Type 130 - Lotus Evija

[webfoot]

14 minutes ago, Hello Paul said:

Nope, that's just a wide angle lens on a crappy phone distorting the back end. I have some gorgeous 8K(!) RED camera footage here showing that exact yellow car looking nicely proportioned at the back. And no, I'm not going to post any of it here!

Phew... that's good, the long tail distortion doesn't look nice to my eyes.

[stephenwhyte]

I love it and really admire the effort that’s gone into it. I really do believe that the Evija will be much admired for many years to come......Lotus have played a blinder!👌😎

[Bibs]

[MadMick]

Hope this is not ominous for the Evija? Just started saving for mine ( may get there by 2098!!)

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/williams-lotus-launch-multi-million-123342800.html

[Hello Paul]

I'm planning to pop along to Stratton Motors next Friday to take a peek at the Evija. I have a theory about cars in photos and real life:
Dull cars look better in photos/on video than in real life.
Exciting cars look better in real life and photos/video just can't capture the drama.

[mdavies]

Having acted as expert witness in more than one multi-million case between big outfits - really big, much more so than Williams and Lotus (though perhaps not bigger than Geely in one case) - I can vouch for how juicy the details can be that each party unearths from the dirty laundry baskets of the other through the stages of the formal "disclosure" process.

When purely commercial parties are involved, whether details "leak out" likely depends on whether it is in the interests of both parties to remain silent. One or the other may judge that there is no reason for silence on their part.  From the fact that a fairly descriptive outline has emerged - the Telegraph also had the story - it would seem that the latter is the case.  The sequence of the news report and the statement by Lotus would also seem to indicate who did what here, assuming that it was one of the parties, rather than an extremely well connected reporter. 

Could be fireworks to come!

Edited September 3, 2020 by mdavies

[Bibs]

[Bibs]

[Bibs]

[jonwat]

Steve Cropley: No-one wins in Lotus Evija legal battle

[Alfa2Evora]

I had a 'by invitation only' viewing today at the new Scottish dealer, Parks of Hamilton.

What can I say other than various slightly used body parts, such as a kidney, a lung and part of my liver, will be appearing for sale on Fleabay in due course, 😜 .

 

[stephenwhyte]

It’s a beautiful thing for sure - I was shocked at how good it looked in real life. The design team must be so proud of their work!👏👏😎 Even my other half loved it👍

[hedgerley]

Pictures don't do it justice. Quite an astonishing piece of kit. I did fit but it was very awkward getting in an out despite a bigger door opening and more space than my Esprit. Then it dawned on me, left hand drive. 15 years muscle memory wiped out. Leading with my right leg felt most peculiar. So I'll pass I think, if there's no right hand drive 😄

[Bee]

I know ... LHD only!

 

I don't want to sound unsupportive of my favourite car company by far, but there's a certain sour taste left in the mouth when the phrases 'British hypercar' and 'LHD only' end up applying to the same motoring product. 

[C8RKH]

I had not realised it was LHD only. That really is a poor showing to be honest.

The Evija is stunning, I cannot believe RHD would have been that hard.

[hedgerley]

I was watching Supercar Megabuild on National Geographic yesterday. Couple of guys brought a Camero over from the States. Amongst several performance and handling upgrades they converted it to RHD. Hugely complex of course and needed a whole new dash imported from Australia (!) but here's the thing. The biggest issue they had was the routing of the steering column and rack round the the engine and exhaust system. None of which is present in a BEV of course. And with such a simple interior and drive by wire, I would have thought doing both RHD and LHD Evijas would not be a huge challenge for Lotus, surely, even at such a low volume.

[stephenwhyte]

I would be amazed, that if Lotus found themselves in a situation where someone stepped forward with the funds, they wouldn’t accommodate RHD. But maybe the harsh reality is, the buyers of the Evija will unlikely ever be from the UK.
Given we were told by Lotus at the Park’s unveil that 50% of orders so far, are going to the USA market (which is incredible given the car hasn’t had a chance to show itself off there yet!) and the others to the Far & Middle East, it’s also understandable why it’s going to be a production run of LHD.
This a Halo car to open new markets - I personally think they’ve done an amazing job with that goal in mind - the Evija really is putting Lotus on the map again and at long last, in a positive light once more👏🏻👏🏻

[Bibs]

57 minutes ago, stephenwhyte said:

(which is incredible given the car hasn’t had a chance to show itself off there yet!)

https://www.thelotusforums.com/latest-news/lotus-cars-news/lotus-blossoms-at-monterey-car-week-with-evija-public-debut-and-significant-sales-success-for-electric-hypercar/

[stephenwhyte]

1 minute ago, Bibs said:

https://www.thelotusforums.com/latest-news/lotus-cars-news/lotus-blossoms-at-monterey-car-week-with-evija-public-debut-and-significant-sales-success-for-electric-hypercar/

I meant that it never did the FULL proposed North American tour👍

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, stephenwhyte said:

But maybe the harsh reality is, the buyers of the Evija will unlikely ever be from the UK.

Plenty of Bugatti's. Koeniggsegg and other £1m+++ cars sold in the UK so don't agree with that quote unless the UK buyers would NEVER buy Lotus.  

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Wasn’t the UK’s previous hypercar the McLaren P1 LHD only?

[hedgerley]

Several sales in the UK have been mentioned but most are in the States as you'd expect. Whilst some buyers are fussing about the gold inlay in the nose badge, some have seen it as a technology step change and are keen to add it to their collection as it is likely to be 'historically significant'. And most intend to use it every day 😊

[stephenwhyte]

6 minutes ago, hedgerley said:

Several sales in the UK have been mentioned but most are in the States as you'd expect. Whilst some buyers are fussing about the gold inlay in the nose badge, some have seen it as a technology step change and are keen to add it to their collection as it is likely to be 'historically significant'. And most intend to use it every day 😊

That’s a tad strange as I asked Ian Gorsuch (Head of VIP Relations for Lotus) on Friday at the Park’s display, specifically how many orders for the Evija had come from the UK.....and he told me none up to this point.

Maybe a couple of orders have come in from when I saw the car on Fri and you seeing it. Us (well those technically) filthy rich Scots know a bargain when they see one clearly......😉

[Barrykearley]

On 19/09/2020 at 15:35, hedgerley said:

Then it dawned on me, left hand drive. 15 years muscle memory wiped out. Leading with my right leg felt most peculiar. So I'll pass I think, if there's no right hand drive 😄

If I was lucky enough to get in one - they’d need more than a covid antiviral wipe round after that’s for sure 😍

[stephenwhyte]

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

Plenty of Bugatti's. Koeniggsegg and other £1m+++ cars sold in the UK so don't agree with that quote unless the UK buyers would NEVER buy Lotus.  

Difference with those you’ve quoted......they’ve had a Marketing Team peddling their goods to get them recognised. Lotus have only just stepped aboard that particular vessel....