Lotus Type 131 - The Rumour Mill

[Frickin_idiot]

I simply cannot fathom why there is so much negativity. I thought that the presentation was polished and elevated the Lotus brand somewhat. 

If Lotus continue along the same line of the past 20 years there will be no 90th anniversary year, there'll be no Lotus full stop.

[AK70]

Geely is looking for money...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-13/geely-s-sports-car-icon-lotus-said-to-weigh-raising-1-billion

[NedaSay]

If  Geely manage to get that much money from investor for the LOTUS brand after only 3 years at the helm I say kudos to them! They got the company for about 100m that would be huge.

The Hethel campus is looking the part, it's not complete yet but the raft of upgrades is clearly visible.

The new strategy for retails makes sense to me and it will work quite well. it separates retail from aftersale which means that a Lotus and its dealers will be able to open from pop up shops in malls and 4S centres quite easily... that is a plus considering the plan is probably to get a slew of Volvo (worldwide) and Geely (in China)  dealers  on board in a short period of time. the US has many malls that would be suitable for a Lotus store (the return of the Lotus store pioneered clumsily by DB lol) So in a way it lowers the cost for dealers to get on board with the brand and when Lotus can't find a suitable partner they will be able to get going on the cheap to while going at it solo. Volvo/Polestar and Lynk & Co will be doing the same so no real surprise there.

I believe the keynote was part fans, part media, part investors and by doing so they have done rather well. No need to mention numbers they would still be rather small not to say marginal gains, and with the level of investment probably put the company in the red. But that is only logical.

Also they finally went official on the lifestyle platform, bring on the SUV - in 2025, sigh...- that is a year or 3 later than anticipated. Still no images from the Wuhan factory when it is up and gearing up to manufacturer Geely's newest premium brand: Zeekr.

No news on motorsport either but I guess we will have to wait until a few months, probably with or after the unveil of Emira to get more on that.

[mg4lotus]

@Frickin_idiot agree, there is so much negativity on here.

I positively think Lotus will be here to celebrate their 90th. And with Lotus sustainability of 70% of cars still being active, that will surely only get better. It would even put a smile on Greta's face, wouldn't it?

[jonwat]

final combustion car to arrive on 6 July 

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, LotusFella said:

very long wait if we have to wait 18200 years!

What, parts on back order already?  

[ramjet]

My Esprit is 26 years old. They are already a more sustainable car than a Holden. Of the Holdens I have owned over the last 30 years, I doubt that even one of them is still on the road.

And I agree on the negativity. Someone else on TLF said that Lotus seemed to be damned if they and damned if they don't.

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

26 minutes ago, SpeedMatters said:

Maybe the Evora FE will be the sweetest swan song, who knows.

No-one does or ever will unfortunately. Canned.

[SpeedMatters]

They didn't do themselves many favours framing this as the 131 launch.

[Corsu]

The car looks pretty and well-designed, but now I'm a little bit dubious about the French market. The Model V6 will be unsaleable due to the Ecological penalty. I'm talking about a purchase tax of 40,000€ in 2022 and 50,000€ in 2023. (C02> 220g)

Edited April 27, 2021 by Corsu

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

1 minute ago, SpeedMatters said:

They didn't do themselves many favours framing this as the 131 launch.

Did they though?

[ramjet]

It's like a bottle of whiskey.

We have read the label, we just can't taste it yet.  

 

[NedaSay]

 

2 minutes ago, Corsu said:

The car looks pretty and well-designed, but now I'm a little bit dubious about the French market. The Model V6 will be unsaleable due to the Ecological penalty. I'm talking about a purchase tax of 40,000 € in 2022 and 50,000 € in 2023. (C02> 220g)

Hence the 4cyl version...

[Corsu]

The one with the 4cyl seems to be with an automatic gearbox ?

[Likuid]

I am still excited to see what the 131 is. From the sneak peaks we got, it look like it will be a good looking car, but that was the least of my worries.

This video did not increase my hype for the car. Some actual specs , prices, and/or photos would have increased them significantly. I just don't understand dragging it out. I get you want to do a big press reveal and covid might be hindering that, but honestly I think its more important to get some information out at this point. There can still be plenty to reveal at the event.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Likuid

[NedaSay]

Just now, Corsu said:

The one with the 4cyl seems to be with an automatic gearbox ?

Who said that? the Volvo/polestar engine can be fitted with any gearbox, even the venerable BG6 if they so please.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

The best image so far is of the one parked under the cover next to the Evija in Warwick. Does look the business, so I am sure we won’t be disappointed. I just don’t like waiting.

3 minutes ago, NedaSay said:

Who said that? the Volvo/polestar engine can be fitted with any gearbox, even the venerable BG6 if they so please.

I think auto only refers to the AMG unit, but I’m no expert.

[rallyesax]

7 minutes ago, Corsu said:

The car looks pretty and well-designed, but now I'm a little bit dubious about the French market. The Model V6 will be unsaleable due to the Ecological penalty. I'm talking about a purchase tax of 40,000€ in 2022 and 50,000€ in 2023. (C02> 220g)

Yep. We already know we have to keep our V6s here in France. I already had to pay 10 500 € of road taxes when I bought the 400, which put up a total of 107 000€ for the car. 

If they still sale a V6 Emira for about 90 to 100k€, it would now cost 140 000€ minimum.... Screw us. 

[mg4lotus]

What if the CO2 is less than 220g?

[hedgerley]

As has been said, I don't get the negativity, especially over on the Facebook groups. I don't believe we were ever promised a full reveal for the 131. My invites clearly talk about Lotus future strategy. That's what we got, delivered by grown ups, not showmen with great hair and a bunch of C-List celebs. To be honest Matt comes across as a little uninspiring, but I'd rather have a man with a plan, the money and his pedigree in charge. And I can cope with confirmation of the name and a few teasers with the promise of a full launch on 6/5 followed by GFOS.

Lotus now has a very clear strategy with the full backing of shareholders who have invested over £100m already with over £1B to come. The results of that investment are absolutely clear - I found all that coverage very encouraging. And the future is electric - Lotus have literally no choice in the matter and I'd rather have Lotus delivering compelling BEV driving machines than having no Lotus at all. We all know what Lotus can do with the cash they find down the back of the sofa. This level of investment is unprecedented and must surely be welcomed.

Its safe to say Lotus is back and then some. And I for one am very glad.

[mg4lotus]

This is old data but nothing to say that the Emira won't have been developed with improvements and sustainability in mind

Lotus Evora MPG (Fuel Consumption) (car-emissions.com)

[C8RKH]

38 minutes ago, ramjet said:

And I agree on the negativity

Not negativity I hope. But surely healthy sarcasm!

[exeterjeep]

More like disappointment that there was so little about the 131. I was expecting more

[C8RKH]

Just now, exeterjeep said:

More like disappointment that there was so little about the 131. I was expecting more

If you're married you should be used to disappointment so no harm done! 

 

[Corsu]

19 minutes ago, mg4lotus said:

What if the CO2 is less than 220g?

If you want to know, the link, you have the tax tables, a nigthmare 🙂

https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/malus-ecologique-le-gouvernement-retouche-les-baremes-2021-et-2022-10442405.html