Hysteria and fury

Sir,
I was most interested to read the letter “A Genuine Hysteric?” (Motor Sport, January 1988) referring to DSJ’s “Lotus Blossoms” article and Mr Paul Bevis’ hysteric car. I believe the builder of the said hysteric is known very well to my wife. He once allowed her to drive it at Prescott Hill Climb, but he was furious when she turned it over on the first corner, thereby displaying the somewhat amateur welding on the underside of the chassis. This, of course, was before the days of CAD/CAM.

Nevertheless, the “impeccable history” referred to is built upon minor setbacks like the above.

My dictionary defines the word “hysteric” as meaning “to be affected by irregular spasms”, and my wife thought that a very apt description of the car.

However, if Mr Bevis manages to persuade a suitable auction-house to get someone to part with a bag of gold for his car, my wife also thinks the builder deserves a pint for building a car which has lasted 27 years in the hands of a driver of such proven ability to extract maximum performance.

Reg Phillips, Salcombe, Devon