HISTORIC MOTORING AWARDS

“I decided to nominate Matthias Egger, for this Historic Motoring Award, as he took a photo that has enormous significance to me. There is a famous quote that says “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and this is THE picture for me.

I always wanted to buy a new Elise once in my life.
When the Elise was presented in Frankfurt 1995 I was only 2 years old and was holding onto the steering wheel with my tshirt telling “I am Elise”. From that moment my life changed. The inseparable bond with this car was created.
As the namesake of the Elise I was really shocked and sad when Lotus announced the end of the production of the Elise
The next thing I know is that I sent an email to Lotus asking them if I could buy the last and final Elise.

For me it was important to also close the circle. I was there, when the Elise was first shown publicly. I wanted to be there when it was time to say goodbye. Luckily Lotus agreed and I started saving every penny.
In April 2022, I was finally a proud owner of 2 Elises and this was for me a lifetime achievement.

This picture was taken at the Stelvio meeting in September, I managed to bring both my Elise to the Stelvio to commemorate this event.
The Stelvio meeting exist since 1999 and this has to do with one of the novelties of the Elise while it was still being developed. The Elise was the first car with MMC brake discs. These were tested on the most demanding street that the car industry uses for brake tests: The Stelvio.

This annual meeting at the Stelvio has become a fixture in many Lotus driver’s calendars. Every year, roughly around the day of the unveiling, the 12th of September, countless Lotus drivers join the meeting at the Stelvio pass.
Not for nothing the motto of 2022 was “Elise still a masterpiece” it has been a year of joy and bitterness, seeing the last Elise celebrate its beginning.

Thanks to Matthias, who has been capturing my most precious moments with my cars many times, who certainly took a lot of photos that would be worthy of an award, but I decided to choose just one for the emotional significance it holds.
He doesn’t know that I decided to nominate him, but his passion for cars and photography is remarkable, he may never know it, but I hope I was able to tell you a love story that goes beyond the concept of the car as a form of mobility.”