Radford Motors + Lotus

[scotty435]

Well that’s disappointing not sure i would pay big numbers for what looks like a bit of a bling Elise interior upgrade. 

[Bibs]

[NedaSay]

6 hours ago, stephenwhyte said:

 

Wait a sec... My wish was answered so uh Ok...

Now can I get a one million canadian dollars (aka 1 million canadian pesos) pretty please?

[NedaSay]

Ok I expected the interior to be spartan but here we verge on underwhelming in my opinion.

I expected a more analog cabin, the Lotus Elige binacle is here as I expected and there's a sea of microfiber and the Lotus stick gorgeous stickshifter is on display but the TFT screens are just tacked on there yes this thing is underwhelming, No analog  dials, not enough polished aluminium or brass and i find the two stop watches a tad tachy...

[Escape]

As above I expected more from the interior. Not more gadgets of course, but something more special. I've never been a big fan of the Elise dashboard, but it did fit the character of the car. Given the price, the Radford should be another level and should be as much an occasion on the inside as it is impressive on the outside.

I do see a manual shifter in a black car, does this mean not all JPS will be DSG? 

Filip

[stephenwhyte]

Looks better here with a a more appropriate steering wheel for one thing…..👍

[jep]

I am very surprised Lotus is putting its name on this. Hopefully the royalty is good. 

I don't understand this car, I am not sure the wider world with the means to own one will either but for all involved, good luck 

Justin

[hedgerley]

Not convinced by cameras rather than side mirrors. Ditto Evija. Due to my seating position (long legs) in the Esprit and also my runabout Astra, I need to move my head occasionally to improve the field of view, especially joining traffic from slip roads. Not a problem in the Volvo as the mirrors are huge.

But cameras offer a fixed view. A minor issue I'm sure but another niggle in the digital vs analogue argument.

[Bibs]

Few more pics...

Bremont HQ 

Car Presentation by Nick English, Ant Ansted and Dan Burge

Lotus Radford Type 62-2

[NedaSay]

Here's the thing with the interior for me , it lacks texture, it lacks layers, as much as the exterior of the car reveals a lot of intricate details and fantasies, the interior is bland. Yes, there are good quality materials, probably, but it lacks in layering, it feels like an empty space covered in a swath of alcantara, when it should have been arguably a more multi tone affair, even if they have showed the JPS, arguably the most hardcore version,  the leather on the dash should have been more flamboyant with a lot of contrast, the stitching should have also looked the part, double stitch at minimum, with contrasting colors reminding people that this car is "haute couture"  but here it looks like off the rack "prêt à porter" and not exactly on a high street... Which is disappointing when you know the entry price is 400k.

 

Also, I know it will be mostly a track car, but in which world won't a airbag be mandatory on the steering wheel of the road version. The image below looks much better thanks to filtering  and carbon fibre galore  but why don't they show us the real final steering wheel.

Edited November 11, 2021 by NedaSay

[pete]

Seems not many agree with the opinions on here. https://www.thedrive.com/news/43091/take-a-look-at-the-hand-built-interior-of-the-radford-lotus-type-62-2. Most revues say the same

[exeterjeep]

HR Owen reunites with Radford as Lotus Type 62-2 retailer

 

https://www.am-online.com/news/dealer-news/2021/11/12/hr-owen-reunites-with-radford-as-lotus-type-62-2-retailer

HR Owen will be the retail provider for a new limited-run Lotus Type 62-2 after reuniting with luxury coachbuilder Radford as its official dealer partner........

[Sam Downey]

People are still judging this as if it's a factory built car for half a mil from ferrari or porsche.

They've made no bones about the fact that this is a coachbuilding project, which means a new body and nice interior. The fact that they've apparently gone further with all new suspension and even a different wheelbase is very impressive, because now the car will also have to be judged on how it drives and handles too.

In some colour schemes (gold leaf) the body looks nice to me, ok, not amazing. In others (JPS) it looks incredible.

These photos of the interior look very unimpressive, but I'm sure they don't do it justice. Pictures of the Evora 400 or 911 GT3 interiors looked ok to me, until i sat in them and just went "wow!"

So I'm confident that seeing this in person will be a whole different thing to any pictures can convey. I bet it's amazing.

This car is not meant to compete with anything else, not meant to provide a better value proposition or redefine anything. It's just an old school approach to a luxury, beautiful, wonderful car for those that want something different and can afford it. That is all there is to understand.

[TheKevlarKid]

Love the exterior retro looks. Completely useless as a road car at those ride heights though. You'll be changing front clams as often as you do your socks.

Interior has hidden the Elise chassis well by covering everything in carpet but I can't help but think that it looks like the blackhole of Calcutta in there....

 

 

[Bibs]

Exige chassis! 

The money shot

[Bravo73]

6 hours ago, Bibs said:

The money shot

Wot, you surrounded by money? 😉😂

[exeterjeep]

They had a round of drinks and you had a camera.

[jonwat]

2022 Radford Type 62-2 finally in motion 

[C8RKH]

I think that Radford side profile just looks superb. Wonderful. If I had the cash I would buy one. For sure. And the JPS livery is really winning me over.

[Mark Blanchard]

Nice looking car.  It's going to drive better than the original Type 62, by a huge margin.  

[jonwat]

More in Autocar 😃

[jonwat]

12 reasons the Radford Type 62-2 is superb 

[jep]

$400k for 430bhp weighing over 1000kg? That makes any Exige V6 a total bargain. Evora Sport 410 a steal also, if a tad heavier, they are sub-£65k these days and they only made 24 or thereabouts worldwide. 

They gonna have to hone that Exige chassis and Toyota lump in spectacular fashion to justify the massive premium over it underpinnings brother. Exige V6 is already a stonking road car, perhaps the greatest Lotus has ever made.

Justin

 

[Sam Downey]

But this is a coach built car. The top trumps numbers are pretty much irrelevant for what they're trying to do. If you are very rich, like the looks and basic concept then you can spend a lot of money in having something tailored to your own desires. All it needs to be a success is enough people like that putting deposits down and there is certainly more than enough people like that in the world today. What is the state of the order book?

It's almost certainly not going to be hailed as the new McLaren F1, Carrera GT, F40, F50, or whatever. If it is, it will be purely by accident and not intention.

[Brendonian]

Anybody got a clue what wiper arm they're using. I've never been a fan of the weirdly bent arm of the Elise Exige wiper. Wonder if this would be a drop-in replacement.