WTF!

[campbell]

He meant 1.4 TDI.

[GraemeLotus]

Don't waste a fortune getting them aproved in the US for f*ck all return, whilst at the same time getting saddled by their emmissions regs and their daft safty 'double-side' orange repeaters etc etc etc

Nope a 1.4 - 2 seater coupe that costs £15k

They have G now, I hear someone bought a white Evora in Atlanta, only one in North America.

1.4 @ £15k that gets handed its ass by a Zetec Fiesta in a straight line? I get your ethos but the original 20k S1 price point worked back in 96.

...and afraid the chances of an Elise at £17k new are somewhat killed by 2012 costs of bits!!

[BiggestNizzy]

Since when did lotus start being about straight line speed ?

and You need to find better suppliers

[ryallm]

At first I tought this was a wind up, but that video really is on the Lotus website isn't it? Unbelievable. Who is the complete and utter muppet in Lotus PR who thought this was a good idea? Presumably the same guy who thought it would be fine and dandy to have airhead bimbo Naomi Cambell unveil the new models at the Geneva show. You just couldn't make it up. Must be toe curlingly embarrassing for most Lotus employees.

Mark

[GregR]

So what you're saying, then, is that Lotus should buy Caterham?

Not necessarily, just to know their market and then stick to it. The market at the moment appears to be the sub-40k 'base' spec car. By that I mean the majority of cars they sell will have been the elise and exige variants where the price of a standard no-frills car was £40k. With the Evora they headed up to the big leagues (60k+) where they were found wanting in terms of bang for buck and quality - the car was the same speed or slower (depending on the review you read) than the equivalent price German with noticably worse build quality. I am sorry to say but I think the Esprit will be even worse.

VW took a chance with the Veyron, they sold each car at a loss but they pulled it off and everyone was (and to a degree still is) talking about them. They sold all of them. I imagine if there was to be a lower-price, lower performance Bugatti down the line people would flock to it as the marque has credibility and is synonymous with making what was the fastest car in the world.

Lotus is not a little one-man band in Norfolk thesedays. They're owned by Proton who are likely to be able to take a bit of a gamble given their profits. Why don't they? Perhaps the days of the twin-turbo W16 have passed, but there's still room for innovation.

Why don't proton do a deal with renault on their engines and release a F1-inspired car. All Lotus seem to be good at in terms of F1 piggy-backing is releasing 'tribute' cars to the 1970s! There are two (ostensibly) Lotus F1 teams. Surely there's somethuing that can be done with the R&D or tech from those cars that hasn't previously been seen on a road car?!

Re. the Vikki Beckham partnership at Range Rover - if the car had not beeen a quality product, the world would have laughed as much as they did when she paired up with Dane Bowers. It was/is top quality, therefore it has increased her credibility .. though I doubt it has made a difference to Range Rover other than getting a few more column inches thanks to her involvement.

[woody]

Don't know why you think the Esprit will be worse when the Evora was created with a lot less money under a completely different direction and management team. Looking at the people they've hired, I don't think the issues with the next generation will be the issues usually associated with Lotus. Ditto for the F1 assocations, Bahar is at least trying to forge a new motorsport heratige for the brand, not just continually propping it up on the old one, great though that is.

Nizzy, come on, a £17k Lotus in this day and age, presumably made in the UK, with Lotus volumes? Not likely.


Can't agree more on Swiss though.

[BiggestNizzy]

Nizzy, come on, a £17k Lotus in this day and age, presumably made in the UK, with Lotus volumes? Not likely.

I would shift production of the smaller models (elise and the new 1.4 sport ) to Malaysia with a view to increased production. work on your asian markets with agressive marketting, you can't live off your past motorsport sucsess over there they don't give a sh*t.

[Lazydonkey]

Yes but how many people are crestfallen when you say the elise has a 1.8 engine?

IMHO most people (us excepted) wouldnt buy a 1.4 sportscar as that is deemed a learner spec engine.

Its the same in the bike world - you don't need more than 600cc on the road, but they are deemed "wee" bikes.

[GregR]

Yes but how many people are crestfallen when you say the elise has a 1.8 engine?

Didn't stop the critical acclaim on release and huge success of the car ...

[Corranga]

Yes but how many people are crestfallen when you say the elise has a 1.8 engine?

IMHO most people (us excepted) wouldnt buy a 1.4 sportscar as that is deemed a learner spec engine.

Its the same in the bike world - you don't need more than 600cc on the road, but they are deemed "wee" bikes.

I think Mazda have already proven you wrong there with the 1.3 Rx8.

Make a car than is great to drive, and can set a nice time around the top gear track / get the 3 monkeys raving about it, and you're on to a winner.

Lotus have the whole lightweight and handling thing in their history, and nowadays, that's much more important than F1 World Championships (which belong to Team Lotus anyway...)

I think a 1.4 2 seater coupe would be a fantastic plan, taking the theory behind the 1.6 Elise and stretching it.
As for it being slower than a fiesta / similar, there are plenty cars faster than an mx5 for less money, yet it's still the most popular sports car ever!

Getting back to the original topic, surely it'll be a massively underpowered v8 petrol 4x4 with wheels measured in feet rather than inches that Lotus make next?
The Lotus EaBling.

Chris

[campbell]

Yes but how many people are crestfallen when you say the elise has a 1.8 engine?

Didn't stop the critical acclaim on release and huge success of the car ...

Was typing something similar when my browser ditched it all

Anyhoo, the 1.6 Elise is now credible...stumbled on the EVO review at launch and in many respects it returns Lotus to its "roots" in the original Elise concept of performance and economy through light weight. How much longer before a 1.4 version...perhaps a TSI like VW have proven so successful with...delivers the 150bhp and super-torques us "entry-level" sorts all crave? The Golf GT has 168bhp out a 1.4 twin charged engine.

I think the motoring public is now less concerned with CCs and more awakened to torques (not BHPs) and VFM per mile. Like it or not that is MPG.

Consider this, even one of our most respected SE members has converted his car to a std ratio gearbox with the aim of saving some serious coin during FF this year. Performance, cachet and track ability does not have to come at the expense of sensibleness etc. Look at the proposed VW Bluesport...

When it comes to the powertrain, AutoExpress says that the sexy roadster will be available with the aforementioned 2.0-liter turbodiesel (producing 178 hp in production form), a 1.4-liter TFSI gasoline engine, and the familiar 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine used in various VW and Audi models. Manual and dual-clutch six-speed transmissions will be available.

The 2,650-pound vehicle is expected to shoot to 60 mph in around six seconds and offer combined fuel economy of around 45 mpg with the diesel powertrain.

Lotus will be worryingly aware of the Bluesport, actually, I reckon - if they are not, then their move upmarket is utterly flawed.

Anyway, we are drifing a little. This was about strange personalities becoming affiliated with car promotion and I happen to think this latest "appointment" was a bit off the wall. But if it sells Lotuses to new buyers, and helps the company survive, where's the worry? We are still allowed to buy the things for all the right reasons

Campbell

[BiggestNizzy]

IMHO most people (us excepted) wouldnt buy a 1.4 sportscar as that is deemed a learner spec engine.

Its the same in the bike world - you don't need more than 600cc on the road, but they are deemed "wee" bikes.

Thats exactly what it is - my first sportcar and you can always stick bigger engines in them later for the "hardcore version" I have always felt that if you can produce a good small sportscar that will be cheap to run and insure (so it has to be cheap to repair) it would sell.

If your young living at home with a large disposable income and your going out to buy a new car what do you buy a Vauxhall Corsa ? Ford Fiesta ? no you buy a lotus and in 20 years time when you have a mid life crisis you buy a better one to recapture your youth.

Bread and Butter cars + aspirational models has to be a winner.

[j2 lot]

Bread and Butter cars + aspirational models has to be a winner.

[BiggestNizzy]

Mr Bahar, feel free to pm me for my conultancy rates

[Rich H]

Do what the yanks did with the mustang: a boggo basic version with easy to swap engine options from the factory.

Make the 1.4 model upgradable cheaply and easily to a 1.6, 1.6 turbo, etc.
Then you buy your baby sports car then in a few years buy a factory upgrade kit, drop in a new engine, get a warrantry on said engine, and have the same car with more power.