Gold FFM mayevora Posted February 19, 2012 Gold FFM Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Not seen that last one before. Nice find Lyndon. Quote Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk - that will teach us to keep mouth shut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolflyn Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) Lotus 81 Mario Andretti Essex Oil's distinctive Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II 3A-MSX landing at Bern Belpmoos Airport in Switzerland in 1980 (Photo: Anton Heumann) owned by Essex Oil founder David Thieme Colin Chapman had his own helicopter G-AYTF " GAY DANCER" which appeared in both Essex and JPS liveries G-AYTF Mario Andretti gota love this pic = Lotus 88 Essex F1 car (Mansell - and the car was famously banned from competing, along with its 2-chassis construction!) in the reflection of a Lotus Essex Esprit (car no.100 Mario at Monacco 1980 apparently the photo of the helicopter on top on the team motor homes is outside the Albert hall,,, showy millionaire David Thieme - with a black hat and a goatlike beard - plastered his Essex logos all over Team Lotus. At the time Thieme's parties were stunning, simply because no-one had ever done such things before. For 2 years running he had a gala dinner in London's Albert Hall, with excellent food and gorgeous wines. The diners were then serenaded by singers Shirley Bassey in the first year and Ray Charles in the second. The launch of Essex Team Lotus in December 1979 was at the Paradis du Latin cabaret in Paris, THE fashionable club of the era. The press were put up in a fancy hotel and ferried about in stretched limousines and then, after dinner and an exhibition of feathered ladies dancing around, a Lotus painted in Essex colors suddenly began to descend from the roof, with a terrified Mario Andretti, clad in a dinner jacket, clinging to the car as it floated gradually to earth. Those were the days before every F1 launch had dry ice and laser beams and people were rather stunned. Edited February 19, 2012 by wolflyn Quote 1981 Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonwat Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 That white Essex looks awesome Quote Cheers, John W http://jonwatkins.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieCroker Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Very cool photos:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nello Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Nice to see you've come over all 'Essex' now Wolflyn I saw the white Essex years ago at a car bash at The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden. It came complete with Essex cam covers etc so was very much Essex old stock... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbclotus Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Brill pictures..........Thanks for posting.Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket63 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Quote Caught between a rock and a hard place in a catch 22 situation, So its 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Your damned if you do, but your damned if you don't so shut your cock!!!!!!!!!!! Lotus Espirt Turbo S3 Lotus Esprit S4 Lotus Elise S2 Sport 130 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolflyn Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 lotus 88 Quote 1981 Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold FFM mayevora Posted February 21, 2012 Gold FFM Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Quote Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk - that will teach us to keep mouth shut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolflyn Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Quote 1981 Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loose Cannon Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Liking the helicopter shot, is that a Lotus/Essex image or from a magazine? Quote In the garage no-one can hear you scream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolflyn Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 is the the monaco heli air website Quote 1981 Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbclotus Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Can any one make out the registration number of the essex car in the helicopter shot.OPW67.....W. Great picture thanks for posting .Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red vtec Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Looks like OPW674W Quote Amateurs built the Ark Professionals built the Titanic "I haven't ridden in cars pulled by cows before" "Bullocks, Mr.Belcher" "No, I haven't, honestly" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbclotus Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thats what i thought it was.Just trying to rember the road test car.the factory named white heat,opw654 might be wrong. After owning opw679w .Ijust love any thing related to the early cars.Cheers all .Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nello Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 OPW 674W belonged to Essex Motorsport and resides in France. It was badged as LHD 002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loose Cannon Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Was it David Thiemes car or was that ROW 007? Quote In the garage no-one can hear you scream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nello Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Correct Mark - Thieme had LHD numbered 007 - rumoured to still have somewhere in Paris...... These were the two cars originally registered to the Essex Petroleum Company. LHD 002 SCCFC20A0AHH10302 (OPW 674W) LHD 007 SCCFC20A2AHH10303 (Mr Thiemes') ....on the subject of which: Edited February 24, 2012 by nello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolflyn Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) lotus esprit essex model on ebay http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1e62b431bc another ebay item http://www.ebay.co.u...=item256d269b94 another ebay model http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c60b29cfc Edited February 25, 2012 by wolflyn Quote 1981 Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgerley Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Here's Bazza's Essex lined up with my V8 at the 60th Anniversary bash at Hethel, on what was then the Lotus Esprit Forum stand. Edited February 25, 2012 by hedgerley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolflyn Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) Andrew Mariot - Sponsorship and PR guru (CSS Promotions) recalls Without any question the most spectacular Formula1 launches we were involved in were run for the eccentric boss of Essex Petroleum. David Thieme.The Zoro-hatted American had taken over primary sponsorship of Team Lotus back in 1980. Thieme was in the oil spot market business and was for a while spectacularly successful buying and selling tankerfuls of crude oil as they plied the high sea. He wanted to impress his 30 or so big customers by not only sponsoring Lotus and but also putting on the biggest and most lavish launches ever. At CSS Promotions we came up with the concept of using the Albert Hall as the venue. In addition to the car launch we would put on an evening’s entertainment. Thieme liked the idea but had one worry: he didn’t want anyone to go hungry, and he wanted to feed them. The only problem – there aren’t any kitchens at the Albert Hall. But with big bucks most problems can be solved and thus his guests , the media and a lot of hangers-on were treated to a lavish dinner cooked by legendary South of France Chef Roger Verge and brought in by heated wagons from the kitchens of the Dorchester. When the meal was over Shirley Bassey was the entertainment A year later Thieme wanted it to be even bigger and it was probably our finest hour. Through Mark Thatcher, we managed to persuade his mother to turn up and press the flesh with all Mr Thieme’s key clients. Outside the Albert Hall we’d done a deal, via an ex-MI6 character we knew simply as, “Mac”. Mac oiled the wheels so we could park Mr Thieme’s double-decker hospitality bus in the bus lane opposite the Hall. Then we placed on top of the bus Mr Thieme’s helicopter and it looked pretty spectacular I can tell you. The helicopter, of course, didn’t actually land on this forerunner to current uber-hospitality units, we craned it there. No-one was quite sure if the roof of the bus was strong enough to take the weight of the chopper – there were a few anxious moments – but sure enough the bus did not become a single-decker... This time the entertainment was no less than the legendary blind R & B star Ray Charles with the Scottish singer Barbara Dickson as the warm-up act, Verge again provided the food, someone won an Essex-liveried Lotus Esprit in a free raffle, the Albert Hall was swathed in mimosa and quite a lot of people got drunk on Dom Perignon champagne. The only problem was that before he had settled a fairly substantial part of our bill Mr Thieme’s star had fallen to such a degree that he was sought by certain authorities – never to be seen at a race track again. Or wave a pen over a cheque book. Indeed everyone who had quaffed the champagne had actually done so at the expense of CSS Promotions rather than Essex Petroleum – and most of them weren’t even our friends Extracts from the BRDC 2009 bulletin Edited June 15, 2012 by wolflyn Quote 1981 Turbo Esprit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza 907 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Lyndon Amazing how people can blag an image of themselves when there's such little substance behind them. BTW there are some nice pics of my car in Practical Classics this month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nello Posted December 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Gulp.....OK.....so who paid the £312 for it on fleabay!! Edited December 30, 2012 by nello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza 907 Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 A few years ago somebody paid £1000+ for one of those on fleabay.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-1-18TH-AUTO-ART-LOTUS-ESPRIT-TURBO-ESSEX-TAKE-A-LOOK-/110995222351?pt=UK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN&hash=item19d7d4af4f Quote hindsight: the science that is never wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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