I grew up driving my Elise S1 (since I was 19 years old) and I know this car by heart. Every little noise that always accompanies me during my travels. I sit in the driver's seat and I feel at home.

Of course another important aspect is that this car means a lot to me. It changed my life and it feels just more than a car to me. During the years it became part of my life.

When I found out that Lotus was going to end the Elise production I felt so helpless because I felt I could do nothing to change that. 

I have promoted the Lotus Elise for years and soon she was going to disappear from the market. So I decided to ask for the last customer Elise because I wanted to accompany her to the end of her days. I was there when she was born, when everything started and I didn’t want to see her disappear alone. Fortunately, Lotus accepted my request and I started saving every penny.

I owe my grandfather for my passion for cars and I am especially happy to be representing this special car.

The Lotus Elise is a car that gives you emotions like no other car does. It is made for the drivers and always will be.

This aspect is present in the Elise from the start to the end. In fact my new Elise gives me the same joy of driving the S1 but in a different way. The S1 has this unique, razor sharp preciseness. No electronic assistance whatsoever therefore you feel totally in control of the car and connected to the road. It feels like your arms are an extension of the steering and you feel directly connected to the throttle body.

The Elise Sport 240 Final Edition has the same DNA of the Elise S1 which you can instantly feel and you recognize that this is an Elise. I love the fact that the simplicity has remained the same over 25 years. Both are cars made for drivers and therefore I love them both - but in a different way. 

I wouldn’t have thought that the Elise 240 would feel heavy by comparison. It does however, if you swap cars after sitting in the super lightweight Elise S1. Otherwise it is of course still a lightweight car and really agile. I enjoy the supercharged engine because you always have a lot of torque even at low rpm and you can feel the engine that is constantly pushing.

I cannot say the same about my Rover engine, which is incredible thinking that it has only 120hp and provides you such a joy of driving and feels also really sporty. Nevertheless, I have to admit that sometimes you don’t have enough power.

I have used the last Elise on track twice now and I was really impressed that the car had zero problems with overheating. I was worried when other cars had to leave the track to cool the engine, the brakes and tyres. 

The good thing about this car is that it is so agile and light that the race track is the perfect place to make the best use of its capabilities.

When I have to drive on a winding road in the mountains I still prefer to take out my ‘Veteran Elise’, because she provides me with more driving emotions. I have a standard Elise S1 from 1997 with MMC brakes. I have changed the suspension from the old stock Koni to the Nitron Street Series a few years ago and from that day it felt even more connected to the tarmac than before.

I know you want to know which is my favourite - I can’t name one of them because these are two fantastic Elises. Basically, the same car but also different, and that's exactly what I like, having different twins who adapt to various situations and also both of whom I adore in their peculiarities, in their advantages but also in their imperfections.

Because nobody is perfect, fortunately…