Beaujolais Dom

See also the "Bronze Evora - Hunted on the BBC" thread in the "Spotted" forum. It's great to see the marque getting some increased profile again. Anything that increases visibility and awareness of the marque should be celebrated, particularly with the current uncertainty around the marque. Let's just be thankful that the Lotus name is getting out there again, and not spend so much time taking pot shots at each other - I assume that as members of this forum, we are all on the same team.

Here's one photo Owen

A good day out yesterday - well organised event, good crowds, should have raised quite a bit for the charity. A good selection of Lotuses on the stand - Elises (S1 & S2), a brace of Excels, an Elan, a Europa (modern version), several Esprits (4 cylinder and V8), and an Evora. And of course, on track, the new Exige V6, which, having been for a ride round the circuit in it, I can certify is awesome. Hope the guys in the orange S2 Exige are OK after the ambition/talent equation went wrong and the car can be repaired. If I can work out how to resize photos, I will post some!

Really looking forward to this now. Big thanks to Owen and Garry for organising. V6 Exige confirmed with one of the Lotus development drivers at the helm - I may have to invest a session!

Apparently Lotus are bringing an Exige V6 along (it'll be price category A for a ride). Should be a good day!

Many happy returns, Guy

I'm still up for it.

How late do you boys normally stay? I could get over from the deep Fens for about 9:30

Good stuff, Owen. Thanks for organising!

I'd quite possible be up for it. Evora S

Love the front bumper/splitter - anyone know if it went through a windtunnel during the design phase? Or how much it would cost as an aftermarket option?

The more I read, the more I get the impression that DRB just don't understand what it is they have bought in acquiring Lotus. Which, in these uncertain times, and at a time when Lotus was attempting to relaunch itself, scares the bejesus out of me. I have to say I didn't think Swizz Beatz, Brian May and Naomi Campbell were the most astute choice of "celebrities" Lotus could have chosen to try and raise their profile, but given what has happened (or rather, singularly failed to happen) recently, suddenly a lot of Dany Bahar's ideas actually don't look quite so off the wall.... I am sure that the public perception of Lotus has risen off the back of this year's F1 campaign, and as GTracing gains traction ansd a wider audience, there is the appeal of being able to buy a road car that looks like the race car. Lotus' amazing history it just that - history. It needs new success on the racetrack to bring it to a new audience and break out of the "enthusiast" niche. The Regent Street store, the "brand" as a "lifestyle" - just look at how much money Ferrari make from merchandising...people buy a keyring and feel they are buying into those intangibles of brand, lifestyle and heritage. It's a necessary step to complement the motorsport campaign. Celebrity endorsements and product placement - simple fact is, it works...if you get it right. Sharon Stone unveiling the new Esprit in the States and working that Basic Instinct vibe - right. Swizz Beatz et al....hmmmm. After the abhorrence of the BMW years (not that it did BM's sales any harm!), Bond is back in Astons...he used to drive an Esprit. Richard Gere picked up (solicited?!) Julia Roberts in a Lotus - let's get that kind of profile going again. At the risk of being branded a heretic, I even kind of got the Mansory tie up - yes, they're not known for their taste but I thought their takle on the Evora was actually quite good (and restrained for Mansory!) I hope DRB have the nerve to follow through on the investment made by Proton over the last few years and do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Some of the new models had world beating potential, and some of Dany Bahar's marketing/PR/profile ideas were based on sound modern business principles and should be followed through. .

I made the switch from a Europa S to Evora S earlier this year, and I'm hooked - the handling, agility, power and exhaust note coupled with the classy feel of the MY2012 interior (by far the best Lotus have ever done) and the amazingly supple ride - a lot of bang for your buck, in my opinion. Every time I get behind the wheel feels like a real occasion, and the car has attracted nothing but favourable comment whereever it goes. I love the rarity (even if resale values don't!). The timing of Evora's launch couldn't have been worse (niche manufacturer launching new product into a sector it had been out of for a few years into the teeth of a recession...), and it was a shame that it wasn't launched in S, MY2012 spec, from the off, as it seems to have been tainted from the initial impressions at launch. What Lotus need to do is work out their marketing strategy to actually sell them and get people out of 911s, Caymans, TT RS-es etc - and for that you do need the profile of F1 and sportcar racing and, much as it was derided, Dany Bahar's ideas about making Lotus a lifestyle, aspirational brand. I now feel I have worked my way up the range the classic way - when I was young free and single, I had a Elise S1, the classic boys' toy. Then as I got a bit older (and less flexible!), the Europa S with the full leather interior enabled me to still access the amazing performance but with the rough edges of the Elise smoothed off; now easing into middle age with the possible prospect of family life and I have a fantastic looking, handling, driving car which is a great car to do long distances in and can, when the time comes, take kiddie seats!

Damn! Something has come up at work so will have to give it a miss. Will keep an eye out for the next one

Apologies, this is my first visit for ages (sorry, Bibs) - it's been a traumatic year. Where to start with the recent travails of Lotus? Is it the usual cyclical Lotus "crisis every 5 years or so", or is it more fundamental than that? For what my opinions are worth: 1) Moxie (on about page 5 of this thread) was spot on: Bahar was a talented marketing guy (by all accounts he did great things at Ferrai and Red Bull in that role) BUT not the right guy/calibre for CEO - should have been appointed as CMO of Group Lotus under a tough CEO or Executive Chairman (if you're going to chuck monay at that sort of role, persuade Bob Lutz to come aboard in the role, not in some woolly advisory board role (that's not fish or foul - no company on any continent really knows what an adviosry board is)); having said appoint him as CMO, get some aggressive people under him - Naomi Campbell is, to many people, damaged goods after the "blood diamonds" trial (and let's not forget, that was a war crimes trial, which is never good PR), Brian May, guitar legend though he is, will evoke the response of Who the f%$k is he with most of Lotus' target audience (how long ago were Queen in the charts?), likewise Swizz Beatz ... get some people in who understand the product, the demographic and the wherewithal to crack on and get stuff done - think Esprit in Bond movies, Esprit in Pretty Woman, Esprit in Basic Instinct, Esprit in pop videos....; 2) I'm a bit concerned about the early posts going into microscopic detail on the powertrain for the new Esprit....and none about the looks! The concept launched in Paris was, to my eyes, unimaginiative and derivative; very "me too" - it simply showed where Lotus had been on a hiring spree, and at a stroke discarded a design language which Lotus had developed over decades, and which at least had some distinctive design cues; the original Esprit was breathtaking in its time, and to my eye the Peter Stevens redesign still cuts it as a "wow, what is that?!" design when you see one in the flesh; 3) Lotus much launch a new Esprit, whether that is with the bespoke platform/powertrain of the Bahar plan or as a SERIOUS development of the Evora platform - the Elise platorm has been stretched as far as it can with any credibility - Lotus needs to get away from the "Emperor's New Clothes" gags which follow its special editions; 4) I don't know what the ins and outs are with the F1 team, but Lotus F1 are doing bloody well (all things considered) in the F1 World Championship - for god's sake make some PR/marketing mileage out of it! Someone has paid a lot of money to be knocking on Ferrari's door in the constructors' championship - for f&"k's sake cash in on it!!!! 5) Following on from the above, for the foreseeable future, Evora is the flagship model - accept this and capitalise on it - it is, in MY2012 form, a fantastic car - make some noise about that!! - read and regurgitate the reviews! Let's see more proactivity on the PR/martketing (and I accept they are subtly different disciplines) 6) Elise must survive. It's a truism that you have an entry level hook for the younger single guy to engage him with the more aspirational, "family friendly" models in the range, so that when the flock flies the nest, he buys the 2 seat halo model as a reward to himself and his other half. Hell, it's how Lotus got me (together with growing up in the 70s and 80s when Team Lotus were stillwinning stuff) - I have had Elise S1, Europa S and now Evora S and loved them all... 7) Continue with the GT race programme, but focus on which series will get factory support - GT racing is rapidly growing in profile and credibility - decide which series to concentrate on in terms of profile/coverage - new Esprit v McLaren MP4/Mercedes SLS et al? - those series are getting more and more TV and magazine coverage, and having been to some events there is a definite appetite among the people who have paid through the nose for a ticket a) for a silhouette that looks like what they can aspire to in the showroom and b) the open paddocks they have at GT races; 8) (penultimate point, I promise) Where DB was spot on was in exploiting (ugly word, I know, but let's be realistic about the commercial necessities of the world we live in) Lotus' heritage. At my last job I was known as a sports nut and on the first day of the Olympics posed the question of which is the only car maker to have won F1, Indy, World Rally, Le Mans...and an Olympic gold medal. I have a subscription to Autosport, and am pleasantly surprised by the number of race previews for the current championship in which "Lotus" features among the top 4 or 5 winning manufacturers. Lotus has a history of achievement, a heritage, which frankly other manufacturers would have wet dreams about and cannot compete with (BMW of a few years ago "the ultimate driving machine" - do me a favour!). For god's sake Lotus - you may not have much cold hard cash in the banks, but in terms of PR collateral you can take to those banks, you have assets other manufacturers would kill for - cash in on it! 9) Last point - honest! Given the current uncertainty around the longer term, sorry but there is no alternative but to push current product - Elise, Exige V6 (for god's sake the development cost is all but incurred now anyway, so finish it off and start selling it to bank some cash) and Evora/Evora S - I am lucky enough to drive a MY2012 Evora S and it's superb - Lotus Just need to dpread the message, and Swizz Beatz is not the right messenger - it needs to be someone potential Evira buyers have heard of, and that's more likely to be Coldplay or a mainstream, current, movie star (see Basic Instinct above....) I have no doubt that, in the words of Richard Burton in Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" "minds immeasurably superior to our own" have no doubt already considered my opinions above, but on the off chance they haven't, I throw them into the mix....