What Phil Does All Day

If anyone felt the slightest drool over those yummy cars I posted on Sunday, here is the first part of this week's decidedly pornographic series of posts on what little brother Phil gets up to in the Peter Pan world of Lotus Sports Cars.
Who needs to grow up when you can play with this stuff?

These usually sit in Phil's office (as does the table, which was nicked for the display as we found out when we sneaked off to his office to snaffle chocolate hob-nobs).
Among other things, Phil develops all the flashy paints on the sports cars and hand paints the flashiest ones himself (like the orange GT3 racer in Sunday's post).
These cute little models are used to check the paint mixes on the finished cars.
Cool, huh?

Right, before we get to the real porn, which will start tomorrow, pay attention while I go through the process which ends up with the most exciting drivers' car in the world going nutjob round the test track.

It all starts with good old fibreglass moulds. We used to make our canoes the same way at school. None of your crappy robots here.
Hand built means hand built.

Once out of the moulds you get racks full of sexy looking - but decidedly naked - body panels.

These get assembled on these cool racks and sanded until Phil's happy, then prepared, primed and baked.

Then they go through the spray booths and have lots of complex layers of shiny, metallic, reflective, chromatic, arty-farty hi-tech paints splattered over 'em.

After that, the front and back sections are sat on this rack for a bit of a snooze.

While the middle bits get stuck on to the chassis.
And then the engine gets dropped in at the back.

The whole lot is then assembled and finished.
These are not the actual wheels they'll be wearing on the road.
That would be silly.

And "Hey Presto" or whatever Harry Potter says these days (or Hermione in the bathroom shouting "Chlamydia Disappearum!") …
Out the other end pops a sweet little Elise.

Or a snarling beast of an Exige.

Of course it's a whole lot more complicated than that but I just like looking at the finished article.