Olympic e-gold for Stratford - Stratford Herald

20
Midweek Herald Tuesday 26th March, 2013
●Lotus restoration. . .Tony Webb pictured in his Lotus Elan, which
was secretly restored for the TV programme Car SOS. He is pictured
with the show’s presenters, Fuzz Townshend and Tim Shaw.
Photo: National Geographic Channels
TV Car SOS team restore
Tony’s pride and joy
A RACING fan who suffers from a
degenerative spinal condition had a
huge surprise when his Lotus Elan
was restored in secret, for an episode
of the National Geographic
Channel’s new series of Car SOS.
Tony Webb who lives in Moreton
Paddox, near Wellesbourne, with his
wife, Ros, bought his 1970 Lotus
Elan +2 in 2004. The car had a
colourful history of previous owners,
including racing champions and tax
evaders.
Tony intended to take on the car’s
restoration and collected many parts
for it. But Ros told the Midweek
Herald that with all the will in the
world, Tony’s spinal condition meant
it would have been difficult for him
to carry out the restoration work.
The condition could mean that the
65-year-old may need wheelchair
assistance in just a couple of years,
and Tony had considered selling his
Lotus.
One day Ros caught sight of an
advert in a car magazine that Tony
had left lying around the house,
calling for people to be nominated
for the Car SOS team to carry out
much-needed restorations to their
cars.
Ros responded to the advert and
contacted the show in September to
successfully nominate Tony and the
Lotus. When they took the car away
for the work to be carried out, she
told her husband that the car was
being stored with a friend in Oxfordshire.
After the restoration was complete,
Tony was taken on a factory
tour at Lotus cars, of Norfolk, and
during the visit he was presented
with his beloved car.
Much to the surprise of the couple,
the colour had been changed during
the restoration work from red to
yellow—the Lotus’ original colour.
Ros added: “I was delighted we
kept it very secret. My husband is
quite suspicious so it was quite an
achievement. Quite a lot of people
were involved.”
Tony and Ros will feature in the
final episode of the series, named
‘Lotus Flowers’ on Thursday 11th
April at 8pm.
Expires 15th April 2013