Anyway, the first service was last Wednesday and I picked up my Elise R (Ardent Red, 58 plate, 1,250 miles) on Thursday afternoon - all sorted, valeted and with a Pipercross VIS292 fitted.

Wow!! . I now have a completely different car.

At normal driving in 30 and 40mph speed limits, you would not know any difference - other than the throttle seeming slightly smoother.

Then under acceleration, particularly in 3rd gear the induction roar is just fantastic - we cannot get enough of it. Andy from Stratstone said we could become addicted and he is right.

And finally when it hits the cam zone at 6,200rpm - its just explosive and...well you really need a track to go any further.

That said, the main thing with the Lotus is the fun you can have at legal speeds, with the roof off and that induction noise.

On Saturday we went everywhere with the roof off, which was great fun. We have at last sorted out suitable clothing - gloves, scarf and most importantly a hat are now left permanently in the car.

We, or rather my wife, added another 150 miles over the weekend - and then came the snow and I've been using our Honda CRV instead (4wd and heated seats).

I'll be back in the Lotus tomorrow I hope.