Stratton Evora GTs

[PaulCP]

3 hours ago, 21gg said:

 The attitude of the owner would put me off personally dealing with them unless I had to

Gav

So he’s not changed in 17 years then. When I was looking at buying a new Elise back in 2002 he refused to let me sit in one in the showroom, let alone a test drive, unless I was committed to buying that day.

I swore then that I would never give them any business despite them being my nearest dealer & have never been back since.

 

[bosshog]

I think the owner must be in his 70's pr 80's now. I don't think you'll find him at the dealership anymore day to day at least. I had a really good chat with one of the service guys and it was very interesting indeed. I have a new respect for them and what they can do. Very talented lot there, with some serious depth of knowledge (especially around Aston Martin). 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Let's look at the cars themselves.

Firstly they are unquestionably GTEs from the original 2011/12 batch. As far as I can make out, we now have the following GTEs potentially on the road:

20 re-worked cars by Lotus Motorsport (sold as GT350). All numbered 1 - 20. Evora S mechanicals, so 345 bhp.

1 additional car sold by LM to theKevlarKid initially for track-only use, since switched to 5 stud hubs and road-registered. Swindon engine fitted and originally dyno'd at 385 bhp.

5 now Stratton GTs. Swindon engine fitted with claimed ca. 430 bhp with uprated ECU and standard manual gearbox.

1 yellow car exhibited by Mansory at Geneva 2019. Origin unknown.

So back to the Stratton GTs. These were the five left-over chassis, after Lotus had selected the best 20 cars to re-work in 2014/15 and sold the track-only car to theKevlarKid. It was originally expected that these five would be cannibalized for spares to support the 20 GT350s. Stratton made JMG an offer to buy the five car package including other spares, which was accepted by Lotus. Since then two or three years have passed. These five cars are now available for sale on single type approval basis, after a lengthy period of development  at prices starting from  GBP 70,000 + VAT = GBP 84,000.

I have only seen one car face-to-face. That was the dark green one parked up at the Lotus 70 event at Hethel last September. It had the presence of the LM cars, but didn't give the impression of being a brand new car. The c/f rear wing for example looked very weathered and faded.  I think one or two c/f parts had been replaced (lip spoiler?). Of course the car may have been better prepared since then.

Now the price. GBP 84,000 is towards the upper end of what most paid for their 2014/15 GT350s. I bought mine direct from Lotus for GBP 79,200. Clearly you're getting an uprated engine from Stratton (although at least two GT350s have been uprated with equivalent Komo-Tec EV430 kits for about 5 grand). However, the cars themselves are now already 7 - 8 years old and have been standing outside for much of their lives. Some questioned the wisdom of the GT350 owners buying a car that had previously been stored outside for 2 - 3 years. Nevertheless, when compared to the list price for a new GT430, then the Stratton price doesn't seem high.

Next the warranty. We GT350 buyers only got a 6 month factory warranty. During that period, my car needed a new instrument pack and a new air-conditioning condenser: both pricey jobs if outside warranty. Some months later my gearbox exploded. With JMG's agreement, Lotus provided a free-of-charge replacement part (apparently an original development GTE unit), but I had to pay for installation. Since then the car has been fine. For me the Stratton offered 12 month warranty on the proviso that all servicing/repair work is carried out by them seems absolutely fair and is twice as long as Lotus offered. The outside Lotus dealership network has no connection to Stratton, so any warranty work for the vehicles they re-work has to stay in house. Don't forget that it was the warranty issue that encouraged Lotus to switch the GT350s to standard Evora S mechanicals. JMG didn't want them all coming back with expensive broken Swindon engines and automated manual gearboxes. As a new owner, you would just have to factor in a trip or two to Stratton during that first year only.

In conclusion, I think that both the Stratton price and warranty conditions are fair. If I was in the market, I would want to go over each car with a fine toothcomb before making a decision. Alternatively I would be looking at an original second-hand LM car: in reality the same age, any gremlins would have been ironed out, most are still very low mileage and you can always uprate them with a KT kit if you wish. Mine's not for sale though. 

[TheKevlarKid]

Roger still works, I stood talking to him only last week in their showroom. 

Didn't look at the 5 cars they have in any detail but the frosted white one looked lovely from what I could see.

Btw, age discrimination is just as bad as race or sex discrimination in my book. Just because someone's in their 20's doesn't mean they're incompetent. Next time you watch Formula One, take a good look at the technicians working in the garages on multi-million pound cars. 90% of them are in their 20's....

Okay so the chassis are old but the car is essentially new. What else can you buy for 85k that has the road presence, power and exclusivity of 1/30 cars?

 

[TheKevlarKid]

On 06/03/2019 at 16:33, scotty435 said:

They are all going to be fitted with a new wheel design they are just waiting for the delivery of them from the supplier.

Do you know if they have ordered any extra sets? 

[scotty435]

Sorry don’t know 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

So 6 months on and with summer drawing to a close it looks like Strattons still haven’t sold any of their five reworked “GTs”. All are still advertised on their website at their original March prices (four at £84k and Swizzy’s at £89k). I would have thought they might have sold a couple abroad with the LHD layout and weak Sterling. I also notice they advertise 18” and 19” wheels, rather than the 19” and 20” of the Lotus Motorsport cars. I wonder what the future holds for them: they’re about 8 years old already and still haven’t found an owner yet.

[scotty435]

I have only seen 4 advertised seems to be one missing somewhere i think it must be the one that was at the 70th at Hethel in green I seem to remember it definitely was in a shabby condition. 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

All five are listed for sale. Go on to Stratton’s website, select Lotus any model from the drop down menu and it gives 15 entries. The five GTs are all still there including the green one.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Just checked Stratton’s website again. All 5 are still advertised for sale at the original March prices. Winter’s now fast approaching and Sterling has since strengthened against the Euro to help put off any potential continental clients, so these cars could be standing idle for a lot longer now. I am amazed that they seemingly still haven’t found a single buyer. Maybe buying up all those parts and building these cars wasn’t such a good business venture for SMC after all? Apart from their own website, they could have perhaps made a more widespread marketing drive, so that more people know they exist. For example get them featured on Pistonheads, in magazines, post a video, lend one to a youTuber or something.

[BatMobile]

I can't see these selling, as I stated before their release. too many red flags for anyone to seriously consider - if they were cheaper then you'd take a punt but at this price, add £10k and find an original.....

[LeglessAlex]

8 minutes ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

Apart from their own website, they could have perhaps made a more widespread marketing drive, so that more people know they exist. For example get them featured on Pistonheads, in magazines, post a video, lend one to a youTuber or something.

I had no idea they existed until I stumbled upon them a week or so ago. I would have loved one if I had known, but none are IPS it seems. Still, that green one is gorgeous to my eyes, I have always loved the GTE widebody shape. 

[The Pits]

I'd love to do a back to back comparison video with the GT430 if Stratton were interested.

Used GT430 or a new Stratton GT? Impossible to call without driving the GT but best guess is that it would be close.

[freefall_junkie]

The thing which marks out the Stratton cars as a complete no-no to me is that they appear to use a simply massive hub spacer on the rear rather than the longer wishbones. That is surely going to knacker the rear wheel bearings in short order and I'd be concerned about the possible impact on handling. On an 84 grand car? Eh, no, I'll pass thanks! I fully expect these cars to be still for sale come the spring with a much reduced price tag.

[C8RKH]

I think it would be worthwhile Stratton getting some new wishbones cast. The moulds must be around and current GTE owners would I am sure be relieved to know some spares existed for the future. Maybe a motorsport outfit could take on?

[TheKevlarKid]

On 12/11/2019 at 19:00, The Pits said:

I'd love to do a back to back comparison video with the GT430 if Stratton were interested.

Used GT430 or a new Stratton GT? Impossible to call without driving the GT but best guess is that it would be close.

much wider track of the gte makes it far more stable under braking and cornering.  

3 hours ago, freefall_junkie said:

The thing which marks out the Stratton cars as a complete no-no to me is that they appear to use a simply massive hub spacer on the rear rather than the longer wishbones. That is surely going to knacker the rear wheel bearings in short order and I'd be concerned about the possible impact on handling. On an 84 grand car? Eh, no, I'll pass thanks! I fully expect these cars to be still for sale come the spring with a much reduced price tag.

They never used longer wishbones on the rear only the front (which strattons have a pair to copy if needed).

The spacers they are using on the rear are because they ran out of the GTE wheels with lower offsets and have used a set of standard evora wheels. 

A bespoke set of forged wheels with the correct offsets will come in around the 4-5k mark. The Stratton GT's have been for sale for a while now, i bet if you haggled you could get the cost of a set of bespoke wheels off the purchase price... 

[TheKevlarKid]

On 12/11/2019 at 16:26, BatMobile said:

I can't see these selling, as I stated before their release. too many red flags for anyone to seriously consider - if they were cheaper then you'd take a punt but at this price, add £10k and find an original.....

these are the original GTE cars, they still have their Swindon engines in them... you mean one of the factory re-worked cars 

[BatMobile]

I don't want to say too much but yes, I will buy a Lotus Evora gte not a Stratton gte. 

[The Pits]

@TheKevlarKid Have you ever tried/driven a car with the Swindon V6? I'd love to know how they compare to the standard V6 SC and indeed the GT430 if you've been out in one yet. Stability under braking is absolutely superb in the GT430 so any improvement on that would be quite something. While we're at it, did anyone ever weigh a GTE?

Someone has put one of the 3.8 Cosworth V6 GT4 NA engines in the back of an Exige V6 CupR. Sounds absolutely glorious, as good as you'd hope. It competes in the CSCC series, I've raced it a few times. Very quick car, usually gets the better of the M3 race cars that it competes against and they're years ahead in terms of development.

[Bravo73]

4 hours ago, The Pits said:

@TheKevlarKid Have you ever tried/driven a car with the Swindon V6?

Hasn’t he got a Swindon V6 sitting on his shelf? IIRC, it came out of his (2nd) GTE. 

[The Pits]

Can't remember exactly but if anyone has driven one it's probably him. Hopefully he'll be along soon once he's finished buffing his gold 211!

 

[21gg]

I belive Gavs red GTE does have a swindon engine but running a lotus ecu and standard pully so 385 bhp from memory. 

Didnt JayEmm drive the standard Evora that they droped a swindon engine in? 

[TheKevlarKid]

I've driven both GTE with Swindon 385hp tune and a GT430 on track at Croft (my local).

Both great cars to drive and very rewarding and well balanced when you hook them up. It wasn't a back to back test unfortunately so couldn't comment on the extra power of the 430 but it  didn't feel any faster than the GTE tbh. I think what the 430 has on the straights the gte makes back up on the brakes and in the corners. The extra width the GTE is noticeable in the braking zones, turn in and mid corner, it just feels a more stable platform (and so it should being 100mm+ wider...).

There were a couple of things I didn't like about the 430, mainly it's valved exhaust. The car I drove had the titanium exhaust and was far too loud for the trackday we were on, we were having to short shift coming out of Sunny where the sound equipment is. We were fine everywhere else but when booting it you seem to be always waiting for the change in exhaust tone as the valve opened and closed. It reminded me of a NA 2zz exige/elise with a cam change... It was a little off-putting tbh. I'd have to change that out for a non-valved exhaust. 

Other thing that shocked me was the weight of the tail gate. Considering its full carbon it weighed a bloody tonne opening it up.... No damper assistance and a crappy stick to hold it up. No, no, no...

Still not sure ot the height of the rear wing, looks out of place a little, I'm sure it's. Very effecti 've up that high though but just doesn't sit right from all angles.

Only other negative comment was the crappy "GT430" sticker on the steering wheel... who put that on 125k car?? I peeled it off as it was bubbling... It looked shockingly terrible I have to say!!

However, at 85k that you can now pick one up for, they are a cracking buy!!

 

 

Ps. Gold 2-11 was finished last year, it now lives in Tasmania!! 

Edited November 15, 2019 by TheKevlarKid

[C8RKH]

The GT430 carbon bootlid has extra internal reinforcement over the standard carbon ducktail and I am sure the spoiler and supports add a lot of weight too. The same carbon ducktail (without the spoiler etc) on my Evora 410 sport is very light.

I keep looking at that blue GT430 at £85k but think there must be an issue with it at that price. However the green/yellow gte AT £70K...... OMG.....

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

The green/yellow GTE is not for sale at £70k. That’s just the low estimate click-bait on-line auction guide price, ending 21.11.19. The car was recently up for normal sale at about £100k. My guess is that it would sell at somewhere between the two, or end up a No Sale and reappear again later on.