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LOMAX LAMBDA
September 2000 issue
?lanek je preveden in prirejen po Which Kit Car?
Fotografije Lambde so iz taiste revije
Preprost, poceni, pa?a za o?i, ekonomi?en, zabaven (...in ?e marsikaj drugega...). Lomax v dinami?nem roadsterju zdru?uje spa?kove vrline
Simple, cheap, feast for your eyes, economic, fun (... and much more ...), Lomax represents all the 2CV's goodies in this dynamic roadster.
Lomax se je pojavil v za?etku osemdesetih kot trikolesnik podoben Morganom iz tridesetih let.Poznavalci se bodo spomnili ?udnega trikolesnika s pre?no postavljenim V2 motorjem pred nosom vozila...
Avtek je hitro "prijel", leta 1993 pa je Lomax naredil Lambdo, v marsi?em izbolj?ano vozilo, kot prej?nje. Prijetna tudi kot olaj?anje za denarnice ljubiteljev spa?kov, saj Cassi?ki Mehari kot zadnji "A" Citro?n ?e dosega vi?je cene od originala, Lomax pa mu resno konkurira z nizkimi cenami. Z nekaj orodja in prostega ?asa lahko ?e za 3000 DEM iz starega spa?ka
naredite novo Lambdo.
?e na prvi pogled vidimo, da je Lambda lep?e zaobljena, bolj teko?ih linij in nasploh lep?e postave, kot njena predhodnika Lomax 223 in 224 (224 kot ?tirikolesnik je v nekoliko zmali?eni verziji obstojal tudi pri nas). Kot "kit" avto Lambdo lahko dobite v razli?nih paketih. "Prave" Lambde smo videli v Gr?iji na svetovnem sre?anju spa?karjev, precej ni?je so od klasi?nih Lomaxov in ZELO posko?ne, prav ?portne. Lomax namre? uporablja "navit" Visa Club motor z la?jim vztrajnikom. ( Sicer so novinarjem v Which Car? reviji rekli, da so sami navili 2CV motor na 650 ccm, ampak to je neumnost, op. prev. ). Prava Lambda ne uporablja ve? od spa?ka "sposojenega" podvozja, pa? pa svoje lastno, ki je pol tanj?e od Citro?novega, saj ni ve? potrebe po veliki nosilnosti. Traverzi so tako le pet-centimeterski, so pa zato narejeni iz 2,5 in 3-mm ?tirioglatih cevi. Tudi vzdol?no vzmetenje je odpadlo, tako da so spa?kove roke pripete na pokon?no vzmetenje. To je lastnikom Lambde bolj v?e?, saj se da nastavljati trdoto vzmetenja in bla?enja, pa tudi nagibanja je manj. Seveda se Lambdo
da dobiti tudi kot nadgradnjo spa?ka, na klasi?nem podvozju, vendar mora na prednjih rokah obvezno biti stabilizator.
Karoserija je prav tako izbolj?ana. Bo?ne oja?itve ?koljke uporabljajo tako jeklo kot karbonska vlakna. In tako je tehnika 21. stoletja pri?la tudi v spa?ke...
Lambda je obuta v "?picfeltne" (kdor ve slovenski izraz za to, naj nam ga ne pove, ker se bojimo, da so na?i sloven??inodelci spet zakuhali kako so?no), za podplate pa ima
145X15 gume, seveda pa ne bo konec sveta, ?e boste iz zvestobe do spa?kov
vztrajali pri nepogre?ljivih 125 X Michelinkah.
Na poskusni vo?nji se je Lambda ?udovito obna?ala, presenetljivo stabilna je bila in je vsekakor upravi?ila sloves proizvajalca. Verjemite nam, tudi v ?ivo zgleda in se obna?a tako lepo in ?ivahno, kot na fotografijah.
Kaj je v kitu: avto-donator 2CV ali Dyane katerekoli izdelave in letnika. Podvozje originalno spa?kovo, Lomaxova obnovitvena ?asija (jih prodajajo tudi spa?karskim delavnicam za obnovo spa?kov) ali Lambdina posebna ?asija s "pokon?nim" vzmetenjem. Sprednje
obese: 2CV roke in prema, Spax vzmetenje in bla?ilci (le na Lambda ?asiji) ali originalno vzdol?no vzmetenje s stabilizatorjem. Zadnje vzmetenje je spet Lambdino Spax ali spa?kovo originalno, s tem, da sta zadnji vzmetenji med sabo povezani, ?eprav zadnje kolo visi samo na roki na sovoznikovi strani (precej komplicirana re?). Krmiljenje: 2CV. Motor: standardni 602
ccm, oskubljen, brez ventilatorja, plo?evine za dovajanje zraka in druge Lomaxove lastne dobrote. Menjalnik je standarden 2CV.
?e cukr?ek za konec: Cena. ?e imate zmahanega spa?ka, boste nanj poveznili le Lomaxovo banjo, za katero boste od?teli 898 angle?kih funtov (funt je trenutno okoli 3,3 DEM) oz. 990 funtov za Lambdo 4 (?tirikolesnik). Polni paket, ?e nimate spa?ka, vas bo odtehtal
med 4920 (3-kolesa) do 5200 za Lambdo 4. Plus davki, seveda. Cene za vrhunsko
narejene Lambde se vrtijo tudi do 20.000 DEM!
V Sloveniji sta trenutno znana le dva, eden je bil ?e na na?i naslovnici, kot ste videli, je njegov lastnik bil hudo bitko, da je naredil iz njega lep avto. Drugega so pred kratkim "re?ili", je v katastrofalnem stanju, a ?e spravljen na suho, kjer ga ?aka obnova...
Kaj je s SLOmaxi? Prvo, kar pade v o?i, je zelo dolg rilec. Tudi odbija?i zelo kvarijo sliko. Da ne omenjam sprednjih ?ip in rollbarov. Takrat je bila ?e Juga in veljali so neki ?udni zakoni. ?e si skubil motor, si ga moral potem atestirat. To je mnoge odvrnilo od projekta in so raje pristali na grozen nos avta, kot da pr?kajo po motorju in si prislu?ijo atest. Rollbari - tjah - a res ne poznamo nobenega ?elezokrivca, ki bi vzel v roke cev iz nerjave?ega jekla in jo oblikoval kot se zagre?
Kaj pa vem, ?e pomislim...
Zme?e? se lep kup?ek denarja, dela?, izumlja?, sam si, ker drugega takega avta pri nas ni, ?e malo izumlja?, potem mora? atestirat, pijejo ti kri za vsako napako (konec koncev - pijejo
kri tudi Mercedesu, pa je ?e tretje stoletje v tem poslu, kajne?), vse kar bo? na koncu imel, bo dvosed s prtlja?nikom za dve spalki, s sicer fenomenalnimi pospe?ki in porabo kot Zippo v?igalnik (pljunek bencina vsaka dva tedna, pa gre)... Pa si re?e? - za tri jurje mark si lahko kupim BX-a! Ja, ampak ko se peljem s svojim ?rnuhom po mestu, me ljudje ne ustavljajo
ve?, mi ne ?estitajo za lepotico, ne spra?ujejo po letniku... Sem kar vesel, da imam za ta ego-trip v gara?i ?e enega Amija, ki pa ?al ni Lomax, da mu karoserija ne bi gnila...
Tako je to. Edini ?e proizvajanji spa?ki na svetu so torej Mehariji in Lomaxi. Prvi kot natan?ne replike tovarni?kega avta, Lomax pa kot samostojna avtomobilska firma izdeluje svoje avte s spa?kovim motorjem. ?e si ?elite novega spa?ka, je to to - drugih ?e nekaj
?asa ne bo ve?. Morda bo ?ez dvajset let kdo za?el delati replike spa?kov...
To ni poskus narediti spa?kolikega roadsterja, pa? pa je to roadster, ki mu je Spa?ek vdihnil ?ivljenje. Lomax ima veliko ljubiteljev (?al ne pri nas), ki jih imajo radi iz istega razloga,
kot mi spa?ke: avto ni moderen, ni veteran, ni eleganten, ni udoben. Je pa prisr?en, v sebi ima veliko srce in du?o, da se zlahka zaljubi? vanj in ?e po nekaj prevo?enih metrih si pribori ve?ne simpatije.
Slovenski Lo-kar-si-?e-bodi-max (znana sta zaenkrat dva primerka - kdo kaj ve?), ?rtev predsodka, ki pravi, da mora vsak kabrio razen Mercedeza imeti rolbar, da ne sme? imeti "motociklisti?nih" blatnikov, da mora? imeti odbija?e, ne glede na to kako nekoristni in pateti?ni so, ?alostno pa je, da zaradi sitnosti z motorjem trpi njegov nos...
Slovenian Lo-whatever-that-is-max (only two are known to exist) is a victim of prejudice
that says that all cabrios except Mercedes have to have rollbars, no "motorcycle" mudguards, you have to have bumpers no matter how usseless and pathetic they are and the worst thing is that because of some bureaucracy it has the most horrible nose on earth ?
Mnogo bolj?a varianta nosu Lomaxa - proizvaja ga Lomaxov nizozemski zastopnik, Duck Hunt. Delovno ime prototipa je bilo Hunter, kaj ve? pa boste izvedeli, ko naredimo z njimi kak intervju. Baje, da bo lepotec pri?el na svetovno sre?anje v Avstrijo.
Much better "nose" solution on Lomax - made by a  Dutch Lomax representative, Duck Hunt. "Work" name of the prototype was Hunter, we will do our best to give you
more on this when we manage to do an interview. It is said that this beauty will also be on the world meeting in Austria
ENGLISH
The article was translated and adapted from Which Kit Car? magazine.
Photos of Lambda are from the same mag.
Lomax made its debut in early 80's as a 30's Morgan trike lookalike. Conossieurs will remember an odd three-wheeler with a V2 engine in front of the nose... The car quickly "catched on" and in 1993, Lomax went Lambda, a much improved vehicle
Also an improvement for 2CV lover's pockets: Mehari of Cassis - as the last "A" Citro?n already has prices higher than the original, Lomax represents a serious competition with its
low prices. With decent toolbox, some spare time and around 3000 DM you can turn a battered 2CV into a new Lambda.
Note for non-Slovenian readers: Slovenia doesn't have 1000's of 2CV's anymore to spare so every part is valuable - when a body rusts away beyond repair (after 3 of 4 restaurations)
- a Lomax or a Mehari restauration project is considered as the next step in keeping the legend alive.
At the first glance we can see Lambda's curves are sexier, lines are flowing in a single wave and it has an overall lovelier po se than its predecessor, Lomax 223 and 224 (a 224 in somewhat raped appearance existed in Slovenia as well). As a "Kit" car aou can buy
a Lambda in different packages. "Real" Lambdas were seen in Greece (World
Meeting 1999), they are much lower than classic Lomaxes and VERY jumpy
and sporty. Lomax uses a revamped Visa engine with a lightened flywheel.
(Actually it appears they told the Which Car? journalists that they made
a 650 ccm engine out of a stock 602 but sincerely I think that would be
a stupid thing to do - as you already have Visa engines, right? Probably
the writer got it wrong...).
The real Lambda does not use a "borrowed"
2CV chassie anymore but its own, half thinner than Citro?ns as it does
not have to carry a big weight anymore. The profiles are only 5-cm, but
made of 2,5 and 3 mm metal .
Also the 2CV suspension was replaced
by more traditional "motorbikey" vertical suspension. Lambda owners like
it that way as you can easily adjust the hardness od shock absorbers as
well as pitch and bank. Of course, you can buy a Lambda as a 2CV upgrade
on classic chassie but it has to have Ami 8/Acadiane stabiliser in front.
The body is also improved. Side
impact protection is made of steel as well as carbon fiber. And this is
how "the ugly duckling" met 21 st century.
Lambda wears "wire wheels" (spiked wheels? spitzflege?) and its "shoes" are 145x15 tyres , but of course it's not the end of the world if you decide to go for the traditional trusty
"2CV" 125X Michelins.
On the test drive Lambda prototype behaved beautifully, amazingly stable and was up to its designer's reputation. Believe us, "live" looks as beautiful and lively as on these photos.
What's in the kit: car-donor 2CV or Dyane, any year or make. Chassie original 2CV, Lomax chassie (they sell them also to workshops for 2CV's) or Lambda special chassie with "upright" suspension. Front suspension: stock 2CV, Spax springs and shock absorbers
(available only on Lambda chassie) or original stock suspension. Rear suspension
is quite complicated as it uses both springs but only one axle. Rear suspension
can be Lambda's Spax or stock, depending on chassie. Steering: 2CV. Engine:
2CV or Visa Club, stripped, gearbox standard 2CV.
And a goody for the end: the price. If you have a "tired" 2CV and only want to put the Lomax "bathtub" on the chassie, you'll pay 900 pounds (3000 DM). 1000 for Lambda 4 (4 wheel kit), full package (if you don't have a donor car) 5 times more. Plus taxes. Prices for finished showroom condition Lambdas can go up to 20.000 DM. Note: those prices are quite old - they were taken from the article so get in touch with Lambda dealers and ask 'em.
In slovenia we know only of two Lomaxes, one was already presented in our magazine, its owner fought a great battle to make something of it. The other one was "saved" recently,
it's in catastrophic condition, but already stored, awaiting restauration. What's with SLO-Maxes? First thing you notice is the long snout. Also the bumpers make an ugly picture out
of it. Not to mention the windshield and rollbars. Back then it was still Yugoslavia and some strange laws were around. If you stripped an engine youhad to "a-test" it again (TUV). People were discouraged from going on and went for a horrible nose instead of meddling with the engine and earn an engine atest. Rollbars, well, it seems that there is not a single capable blacksmith around to bend the metal into a decent shape?
I don't know, come to think of it...
You gather a nice sum of money, work, invent, you're alone, there is no other car like this in Slovenia, you invent some more, then you "a-test" it, they want your blood for every
tiny error you made (after all - they suck blood from Mescedes as well - and they are in business for the third century, ain't they?), and at the end you end up with a two-seater with a trunk big enough for two sleeping bags with phenomenal acceleration and fuel efficiency of a Zippo lighter And you say to yourself... For three grand I can get a BX! Yeah, but as I drive my black BX thing down town, people don't stop anymore, they don't congratulate me for the berautiful car, they don't ask what year it is... I'm quite glad, that for this ego-trip I still have my Ami 8. It's not a Lomax, it tends to rust, so I keep it in the garage and "rainwash" the BX instead.
So it goes. The only 2CV's still in production are Meharis and Lomaxes. First as accurate replicas of a stock car and Lomax as a car company of its own, making its cars using
2CV engines. If you want a new 2CV, this is about it - there won't be any others for a while. Until maybe in some 20 years, somebody starts serial production of 2CV replicas.
This is not an attempt to make a 2CV-ish roadster, it's a roadster that was given the breath of life by 2CV. Lomax has many admirers (alas not in Slovenia) that like it for the same reasons as we love our 2CV's: it's not modern, not a "real" veteran, not elegant, not comfortable. But it's cosy, it's got a big heart and soul, you easily fall in love with it and it wins eternal simpathies after a few metres of driving.
September 2000 issue
?lanek je preveden in prirejen po Which Kit Car?
Fotografije Lambde so iz taiste revije
Preprost, poceni, pa?a za o?i, ekonomi?en, zabaven (...in ?e marsikaj drugega...). Lomax v dinami?nem roadsterju zdru?uje spa?kove vrline
Simple, cheap, feast for your eyes, economic, fun (... and much more ...), Lomax represents all the 2CV's goodies in this dynamic roadster.
Lomax se je pojavil v za?etku osemdesetih kot trikolesnik podoben Morganom iz tridesetih let.Poznavalci se bodo spomnili ?udnega trikolesnika s pre?no postavljenim V2 motorjem pred nosom vozila...
Avtek je hitro "prijel", leta 1993 pa je Lomax naredil Lambdo, v marsi?em izbolj?ano vozilo, kot prej?nje. Prijetna tudi kot olaj?anje za denarnice ljubiteljev spa?kov, saj Cassi?ki Mehari kot zadnji "A" Citro?n ?e dosega vi?je cene od originala, Lomax pa mu resno konkurira z nizkimi cenami. Z nekaj orodja in prostega ?asa lahko ?e za 3000 DEM iz starega spa?ka
naredite novo Lambdo.
?e na prvi pogled vidimo, da je Lambda lep?e zaobljena, bolj teko?ih linij in nasploh lep?e postave, kot njena predhodnika Lomax 223 in 224 (224 kot ?tirikolesnik je v nekoliko zmali?eni verziji obstojal tudi pri nas). Kot "kit" avto Lambdo lahko dobite v razli?nih paketih. "Prave" Lambde smo videli v Gr?iji na svetovnem sre?anju spa?karjev, precej ni?je so od klasi?nih Lomaxov in ZELO posko?ne, prav ?portne. Lomax namre? uporablja "navit" Visa Club motor z la?jim vztrajnikom. ( Sicer so novinarjem v Which Car? reviji rekli, da so sami navili 2CV motor na 650 ccm, ampak to je neumnost, op. prev. ). Prava Lambda ne uporablja ve? od spa?ka "sposojenega" podvozja, pa? pa svoje lastno, ki je pol tanj?e od Citro?novega, saj ni ve? potrebe po veliki nosilnosti. Traverzi so tako le pet-centimeterski, so pa zato narejeni iz 2,5 in 3-mm ?tirioglatih cevi. Tudi vzdol?no vzmetenje je odpadlo, tako da so spa?kove roke pripete na pokon?no vzmetenje. To je lastnikom Lambde bolj v?e?, saj se da nastavljati trdoto vzmetenja in bla?enja, pa tudi nagibanja je manj. Seveda se Lambdo
da dobiti tudi kot nadgradnjo spa?ka, na klasi?nem podvozju, vendar mora na prednjih rokah obvezno biti stabilizator.
Karoserija je prav tako izbolj?ana. Bo?ne oja?itve ?koljke uporabljajo tako jeklo kot karbonska vlakna. In tako je tehnika 21. stoletja pri?la tudi v spa?ke...
Lambda je obuta v "?picfeltne" (kdor ve slovenski izraz za to, naj nam ga ne pove, ker se bojimo, da so na?i sloven??inodelci spet zakuhali kako so?no), za podplate pa ima
145X15 gume, seveda pa ne bo konec sveta, ?e boste iz zvestobe do spa?kov
vztrajali pri nepogre?ljivih 125 X Michelinkah.
Na poskusni vo?nji se je Lambda ?udovito obna?ala, presenetljivo stabilna je bila in je vsekakor upravi?ila sloves proizvajalca. Verjemite nam, tudi v ?ivo zgleda in se obna?a tako lepo in ?ivahno, kot na fotografijah.
Kaj je v kitu: avto-donator 2CV ali Dyane katerekoli izdelave in letnika. Podvozje originalno spa?kovo, Lomaxova obnovitvena ?asija (jih prodajajo tudi spa?karskim delavnicam za obnovo spa?kov) ali Lambdina posebna ?asija s "pokon?nim" vzmetenjem. Sprednje
obese: 2CV roke in prema, Spax vzmetenje in bla?ilci (le na Lambda ?asiji) ali originalno vzdol?no vzmetenje s stabilizatorjem. Zadnje vzmetenje je spet Lambdino Spax ali spa?kovo originalno, s tem, da sta zadnji vzmetenji med sabo povezani, ?eprav zadnje kolo visi samo na roki na sovoznikovi strani (precej komplicirana re?). Krmiljenje: 2CV. Motor: standardni 602
ccm, oskubljen, brez ventilatorja, plo?evine za dovajanje zraka in druge Lomaxove lastne dobrote. Menjalnik je standarden 2CV.
?e cukr?ek za konec: Cena. ?e imate zmahanega spa?ka, boste nanj poveznili le Lomaxovo banjo, za katero boste od?teli 898 angle?kih funtov (funt je trenutno okoli 3,3 DEM) oz. 990 funtov za Lambdo 4 (?tirikolesnik). Polni paket, ?e nimate spa?ka, vas bo odtehtal
med 4920 (3-kolesa) do 5200 za Lambdo 4. Plus davki, seveda. Cene za vrhunsko
narejene Lambde se vrtijo tudi do 20.000 DEM!
V Sloveniji sta trenutno znana le dva, eden je bil ?e na na?i naslovnici, kot ste videli, je njegov lastnik bil hudo bitko, da je naredil iz njega lep avto. Drugega so pred kratkim "re?ili", je v katastrofalnem stanju, a ?e spravljen na suho, kjer ga ?aka obnova...
Kaj je s SLOmaxi? Prvo, kar pade v o?i, je zelo dolg rilec. Tudi odbija?i zelo kvarijo sliko. Da ne omenjam sprednjih ?ip in rollbarov. Takrat je bila ?e Juga in veljali so neki ?udni zakoni. ?e si skubil motor, si ga moral potem atestirat. To je mnoge odvrnilo od projekta in so raje pristali na grozen nos avta, kot da pr?kajo po motorju in si prislu?ijo atest. Rollbari - tjah - a res ne poznamo nobenega ?elezokrivca, ki bi vzel v roke cev iz nerjave?ega jekla in jo oblikoval kot se zagre?
Kaj pa vem, ?e pomislim...
Zme?e? se lep kup?ek denarja, dela?, izumlja?, sam si, ker drugega takega avta pri nas ni, ?e malo izumlja?, potem mora? atestirat, pijejo ti kri za vsako napako (konec koncev - pijejo
kri tudi Mercedesu, pa je ?e tretje stoletje v tem poslu, kajne?), vse kar bo? na koncu imel, bo dvosed s prtlja?nikom za dve spalki, s sicer fenomenalnimi pospe?ki in porabo kot Zippo v?igalnik (pljunek bencina vsaka dva tedna, pa gre)... Pa si re?e? - za tri jurje mark si lahko kupim BX-a! Ja, ampak ko se peljem s svojim ?rnuhom po mestu, me ljudje ne ustavljajo
ve?, mi ne ?estitajo za lepotico, ne spra?ujejo po letniku... Sem kar vesel, da imam za ta ego-trip v gara?i ?e enega Amija, ki pa ?al ni Lomax, da mu karoserija ne bi gnila...
Tako je to. Edini ?e proizvajanji spa?ki na svetu so torej Mehariji in Lomaxi. Prvi kot natan?ne replike tovarni?kega avta, Lomax pa kot samostojna avtomobilska firma izdeluje svoje avte s spa?kovim motorjem. ?e si ?elite novega spa?ka, je to to - drugih ?e nekaj
?asa ne bo ve?. Morda bo ?ez dvajset let kdo za?el delati replike spa?kov...
To ni poskus narediti spa?kolikega roadsterja, pa? pa je to roadster, ki mu je Spa?ek vdihnil ?ivljenje. Lomax ima veliko ljubiteljev (?al ne pri nas), ki jih imajo radi iz istega razloga,
kot mi spa?ke: avto ni moderen, ni veteran, ni eleganten, ni udoben. Je pa prisr?en, v sebi ima veliko srce in du?o, da se zlahka zaljubi? vanj in ?e po nekaj prevo?enih metrih si pribori ve?ne simpatije.
Slovenski Lo-kar-si-?e-bodi-max (znana sta zaenkrat dva primerka - kdo kaj ve?), ?rtev predsodka, ki pravi, da mora vsak kabrio razen Mercedeza imeti rolbar, da ne sme? imeti "motociklisti?nih" blatnikov, da mora? imeti odbija?e, ne glede na to kako nekoristni in pateti?ni so, ?alostno pa je, da zaradi sitnosti z motorjem trpi njegov nos...
Slovenian Lo-whatever-that-is-max (only two are known to exist) is a victim of prejudice
that says that all cabrios except Mercedes have to have rollbars, no "motorcycle" mudguards, you have to have bumpers no matter how usseless and pathetic they are and the worst thing is that because of some bureaucracy it has the most horrible nose on earth ?
Mnogo bolj?a varianta nosu Lomaxa - proizvaja ga Lomaxov nizozemski zastopnik, Duck Hunt. Delovno ime prototipa je bilo Hunter, kaj ve? pa boste izvedeli, ko naredimo z njimi kak intervju. Baje, da bo lepotec pri?el na svetovno sre?anje v Avstrijo.
Much better "nose" solution on Lomax - made by a  Dutch Lomax representative, Duck Hunt. "Work" name of the prototype was Hunter, we will do our best to give you
more on this when we manage to do an interview. It is said that this beauty will also be on the world meeting in Austria
ENGLISH
The article was translated and adapted from Which Kit Car? magazine.
Photos of Lambda are from the same mag.
Lomax made its debut in early 80's as a 30's Morgan trike lookalike. Conossieurs will remember an odd three-wheeler with a V2 engine in front of the nose... The car quickly "catched on" and in 1993, Lomax went Lambda, a much improved vehicle
Also an improvement for 2CV lover's pockets: Mehari of Cassis - as the last "A" Citro?n already has prices higher than the original, Lomax represents a serious competition with its
low prices. With decent toolbox, some spare time and around 3000 DM you can turn a battered 2CV into a new Lambda.
Note for non-Slovenian readers: Slovenia doesn't have 1000's of 2CV's anymore to spare so every part is valuable - when a body rusts away beyond repair (after 3 of 4 restaurations)
- a Lomax or a Mehari restauration project is considered as the next step in keeping the legend alive.
At the first glance we can see Lambda's curves are sexier, lines are flowing in a single wave and it has an overall lovelier po se than its predecessor, Lomax 223 and 224 (a 224 in somewhat raped appearance existed in Slovenia as well). As a "Kit" car aou can buy
a Lambda in different packages. "Real" Lambdas were seen in Greece (World
Meeting 1999), they are much lower than classic Lomaxes and VERY jumpy
and sporty. Lomax uses a revamped Visa engine with a lightened flywheel.
(Actually it appears they told the Which Car? journalists that they made
a 650 ccm engine out of a stock 602 but sincerely I think that would be
a stupid thing to do - as you already have Visa engines, right? Probably
the writer got it wrong...).
The real Lambda does not use a "borrowed"
2CV chassie anymore but its own, half thinner than Citro?ns as it does
not have to carry a big weight anymore. The profiles are only 5-cm, but
made of 2,5 and 3 mm metal .
Also the 2CV suspension was replaced
by more traditional "motorbikey" vertical suspension. Lambda owners like
it that way as you can easily adjust the hardness od shock absorbers as
well as pitch and bank. Of course, you can buy a Lambda as a 2CV upgrade
on classic chassie but it has to have Ami 8/Acadiane stabiliser in front.
The body is also improved. Side
impact protection is made of steel as well as carbon fiber. And this is
how "the ugly duckling" met 21 st century.
Lambda wears "wire wheels" (spiked wheels? spitzflege?) and its "shoes" are 145x15 tyres , but of course it's not the end of the world if you decide to go for the traditional trusty
"2CV" 125X Michelins.
On the test drive Lambda prototype behaved beautifully, amazingly stable and was up to its designer's reputation. Believe us, "live" looks as beautiful and lively as on these photos.
What's in the kit: car-donor 2CV or Dyane, any year or make. Chassie original 2CV, Lomax chassie (they sell them also to workshops for 2CV's) or Lambda special chassie with "upright" suspension. Front suspension: stock 2CV, Spax springs and shock absorbers
(available only on Lambda chassie) or original stock suspension. Rear suspension
is quite complicated as it uses both springs but only one axle. Rear suspension
can be Lambda's Spax or stock, depending on chassie. Steering: 2CV. Engine:
2CV or Visa Club, stripped, gearbox standard 2CV.
And a goody for the end: the price. If you have a "tired" 2CV and only want to put the Lomax "bathtub" on the chassie, you'll pay 900 pounds (3000 DM). 1000 for Lambda 4 (4 wheel kit), full package (if you don't have a donor car) 5 times more. Plus taxes. Prices for finished showroom condition Lambdas can go up to 20.000 DM. Note: those prices are quite old - they were taken from the article so get in touch with Lambda dealers and ask 'em.
In slovenia we know only of two Lomaxes, one was already presented in our magazine, its owner fought a great battle to make something of it. The other one was "saved" recently,
it's in catastrophic condition, but already stored, awaiting restauration. What's with SLO-Maxes? First thing you notice is the long snout. Also the bumpers make an ugly picture out
of it. Not to mention the windshield and rollbars. Back then it was still Yugoslavia and some strange laws were around. If you stripped an engine youhad to "a-test" it again (TUV). People were discouraged from going on and went for a horrible nose instead of meddling with the engine and earn an engine atest. Rollbars, well, it seems that there is not a single capable blacksmith around to bend the metal into a decent shape?
I don't know, come to think of it...
You gather a nice sum of money, work, invent, you're alone, there is no other car like this in Slovenia, you invent some more, then you "a-test" it, they want your blood for every
tiny error you made (after all - they suck blood from Mescedes as well - and they are in business for the third century, ain't they?), and at the end you end up with a two-seater with a trunk big enough for two sleeping bags with phenomenal acceleration and fuel efficiency of a Zippo lighter And you say to yourself... For three grand I can get a BX! Yeah, but as I drive my black BX thing down town, people don't stop anymore, they don't congratulate me for the berautiful car, they don't ask what year it is... I'm quite glad, that for this ego-trip I still have my Ami 8. It's not a Lomax, it tends to rust, so I keep it in the garage and "rainwash" the BX instead.
So it goes. The only 2CV's still in production are Meharis and Lomaxes. First as accurate replicas of a stock car and Lomax as a car company of its own, making its cars using
2CV engines. If you want a new 2CV, this is about it - there won't be any others for a while. Until maybe in some 20 years, somebody starts serial production of 2CV replicas.
This is not an attempt to make a 2CV-ish roadster, it's a roadster that was given the breath of life by 2CV. Lomax has many admirers (alas not in Slovenia) that like it for the same reasons as we love our 2CV's: it's not modern, not a "real" veteran, not elegant, not comfortable. But it's cosy, it's got a big heart and soul, you easily fall in love with it and it wins eternal simpathies after a few metres of driving.