JayEmm

Crikey that's a long time ago! An HPI search or CarVertical should tell you what plates it has worn in the past. Would love to be of help but not sure how I can

I know - they usually got external support from Lotus! Hethel's R&D and vehicle development capability was legendary worldwide, I know over at McLaren they also do masses of consulting even on non-automotive projects to keep the coffers topped up

Call me a cynic (and many have) but if they hired a crack team of expert salespeople, went to all the right places, got talking to the people who had cash to splash and still failed to find buyers - I'd call that proof they didn't do their market research, because they asked the market and it said no thankyou. The missing piece of the puzzle is what happened with Williams. I'm told that's a major reason for the delay. I personally think it's tragic that a company with the engineering expertise and history of Lotus would go to a (historic) F1 rival to help develop their Halo car. I also can't help but shake the feeling (cynic again) that the argument might have been over that old Lotus classic - an unpaid bill!

FWIW, I do hate the term.

The only people I'd let near it would be Lotus

My car weighed 1445kg, with my lightweight seats in it, but with some slightly heavier stereo kit - and a full tank of fuel. @The Pits is correct I foolishly thought that when Lotus said "1395kg with a full tank of fuel" they meant "1395kg with a full tank of fuel" not "1395 with no fuel at all". (/sarcasm) At this kind of weight I think 20-25kg out is perfectly acceptable, 50kg for a company who claims "light is right" is not. However, I think we all know where these slightly optimistic numbers came from and I have to applaud the Lotus team for updating their website with more realistic figures and ditching their somewhat disingenuous practice of using a mix of wet and dry weights. The fact is Jonny's 430 IS a genuine 80KG lighter than my old car, and that is impressive considering how well refined the 430s still are, and the extra kit they carry (oil cooler etc as mentioned). If you want to see some factory numbers which are hilariously inaccurate, look up the modern breed of Astons, or Lamborghinis.

Engaging reverse could be difficult for me too. Ironically the gearshift was one thing in my car I always loved, then a useful tech decided to perform some "adjustment" without me asking and after that it never liked going into reverse easily. Or sometimes first either if the car had stood for a bit

@Colin P is right - leather and material quality took a big dive from S1 > 400. My original seat bolster was wearing within 6000 miles (that's ignoring the fabled creaking issue early 400s suffered from). Looks nice though.

The leather Lotus used on the 400's wheels was pretty cheap and not well suited to the task, my red 12 o'clock stripe started to fade within the first year. I had the wheel retrimmed by Royals at a very reasonable cost and had no problems after that.

Lotus have form for making very safe cars. @MJK will proudly tell you the Elite won the Don Safety trophy in 1976 - an award so prestigious I don't believe they gave it out on an annual basis - only when a car was deemed worthy enough of it. The Evora is considerably over-engineered from a safety perspective. Never had any doubts of that when driving mine.

It sheared a bolt on the rear toe arm! Also needs some new front pads The M3 and Evora were both easy to get in and out of. Only a half cage in the Beemer.

Glad to have helped Bob. I saw your car last year when I was filming near Silverstone. Very good choice.

I also experienced the same sensation of "car quicker with exhaust quiet" - perhaps it was just a placebo as you hear all the other noises that much more?

Nice colour choice. I'm with Dave too, non-black pack is rather nice on the 400 and quite rare.

I used the sugru stuff in the end, the scoops weren't a perfect fit unfortunately. I don't know if they were Elise shop ones though as I bought them from someone here. I think they'd have looked better painted black on my car.

If it helps, I do think the 380 in a gonzo colour is the best looking Exige made, with the possible exception of the LF1

@pete757 I am certainly sad to part with it, as I had a connection with it I'll likely never have again. I doubt I'll be able to afford another new car. At some point in the new year I hope to be re-united with the old girl, then it will be interesting to see how the car feels after a while out of the saddle.

Just to add for consideration, are you going to track the car? Exhaust on the 380 too noisy for many track days and you'll hate getting rid of it as it sounds so glorious. @Stratton Motor Company currently have a blue 380 in which looks stunning. No doubt Alex there would be happy to talk to you about your V6

I can confirm @Loquacious Lew does indeed get a big kick out of his 400

Are you playing on the XB1 X or whatever they call it? Rockstar traditionally have "meh" graphics for me, but make up for it in the gameplay and story.

At 400 hp, 10hp is well within what you would consider a reasonable margin of error. Most manufacturers would say you could take two motors - both "400bhp" and for one to make 400, one to make 410 would not be unusual, at all. I'm not surprised that the two are the exact same. I've always been more interested in how genuine the weight saving of the 410/430 is. But I don't know anyone who has weighed one to compare with what I got when I weighed mine. The lap time improvements of the 430 are going to be from the improved aero, stickier rubber, stiffer suspension - that kind of stuff. Makes a far bigger difference than the extra 30hp ever could.

85%? Every time I've gotten in an Esprit I've gone "Christ this is much bigger than you expect"

I went in there once, under Bahar - before I had any real involvement in Lotus, and back then I was curious how they could even afford such a store. The last couple of visits were absolutely heartbreaking - I felt it was a PR disaster right in the heart of our capital an I thought spending a little on making it look nice would have been a wise thing to do..... but seeing as they could not be arsed I am glad it's now closed.

@CocoPops also went from Evora 400 to Elise, he may be able to help out?

From memory, when I got my 400 and there weren't many around (not that we're drowning in them now, mind) I was unusual in that I was one of the people who didn't have kids to put in the back! That being the case I found the rear storage area very useful compared to a Porker as it was flat, unlike the very odd shape of the 911 (due to the huge transmission hump)