Emira deposits and build slots

[TomE]

The £60k/75k will be base cost.  Fully loaded with options at +£10-15k for launch editions would be similar to the approach for the LE Evora.

[Denno]

I was told the 4 in-line will be sub £60k before options and v6 £85k unless I miss heard him.

I’m tempted by the 4 in-line for that price, however I’m not sure the power would suffice in a car that heavy when I’m used to a 930kg/300hp car. Dare I say the Emira may feel slow in comparison. 
 

Would have probably jumped on one with 450-500hp. Modifying wouldn’t  be an option for a few years either due to the warranty so may wait to see if more powerful variants are released.

 

 

[simonb]

it will feel comfortable by comparison

[Beady]

30mins into FOS and order placed. 
weak, I am !

[Greg | ValetPro]

I had an email from Bell and Covill on the 7th July.  I left it a few days to think thing through and then phoned Jamie today.  It seems the UK allocation has already been booked for the first years sales. The deposit I placed with Bell and Colvill held my place in the queue. The lotus deposit secure that earlier position.  

I have now put down my Lotus Deposit waiting for more information and keen to see it up close.  Sadly I won't be a goodwood this weekend.  

[freefall_junkie]

11 hours ago, Denno said:

I was told the 4 in-line will be sub £60k before options and v6 £85k unless I miss heard him.

I’m tempted by the 4 in-line for that price, however I’m not sure the power would suffice in a car that heavy when I’m used to a 930kg/300hp car. Dare I say the Emira may feel slow in comparison. 
 

Would have probably jumped on one with 450-500hp. Modifying wouldn’t  be an option for a few years either due to the warranty so may wait to see if more powerful variants are released.

 

 

If the price gap is that big it is going to be really, really hard to make a case for the V6. I still want a manual though so it is a difficult choice.

If I do go for the AMG version, my attitude will be that its my car and I'll mod the hell out the engine if I want to and stuff the warranty 🙂 The AMG engine is designed from the ground up with forged internals for 400+ bhp, so I can't see a remap being particularly risky anyway.

 

[cuprapw]

+400bhp with an absolute ridiculous lag 

[ramjet]

Funny isn't it? I actually enjoy the lag in my S4. Just love the way the tacho climbs and then all of a sudden, BOOM!

To each their own.

[Relic222]

I know the prices are speculation at the moment, but I've seen a number of people quote around £80k for the V6. What would the reason for a 33% markup be? Surely an old Toyota V6 wouldn't cost that much more for Lotus to purchase than a relatively new AMG engine? And even if it did, £20k more?! I am personally hoping the V6 is affordable, because for me it would be the only option, however if it's 33% more, then it's going to be too much for me to justify. 

Could it be that £80k is the LE price, which going by the Evora was basically fully loaded. So £80k for the V6 and all the packs. Then the I4 will come out with 'nothing' and you can spec it yourself.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Relic222

[freefall_junkie]

I was advised circa £80 for the V6 by my local dealer, but they are probably guessing as much as us. Given the economies of scale with a new factory and Geely's backing for component supply, the unit cost of building the car should be considerably lower than the Evora, and it doesn't have all the Evora 410's carbon bits, so I'm hoping less. I can't see many people in the UK choosing the V6 if it is 20K more than the I4, but of course it is a global car and the V6 is probably a must for the American market.

Incidentally, how on earth are dealers going to shift the unsold new Evoras 410s now, not to mention the Stratton GTs?

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

46 minutes ago, freefall_junkie said:

Incidentally, how on earth are dealers going to shift the unsold new Evoras 410s now, not to mention the Stratton GTs?

The Stratton GTs have been for sale since the Emira was but a twinkle in the Evora’s eye. I don’t think this will change anything.

[Evotion]

11 hours ago, freefall_junkie said:

If the price gap is that big it is going to be really, really hard to make a case for the V6.

 

Might be a higher spec out of the gate.

What it does have is a manual, an engine you can see from inside and out and sounds great.

Matt revved it up and , oh yes.

 

[CocoPops]

12 hours ago, Beady said:

30mins into FOS and order placed. 
weak, I am !

Good to see you this morning.

[Evotion]

OK, Emira deposits.

I was trying to push people to declare their interest - it might now be too late.

Here is some more maths  

Lotus have only launched the Emira in the UK. There is 660 earmarked for the UK. I assume that is the First Edition.

B&C had over 100 by the start of Goodwood. Add in other dealers nationally and we could assume it is about 500.

Yesterday they took 500 deposits on the stand, and that tipped to over 1000 today.

So that is 1500 ' mostly soft' deposits AND we have Saturday and Sunday to go at Goodwood.

Then there is the rest of July and the rest of the year.    660 allocations remember!!

It launches in China today/tomorrow if I heard right. Europe, rest of Asia (Japan is excited) and the USA to come!

So if you want a First Edition then you may be in trouble already. The i4 coming later will get a similar fate as it will logically be the most bought.

Now. The good bit is that this demand has surprised even Lotus. There is the possibility of a 2nd or even a 3rd shift.

However, my guess is that they will still knock out the First Edition as planned and then the  next batches, to meet demand, will be after that. Either way, it might not take long to get to a 1 year waiting list unless the shifts come in.

[exeterjeep]

7 hours ago, Evotion said:

it might not take long to get to a 1 year waiting list unless the shifts come in.

It already a 1 year wait, as no-one will get one for almost a year, so I wonder what i going down the manufacturing line at the moment. Looks like the few test cars will be used and a few more built before they really start production. Then further launches for overseas markets will increase demand. How many will try to sell their early slots for a profit?

[Evotion]

True, it is actually a year bt even as we approach April the year will continue for others.

I suggest they get in now to get a car in 2022 even. 

I was told they are in the test stage still, crashing all those lovely cars.

Certainly no actual cars have rolled off the line. Even Matt has only seen the dark grey and blue one!

I think one of them said they haven't finished the hot and cold area testing.

[exeterjeep]

6 minutes ago, Evotion said:

was told they are in the test stage still, crashing all those lovely cars.

So it could certainly mean minor design tweaks under the skin. And when they get around to exhaustive testing of internal components that may also include further tweaks. Was wondering about how well they held up under the rain at Hethel the other day - water causes issues apart from leaks but things like messing up with sensors, the problems people have with Evora brakes sticking after driving in the wet or slightly wet. Then when you open the tailgate and how much water gets over the engine and boot area.

[Evotion]

I'd like to think, given the extra effort being put into this model that these will now all be sorted. This really is the real-world leading car for the brand as, as such, needs to be beyond excellent.

If Lotus do get this all right and the car goes and lasts as good as it looks then it stands them in good stead for their EV exploits.

As you say, these little things can suddenly appear. I assume they will no longer be using mules and winter testing in the UK is a perfect time to test and wipe out any of those older issues.

[TomE]

There’s still a lot of details to be finalised.  For example I was told the exposed shifter on the manual is probably going to need a mesh across the footwell openings for the US market to address safety (finger trap) requirements.  So the mesh might be fitted to all First Edition cars globally, or might be a customer option or might be mandatory on US cars.

There will be dozens of things like this, big and small, still to sort.

[pete]

40 minutes ago, exeterjeep said:

So it could certainly mean minor design tweaks under the skin. And when they get around to exhaustive testing of internal components that may also include further tweaks. Was wondering about how well they held up under the rain at Hethel the other day - water causes issues apart from leaks but things like messing up with sensors, the problems people have with Evora brakes sticking after driving in the wet or slightly wet. Then when you open the tailgate and how much water gets over the engine and boot area.

Car went up the hill in the wet this morning

[exeterjeep]

I would be hoping they fix this issue as per

https://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/79841-brakes-stick-after-leaving-the-car/

 

[Cooper]

I’ve popped my name into the hat just before the car hit Goodwood. After having LE Evora and v6 Exige, I went to the dark side and currently have a 981 GT4.  All brilliant cars. 
 

I didn’t expect to be going back to a Lotus so soon, but clearly the likes of myself and many on here who are past or current owners this whole project has pushed our correct buttons. And with the numbers of deposits mentioned, expect a whole new wave of TLF members coming from all marques. 

[Beady]

In terms of deposit numbers - yesterday at FOS I was told they had taken 400 deposits on Thursday and had around 600 in total. That means around 200 via dealers beforehand, which sounds realistic.

assuming a similar take up on fri/sat/sun then there may be up to 2000 at the end of the weekend.

that’s an amazing start and must be better than anyone could have expected but I would guess 90%+ of those would be previous lotus owners of some sort. 
 

the majority of non lotus ‘fans’ are more likely to wait for the magazine tests and then actual test rides.

so I suspect the next few months will then see just a trickle of further deposits  until the press and demo cars arrive.

the reaction of the press will then gave a big impact on the next wave of deposits.

anyway I am now “in”

 

 

 

13 hours ago, CocoPops said:

Good to see you this morning.

Yes good to see you too - sorry I didn’t stay much to chat - I got there early for obvious reasons then had to go meet my “group”

All 6 people I was with during the day we’re amazed the emira was only £60k when they saw it!

[ramjet]

So you then told them, "There's the queue for putting a deposit down." Surely?

[gregs24]

I assume they will build 30 or so cars as a pre-production run for crash testing and pre-release testing etc. I think Lotus built 17 Elises for this sort of thing back in 1995/6.

My understanding is that the grey one is the only one that actually runs and the blue one is incomplete?