The legendary Lotus flower induces luxurious languor in the eater which is quite the opposite effect of Spyder's rolling chassis conversion for the equally legendary Lotus Elan +2. This flower gets power but there's a great deal more to it than that.

There must be a boy that spent his formative years staring at  a car poster on the bedroom wall and constantly muttering the mantra 'One day. One day', only for that day to dawn and the object of adolescent affection turn out to be far below expectations. Of course, it's not always the case but the Lotus Elan +2 was designed over thirty years ago and the pace of automotive evolution of the intervening years has been meteoric in respect of engine, suspension, chassis, tyres and of course, electronics.

While Lotus has justifiably been afforded all-time classic status, many Lotus enthusiasts will quietly admit to constant  frustration with unreliability, rapid component wear, chassis corrosion and various other downsides to be suffered in order to enjoy the driving bliss that sustains the legend. And it's in this respect that Spyder Engineering first came to the rescue of many a chassis corroded Lotus.

The company has long been associated with replacement backbone chassis for both the original Elan and the +2. Brilliant and brilliantly simple though it is, the Lotus backbone is a sheet metal affair that succumbs to structural corrosion in a manner that modern sports car enthusiasts are unfamiliar with. The Spyder solution was to duplicate the lay-out with a steel-tube spaceframe which they did very successfully twenty years ago and this chassis now carries many a Lotus car.

The Ford 2-litre Zetec's 175 bhp greatly outpaces the 118 bhp from the original's 1,558 cc Lotus twin-cam while Spyder's chassis makes it feel and respond like a modern sportscar as opposed to a thirty year old one.

The cockpit reflects sixties chic and though some of the controls are a little hap-hazzardly arranged, it's comfortable, ergonomic and efficient office to work in. Refined and civilised too but 2+2 accommodation is strictly for children.

From there, Spyder's Andy Widnall went on to experiment with installing the Zetec 2-litre engine as minimal modification was required in order to get it in. It has historical links with the Lotus twin-cam which was built on the Ford 1,500cc block and bottom end. Original Lotus engines are expensive to build properly and though they are terrific units when fully on song, such occasions are few and far between thus the Zetec with its faultless reliability, significantly increased power and torque was welcome option for Lotus owners. Then there was the gearbox. The later +2 models did get a five-speed boxes but it was an Austin Maxi-based unit (one of the few five-speed boxes available at the time) and only a few cars were built. Andy Widnall's solution was the obvious one of the Ford MT75 unit and once again, minimal modification was necessary to mount it within the confines of the chassis. From there, it was a short step to go the whole hog and modify the suspension to create a completely new, rolling chassis. The suspension employs  double wishbones all round, the upper wishbone at the back going one better than the Lotus set up and taking much of the strain off the driveshaft. Front uprights are Sierra while the rear are Spyder's fabricated steel units. The limited slip differential is the 7.5" Granada unit with a 3.64:1 final drive ratio.