Who will buy a 131?

[Dobbin145]

25 minutes ago, Evotion said:

Yeah, I hear ya. I expect to see the Goodwood cars being shown around the UK but demonstrators might not be for months afterwards.

Yes, I have heard that the Validation Prototype cars at Goodwood will go "on a road trip" around the UK dealer pretty much straight after the show. I would hope that this would be as much for the dealer as the end customers.

[exeterjeep]

1 minute ago, Dobbin145 said:

Yes, I have heard that the Validation Prototype cars at Goodwood will go "on a road trip" around the UK dealer pretty much straight after the show. I would hope that this would be as much for the dealer as the end customers.

Perhaps Lotus could be encouraged to publish when/where the car/cars may be to enable us to go have a look.  

[Dobbin145]

4 minutes ago, exeterjeep said:

Perhaps Lotus could be encouraged to publish when/where the car/cars may be to enable us to go have a look.  

I'd like to think they would have a schedule drawn up in advance 😉

[TomE]

If you've registered your interest with Lotus or your local dealer then they'll contact you about the dates for the Emira viewings  

https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/emira/  

[exeterjeep]

I have registered my interest, but this sort of thing has happened in the past, but lotus never actually seemed to take any action.

Howards lotus said the factory would be in contact with their ex customers in a letter to those customers, when the franchise closed and I remember giving details to lotus ages ago at a club lotus show..

Had a similar experience with Jeep when the Renegade was due to be launched, much easier to keep asking the dealer.

[TomE]

I've been getting emails from Lotus and B&C about Goodwood and the dealer events, so it looks like registering does actually work now!

[Evotion]

They might be able to tell us more in person at Goodwood.

If this is all part of a stepchange for the Lotus brand then their whole marketing arm should be forward thinking and have all our wishes in place.

Indeed, we will be able to gauge how far Lotus have come, and their ambitions, by how they deal with us all now.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Evotion

[brightoncorgi]

6 hours ago, Evotion said:

 As much I 'should' support McLaren I just cannot buy one due to sound - and they were a bit bland to drive as well, relatively speaking, in aural terms.

If you think a McLaren is a bit bland and lacks aural sense to it, I think you may be disappointed in the Emira.  What are you impressions on the Evora?

5 hours ago, Dobbin145 said:

I'd like to think they would have a schedule drawn up in advance 😉

With the 400, my Lotus dealer sent out a mass email when it was expected and to schedule test drive slots.

[Evotion]

5 minutes ago, brightoncorgi said:

If you think a McLaren is a bit bland and lacks aural sense to it, I think you may be disappointed in the Emira.  What are you impressions on the Evora?

 

Yes, that is the bit I am concerned about. Not been in an Evora but wasn't sold on the looks when it came out but have grown to like it since.

I suspect the Emira. by design, will be a bit milder but it might still be epic relative to the other cars I was looking.

At the very least, the hype on the Emira has opened my eyes to the Lotus brand and if the Emira does not pan out right then I am now keenly looking at the later, more potent Exige cars like the 430 Cup, etc.

[Bibs]

6 minutes ago, brightoncorgi said:

If you think a McLaren is a bit bland and lacks aural sense to it, I think you may be disappointed in the Emira.

I get your point, McLaren's don't sound that bad but Lotus have been making cars that sound really, really good since the 400 in my opinion and they are now pretty well known for the noise the cars make. 

You absolute can't justify your statement with zero idea of what the Emira will sound like I'm afraid. 

[Barrykearley]

The 400 sounds epic. The Standard Evora sounded nice. 
 

I’ve little or no doubt the Emira will sound like a dinosaur turning in its grave 😍

[brightoncorgi]

10 minutes ago, Bibs said:

I get your point, McLaren's don't sound that bad but Lotus have been making cars that sound really, really good since the 400 in my opinion and they are now pretty well known for the noise the cars make. 

You absolute can't justify your statement with zero idea of what the Emira will sound like I'm afraid. 

So, you think the Emira will sound better than the Evora?  All McLaren's sound equal or better.  Emira has to sound at a minimum equal to Evora or my statement will be true.  Then again sound is personal.  Some think the AMG GT sounds awesome, I think it sounds awful.  Too baritone for me.

I am hoping the rooting for the Emira to excel in every facet of what defines a sports car; including sound.  The sound is what made me want an Evora.  I saw one crossing an intersection in Singapore and knew that would be my next car!

Edited May 23, 2021 by brightoncorgi

[Barrykearley]

Frankly the sound is irrelevant, lose the cats and a sports stainless fabrication will sort your ear bleeding desires - let’s talk about looks and handling. I for one cannot wait to see this new car - and if it’s that good I’ve no doubt at some point before I die I’ll be having one.

[Evotion]

I'd like the Emira to sound good stock but I am already of the mind that I will change the system, The latest round of exhaust compliance can surely only have made things worse.

I mention sound, and my disappointment of the McLarens because the other cars on my list include the GT3, Huracan/Gallardo Limited Editions or 458/Manual F430.

Tone is a big thing for me and on the basis that, on the road,  I will rarely dynamically get to extract the most from the chassis/suspension, then the aural nature of the car is perhaps my #1 wish!

[Jcx]

I totally agree Ade.  My Exige 410 is all th ebetter because of the noise it makes.  Its a tiny car with a huge presence both inside and out.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

On 29/04/2021 at 12:27, Ali tuck said:

This car is a massive deal for lotus- they can’t get it wrong,with the investment etc it has to be right-it will be up there with the best of them.Performance and design I’m sure will be everything we expect

Agreed, it's got to  be right from the off too, I'm sure most folks will forgive the occasional niggle but it needs to feel well built without previous launch series issues. I have faith though... still thinking about a deposit, I still think it's a shame Lotus didn't bite the bullet, wave goodbye to the old tech with the last of the Elise/Exiges, but hey... I'm very keen to see what Lotus have been up to. 

[windymiller]

there was a post some time ago on the evora thread stating early evoras will continue to fall in value whilst the newest version will hold value !! ?? id say the owners most likely to chop in the current car are those with less to part with i.e the newest models (unlike mere mortals like me buying in at the s1 end) if you also take into account dealers with either new or nearly new stock trying to offload that given a new variant is about to be launched then price pressure is on those models in the showroom, if you look at esprit values seemingly s1 and s2 command a premium with s4 lagging behind (maybe with the exception of the v8) Harrys garage recently pointed at the s1 elise as a "buy now" and stated everyone wants a series 1, will i buy one ?? cant say, but adore the brand always have done and well cant stop wanting !! and oh but if i buy an emira i wont sell the evora anyways !!!

 

 

 

 

g

 

 

en

[Inversed]

Same thing always happens.
If Emira is better Evora, then Evora will keep falling in value. But when it will get 20-30 year old, it will start getting popular again
The latter might work bit differently as we are transitioning away from ICE.

[C8RKH]

On 23/05/2021 at 22:21, brightoncorgi said:

If you think a McLaren is a bit bland and lacks aural sense to it, I think you may be disappointed in the Emira.

Interesting - I get Macca owners telling me how fantastic my car sounds all the time and how they wish their car had the same cacophony!  From an aural perspective the Evora smashes the McLaren.  I have heard some say the McLaren can be a bit sterile in the driving department but the one I drove (only a 540c) did not feel sterile to me. I loved it, but preferred my Evora for the noise.

I think McLaren is Lotus dialled up to 11/12 in all but the aural experience. Let's see if the Emira can get to 11.

[C8RKH]

35 minutes ago, Inversed said:

Same thing always happens.
If Emira is better Evora, then Evora will keep falling in value. But when it will get 20-30 year old, it will start getting popular again
The latter might work bit differently as we are transitioning away from ICE.

I think the biggest factor will be Emira pricing. If you can get a brand new, achingly drop dead gorgeous Emira that goes like stink for £55k, why would you spend £45 - 70k on a used Evora whether NA, S, 400, GT410?  If the looks are as good as we are led to believe the engine under the bonnet won't matter to 75% of the buyers, they'll just be going for the drop dead gorgeous looks knowing whatever engine it is still a bloody fast and well handling motor car.

If Lotus are not careful, there could be a lot of later model Evora owners who see the value of their cars collapse and that would not be good for new sales of the Emira as I think Evora owners are more likely to convert to Emira than Elise or Exige due to the lack of a targa/open top - as far as i know there is no news on when an "open" Emira will come.

If I had a late model Exige, it would be hard to swap that in for a fhc even though we only get 10 days of sunshine a year

 

[Evotion]

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

I think the biggest factor will be Emira pricing. If you can get a brand new, achingly drop dead gorgeous Emira that goes like stink for £55k, why would you spend £45 - 70k on a used Evora whether NA, S, 400, GT410?  If the looks are as good as we are led to believe the engine under the bonnet won't matter to 75% of the buyers, they'll just be going for the drop dead gorgeous looks knowing whatever engine it is still a bloody fast and well handling motor car.

If Lotus are not careful, there could be a lot of later model Evora owners who see the value of their cars collapse and that would not be good for new sales of the Emira as I think Evora owners are more likely to convert to Emira than Elise or Exige due to the lack of a targa/open top - as far as i know there is no news on when an "open" Emira will come.

If I had a late model Exige, it would be hard to swap that in for a fhc even though we only get 10 days of sunshine a year

 

Yeah. I believe we will Evora prices in general take a temporary fall.

Those looking for a targa will keep those variants propped up a bit, relatively speaking.

At some point, the Evora will become a  bonafide bargain.

The Exige should fair better being a lot different to the Emira but, still, dealers will looking to shift their stock off their forecourts as HQ will want all efforts behind the new Emira. I'd therefore expect some discounts offered on sticker the nearer we get to Emiras being readily available.

No  panic though. This is  AGES off!!

We will be lucky to see more than one Emira demonstrator at any given dealer and it will likely be the summer of 2022 before we see a few of them, new and used on forecourts.

[brightoncorgi]

Lotus dealers could really benefit from Evora owners trading up to the Emira.  The dealerships need something to sell at all price points.

[C8RKH]

9 minutes ago, brightoncorgi said:

Lotus dealers could really benefit from Evora owners trading up to the Emira.  The dealerships need something to sell at all price points.

Agreed. However I do think Lotus may just about be gearing up to shoot themselves in the foot with their strategy for the Emira.  I car, a fixed head 2 seater, to replace two convertibles and a fixed head 4 seater, with a new price band that goes from the smallest 2 seater convertible to the most expensive fixed head.

If they are not careful they could rip the arse out of Evora, especially the newer 4xx cars residuals, which would then impact on the S1 cars etc.

Yes, lotus needs owners trading up but they will struggle in greater numbers if their current cars values are depreciated significantly by the new launch.

 

[brightoncorgi]

5 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Yes, lotus needs owners trading up but they will struggle in greater numbers if their current cars values are depreciated significantly by the new launch.

The last 25 year of Lotus models have proven they are not so bad on depreciation.  Look at a 2011 911 vs. 2011 Evora; Evora is a good buy if you held it 10 years.

[Evotion]

I am not too sure that the new Lotus owners care about old Lotus car owners, apart from them being low hanging fruit for upselling to an Emira.

They are completely aligned and focused  on launching  what it effectively a whole new re-brand and will live or die by that.

Their business opportunity case is that MORE people will LOVE the re-brand and this will vastly outweigh the older brand enthusiasts.

They are right too, in my opinion, as the longer  term play is to move over to 100% electric cars like everyone else. These will NOT be lightweight anyway so might as well start now creating a new breed of sports  - like it or not.