

She drove through beautiful countryside to Kenilworth and then to Obi Obi for nearly an hour where she was beginning to feel the effects of the sun. It was perfect Queensland autumn weather but in the cool hills the topical sun is deceptive and the combination of being outside all morning at the concourse and then driving an open top Lotus with the sun at its peak was burning her exposed arms and legs. We stopped to put the roof up for protection from further sun and Elisa decided to be the passenger to take in the views for the rest of the drive and the rarely used air conditioner was switched on to cool her down. We decided to take a quicker route back in order to give us some time to relax and recover in preparation for the presentation dinner that night.

Summing up the scenery Elisa said she was very taken with the proximity of the town and beach of Mooloolaba and the rural mountain countryside in such a relatively short distance. It is something she does not have in Europe.

The drive was a very enjoyable part of a very successful event and a particular pleasure was showing part our world to our international and interstate friends.

By Simon Messenger, photos by Simon Messenger and Craig Wilson.

I set my alarm for 6.30am in anticipation of photographing Tony Galletly and the Lotus 2019 committee members getting the Lotus Mk 11 Le Mans Series 2 (‘the Eleven’) into the lobby of the Mantra Mooloolaba Beach Hotel. When I got downstairs I was welcomed by the sight of the immaculate green machine atop a trailer that was being backed very gingerly up to the two steps that lead to the hotel reception.

The car was unstrapped from the trailer and Tony climbed in and started her up with a puff of unburnt fuel laden grey smoke. The noise was deafening as it bounced off the hard surfaces of the tiles, concrete and glass. He tried to reverse off the trailer having lowered the ramps such that they barely sat on the lip of the top step. The weight of the car caused the back of the trailer to dip and the ramps to flex. Someone shouted “Woah!” and Tony drove back onto the trailer to avert a certain disaster.

Tony got back into his Toyota Corolla tow car and manoeuvred the trailer even closer to the steps so that the ramps sat further atop the step. More blocks of wood were strategically placed to further support the ramps. Thankfully, Take 2 was successful and Tony was able to reverse the Eleven onto the tiled platform outside the automatic glass doors.

The engine was quickly stopped to prevent the smoke detectors in the hotel lobby from being tricked into causing a building evacuation and an expensive visit from the local fire brigade. Tony and Craig Wilson carefully moved the car back and forth to avoid hitting the reception desk and the Eleven was eventually wheeled into a low white picket fenced corral that looked like a petting zoo at a local fayre complete with straw bales. A Lotus 2019 welcome banner had earlier been strung across the area and an informative sign with historical details on the car was placed for all to read. What a great way to greet the delegates.

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.

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.