St. Armands revved up for Lotus Cars on the Circle

St. Armands Circle was looking sporty July 16 for Lotus Cars on the Circle, sponsored by Lynches Pub. Lotus owners and members of the Suncoast British Car Club arrived in style.

The cars, not all Lotuses, ranged from classic to custom and also iconic. On the sidewalk entering into the Circle, a shiny silver DeLorean sat center stage, doors up.

Owner Nick Jaroslawsky said it was a myth that the upturning doors make parking a Delorean impractical. Instead, the design solved a problem.

“It was specifically designed for the gull-wing doors to allow you to park right next to somebody,” he said. “Your average car door is about a foot thick, and it takes at least 18 to 20 inches for you to just squeeze in and out of the door. This only takes 11 inches.”

Jaroslawsky and his wife, Meghan, found the car 10 years ago. Twelve years before that, the car was abandoned in Queens, New York. Not only had it sunk into the ground, but also a cat was living in the back.

Nothing could deter Jaroslawsky. He’d been looking to restore a DeLorean since he was 7 years old. Meghan was up for the challenge too. The couple stripped and rebuilt it from the frame up. Everything is new from the engine to the interior. 

“Me and her just really dug into it together,” he said. “It was our first commitment at the beginning of our relationship, and now here it is, all done, so it’s kind of like our baby boy’s all grown up.”

Meghan added, “We finished it up, and then a week later, got married.” 

The couple married at Ca d’Zan and drove their labor of love to the Circle for a reception at Columbia Restaurant and an after-party at Lynches Pub. When pub owner Jason Burns asked them to drive the DeLorean from their home in Kissimmee, the couple happily obliged.

Dennis Labbe traveled from Fort Myers in his 1973 Lotus Europa. He has had the car for about 10 years and is its third owner. “The car’s been great,” he said. Although, what the manufacturer called gray, he called “turd brown.” Labbe repainted the car to match the green and yellow Lotus racing colors. 

Sarasota Harbour resident Rita Giovanucci was hoping to find a car to buy as a “last hurrah.” She said her short stature often makes seeing over the hood difficult. Although she liked the Lotus cars, she said, they were a little too small. “There’s no room for golf clubs.” 

Giovanucci will have another chance to shop Sept. 10 at Exotic Cars on the Circle.