Stratton Evora GTs

[TheKevlarKid]

On 12/12/2019 at 06:50, 21gg said:

Going off the build details from the guy in canada where he bought the mansory panels, the rear clam wasnt a complete clam. Its was a 'top' panel without the boot structure underneath. They had to separate the old clam and bond the new one on. So the 'outer' panel is carbon with the boot box in fg. The front clam again is carbon with any appendages underneath in fg etc but did come as a complete unit as it would ftom the factory. They are not a layer of carbon skinned over a gf panel.

Not all the front clams of the original cars built were carbon. I have a couple here that were removed from them that are made in f/glass. The red car has a full carbon front clam (you can see the weave in the paint).

Same goes for the doors, nose sections and various other bits. Some were made in full carbon, others in f/glass.

The 20 factory cars only used f/glass panels all round afaik (other than the carbon car), yours may possible have a carbon front clam Gav being the car it is... you can see a glimpse of the bare carbon when you open the doors.

I do remember Lotus saying at the time that the cars that had the carbon panels, door skins etc. were being swapped out for f/glass ones. There were some sets of the full carbon doors being sold off a couple of years ago from the dealer/specialist guy way down in the SW. Phil is it?? They've gone now mind. Stratton may have some tucked away though...

 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by TheKevlarKid

[21gg]

Youre a never ending source of information! You can definitely see a weave in my front clam so presumabley it is carbon? 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Does regular fibreglass bodywork have a light weave pattern? I ask this because in a certain light I can see this under the paintwork on the rear clam of my GTE (#4). I have always assumed that all the painted bodywork was fibreglass, so never examined it too closely.

[TheKevlarKid]

Open the door and inspect the door shut to front clam, you should see a glimpse of the bare carbon during underneath. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by TheKevlarKid

[TheKevlarKid]

Okay so re-read your post, you say carbon rear clam...

 

Fibre glass doesn't usually have a weave no. Get your phone camera and take a picture of the inner face of the rear clam through engine hatch, was if it's carbon you'll see it straight away.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Thanks Gavin. I did your check and there’s no evidence of carbon weave on the underside of the rear clam. I must have just been seeing things.

[Bibs]

On 17/12/2019 at 13:56, The Pits said:

Bibs here is also a pro drone pilot too...

Sounds like fun to me! 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

On 20/12/2019 at 14:52, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Thanks Gavin. I did your check and there’s no evidence of carbon weave on the underside of the rear clam. I must have just been seeing things.

Sorry to dig this up again, but I've just been out in the GTE and again noticed the weave pattern underneath the paintwork on the rear clam. It's very hard to photograph but I gave it a go. Take a look at the diffused tree refelection area in particular on the right hand side of the image. If you zoom in, it's even more noticeable.

I don't notice this effect anywhere else on the bodywork. 

 

[Ratman]

that's why we (where I work) use a different lamination for the painted parts VS the carbon exposed parts.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Thanks Ratman. When I look closely, the rear clam weave pattern becomes noticeable where the bodywork stretches down from the swage line. On the more horizontal upper surfaces (eg. where the fuel filler cap is located), you can't see it at all. However, as the bodywork curves down vertically to the wheel-arch it is quite apparent. Could this be to do with the painting process, eg. the upper section has thicker paintwork than the lower areas?

Here's another photo, taken of the rear right hand side of the car looking back and down. The effect is exaggerated by the building reflection, but you can see how this distorted reflection improves as your eyes move up from the vertical wheel arch area and  up onto the more horizontal upper surface on the right side of the image.

Have any other GTE owners had a close look at that rear haunches of their car?

[Ratman]

usually weave appears due to heath.

I remember one car we made had this problem on the engine cover, where the weave was evident after a run but not the morning after.

now we put a different first layer, to avoid this problem

[acchan]

so strattons’s gt are still on sale, anyone know the new price?

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

From March 2019 until they took the price off the adverts earlier this year they were up at £89000 for the Swizz Beats one and £84000 for the other four. I am sure they would entertain any reasonable offer. Don’t forget that these are now 9 year-old cars, which haven’t driven anywhere for nearly all that time.

[scotty435]

Have they sold any of the five cars?

[acchan]

9 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

From March 2019 until they took the price off the adverts earlier this year they were up at £89000 for the Swizz Beats one and £84000 for the other four. I am sure they would entertain any reasonable offer. Don’t forget that these are now 9 year-old cars, which haven’t driven anywhere for nearly all that time.

I agree with you, the cars are still on sale and there are a lot of suspicion on them... what is the right price for you?

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Maybe £70,000?

[C8RKH]

My own opinion (I know, I have lots of them) is that these will not sell until the price drops to around £60-65k.

They do look great, but they are not the "complete" package the factory built GTE's are with some components being swapped (e.g. wheels) etc. And as someone said earlier, these cars have now been sat around for nearly 9 years so my "worries" would be around how well have some of those parts fared having stood around. For instance, we know the AC compressors etc can and do rust and fail  - if they ain't be running they ain't been lubricated etc etc.

As I said, great looking cars and I'm sure they are well done, but LHD and the "time elapsed" then I'd be putting my money into a GTE, a 410 Sport or a GT410 (or even a GT430 if you can get one as they are around at the £75k mark). Hence, I think £60-65k might work, but nearer the £60k as prospective owners in Europe, say France and Nordics, will get battered for tax on these.

 

[Stratton Motor Company]

8 hours ago, scotty435 said:

Have they sold any of the five cars?

Good morning to everyone on here. We have sold the White Stratton GT and now have 4 left.

[Bruss]

Just my opinion, but they won't sell above 50k.

They are not a Lotus model.

They are old.

They are not supported by Lotus for spares or service.

I wish them well, but I just don't see why anyone would buy one, especially given the gt410 is arguably a better car.

 

Lol, I knew I should have kept quiet.

Well done. 

[C8RKH]

@Stratton Motor Company - congrats, just shows how little us "armchair experts" know! 

[Stratton Motor Company]

15 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

@Stratton Motor Company - congrats, just shows how little us "armchair experts" know! 

Hmmmm... 1 out of 5 in the time we have had them since being built and not properly advertised doesn't seem that good. LOL. Lets be realistic!

The issue we have had with these is that they were never really advertised properly from start which was a fault of ours to start with from day 1. Its such a shame really as these are pretty damn awesome and blisteringly quick.

Lets not beat around the bush either, they are really more aimed at the European Market and to someone that wants something that is as close to a track car as possible whilst still having the opportunity to utilize these beasts on the road if needs be.

We can convert them to right hand drive but the costs involved are ridiculous. I think that if they were right hand drive we may well have sold more but who knows.

So to summarize if someone wants something unique, looks amazing, is fast, trackable, road usable, sounds amazing and wants something hardly anyone else is ever going to have the chance of owning then these are the perfect cars. Its for someone that wants to keep for a long time in their collection and bring out on special occasions.

Trust me these Stratton GT's are pretty special.

[EGTE]

This is spot-on. Loved the concept (GT engine 😍), but the LHD killed it for me.

[Bruss]

So my offer of 50k is rejected then. 😊

[Champale]

If these cars were legal for the USA, I would consider selling both of my kidneys.  The liver stays, though.  

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

So 4 months on since the last post on here and getting on for 2 years since their rebuilds were completed, the remaining 4 of the 5 GTs made are still listed for sale at Stratton. Still POA. Nigh on 10 years since they were originally built and still no buyers. What a waste.