Lotus Evora 400

[brightoncorgi]

Interior looks very Ferrari/Alfa looking.  Not a bad thing, but not as unique as the previous design.  Seems like everyone who sees the car in the flesh has more positive take-away than the pictures.

 

I don't think silver was the right color to debut the car in.  Evora just soaks in the color, so why not use that to your promotional advantage.  The Green mock up color is sure snazzy for that purpose, as is the orange. 

[atlasapl]

Yellow for me, along with the black roof and such, it would have looked stunning. Oh, and the alcantara interior as well.

[NedaSay]

2/10 for effort. It's 40% new too, not 66%! Just sayin'... 

 

Yeah this vid looks like a complete afterthought on behalf of Evo, but to be honest in terms of PR Lotus sort of dropped the ball on this one... Evo released that 45" piece 4/5 days after the big guns of the sportscar industry. if Carr was there, he did not talk to the media, the new guys in charge of driving dynamics were not on hand to talk about what matters most, JMG was probably busy with the dealers, shareholders, industry partners during his day there to do much media ops. That has left a void that nobody filled while Porsche and the others all had a few spokespersons to talk to the media...  the Stand was on the small side and was surrounded by the big players who came with massive PR machines. Let's hope they do better with the press cars this summer and that they gear up for the next motorshows they attend, they'll have a brand new roadster to unveil next which is "better" than a refreshed car.

Edited March 9, 2015 by NedaSay

[Trevsked]

I'm not Frenchist but I would have preferred someone with an English accent to present a very British car. It's the sort of thing I enjoyed Matt Becker doing.

Trevor.

[The Pits]

If you're referring to JMG, I thought he sounded very German actually.

 

Probably a good thing given the preference for German cars in the UK!

[geartox]

I have uploaded photos of Evora here : http://postimg.org/gallery/1kxhgyeam/8f2ce502/

 

https://vid.me/mYov

 

https://vid.me/rxTT

Edited March 9, 2015 by geartox

[Gravel]

IMHO Lotus needs to loose it's 'made in a shed in Norfolk' image if it doesn't want to end up as irrelevant to the worldwide market as Morgan...

[TBD]

If you're referring to JMG, I thought he sounded very German actually.

 

Probably a good thing given the preference for German cars in the UK!

After all, following British Lleyland, whou would buy a car sold by a Brit? 

[Stuno1]

I really don't get the 'it looks cheap' comments on other forums.

Stu

[Gravel]

I get the feeling that they probably want switchgear as bespoke as Pagani, but at Skoda prices...

[Stuno1]

Indeed. Folk seem to believe all lotus cars should be cheap. Muppets

[ramjet]

Interior looks very Ferrari/Alfa looking.  Not a bad thing, but not as unique as the previous design.  Seems like everyone who sees the car in the flesh has more positive take-away than the pictures.

 

I don't think silver was the right color to debut the car in.  Evora just soaks in the color, so why not use that to your promotional advantage.  The Green mock up color is sure snazzy for that purpose, as is the orange. 

 

 

I have uploaded photos of Evora here : http://postimg.org/gallery/1kxhgyeam/8f2ce502/

 

https://vid.me/mYov

 

https://vid.me/rxTT

 

Welcome to TLF guys.

 

You should duck over to the Introductions section and say hi in there as well.

 

Good to hvw you aboard,

 

[NedaSay]

Probably a digression that should not be in this thread  but ...

 

The people asking Lotus to remain what it was in the 90's and early 00's are irrelevant to Lotus at this point, They want it cheap so that they can buy them used in a few years even cheaper and hope to flip the cars a few years after. Lotus cannot rely on them... They just don't know what they want. JMG is making the target pretty clear, I think emulate as much as he can the Porsche model with the means he currently has.

 

Lotus cars need to be "accessible" yes but not cheap, at 70000K the Evora 400 is in fact accessible, especially for a 186mph/300kph able car! Actually can anybody think of a sportscar (not used, not tuned) able to achieve those speed for that price, cause I don't! The Cayman comes close but it doesn't.

 

Now, Lotus needs to come clean and out, and say that Evora's hunting the 911, which it is. In order to help with that Lotus needs to point the fact that Evora 400 is the new base model fast. Discontinuing the current Evora (S & SR) line up cannot happen soon enough. Then in a few month announce the Lightweight/Cup model and possibly later a GT3 hunting machine. And tell people that if one wants a cheaper car, they can either go for the Cayman S or GT4 or the Exige S or next gen Exige 400 Cup which will be a bona fide Cayman-Boxter competitor if the car gets the revamp JMG talked about on more than one occasion. Elise should stay the Elise smaller engine (4cyl 2L) lightweight, and no V6 as people would not get the difference between Elise and Exige roadster.

 

Doing all of this takes time, ressources, skills and money and JMG is not done reorganizing the company. I'm hoping that by the next motor show they attend they have a lot more in place in terms of all the above and PR. The good news was that Lotus was at Geneva... Oh and if the F1 team of the same name doesn't pitch in at least in term of PR, just ditch them... Geneva is the one motorshow where having a little help and a little glitz from F1 could have made the difference. It did not happen they can therefore shop around for a new name.  

 

Now, back to the car, Lotus also has to get a little bolder in the choice of color for their showcar and need a better photographer, cause the guy who shot the car at the factory missed the mark by quite a bit. I know these things are easier said than done but most of the factory released pics failed to grab the new found sharpness of the refresh.    

Edited March 10, 2015 by NedaSay

[Allan Gibbs]

I imgaine you folks will have a chance to drive the Evora 400 before I will.  If you have a chance to drive the IPS, could you please check to see if the software still prevents a down shift to first gear when over 20 mph.

[The Pits]

That is what is so damaging about the Bahar debacle. Lotus isn't allowed to be audacious any more.

 

Any grand ambitions will be dismissed as fantasy from here on in.

 

Lotus could have become Britain's Ferrari. No chance of that now.

[domguy]

I agree, the amount on money blown on vanity projects was eye watering. What a waisted opportunity.

[Bibs]

£274m I believe.

[blueg33]

If other makers can come from nowhere with super cars I eg pagani I can't see shy Lotus couldn't do a range topper. But they need a backer with appetite.

[atlasapl]

They still could become a UK Ferrari, it just needs to be done right, and it cant be done over night. Sort out the quality and then the infrastructure first. I believe this guy will do it right.

 

Just look at Porsche, you don’t have to go back that far to see a company in serious financial trouble, I remember it. Then some genius stood up in a meeting one day and said, “Hey, lets build an SUV”. The whole world went “are you friggin bonkers, you are Porsche, Porsche don’t do SUVs”. Don’t see them complaining now. There is a reason Porsche can make cars like the GT3 & GT3 RS and the GT4. The amount of money/sales they make from the Cayanne, and now Panamera is staggering.

 

It may be unpalatable to some of us to think of a Lotus SUV, but without it, you are never going to get another Esprit. Lotus needs a cash cow in order to properly fund the cars we and they, all want to see.

[Bibs]

£2bn profit from £5bn turnover, Porsche do have a winner with the Cayenne! 

[diego]

actually with all that metallic grey (exige and evora) and a frenchman with a german  accent i think its more to do with the way they want to be perceived. ie seriously or Germanic....a little boring but secure. god knows....   

 

have to say, give me anything but a frenchman but hey, beggars cant be choosers. at least he does his best to speak and act like a german. 

[atlasapl]

It horrifies me to think of a Lotus SUV, but I think Lotus needs that before any other ‘New’ model.

[Bibs]

JMG is Luxembourgian. 

[atlasapl]

actually with all that metallic grey (exige and evora) and a frenchman with a german  accent i think its more to do with the way they want to be perceived. ie seriously or Germanic....a little boring but secure. god knows....   

 

have to say, give me anything but a frenchman but hey, beggars cant be choosers. at least he does his best to speak and act like a german. 

 

A frenchman who has been a Lotus fan all his life. A frenchman who walked into Hethel knowing, and understanding who and what Lotus were. I dont care where he is from. The guy is exactly the sort of person Lotus needs.

 

Or Luxembourgian.

 

(is that a real word?)

Edited March 10, 2015 by atlasapl

[Bibs]

Clearly not

 

JMG is Luxembourgian.