Sport 350 Flame Red

[NW76]

You know the whole thread makes me wonder how much it would cost to repaint an Exige all over? ? 

 

Does anybody know? Not that I want to part ways with my beloved matte black but I am already thinking what to do when it looks bad years down the road / track ?

[Fortis]

Before I bought my first Exige in 2007 which was in Krypton Green, I looked at an S2 Exige that was in the showroom at Lotus Ribble Valley.This was painted in Chilli Red and was stunning 

I think they should have called it Motorsport Red, as it had the same gold tint to it as Motorsport Black and Motorsport Green. My next S2 Exige was in the green and my first  S3 was in the black.

I wonder if Lotus will do the Chilli red again in the future 

[Arun_D]

18 minutes ago, Fortis said:

 

I think they should have called it Motorsport Red, as it had the same gold tint to it as Motorsport Black and Motorsport Green.

As it happens, the red colour on the Exige 360 Cup wheels is called Motorsport Red.

[MartynB]

Earlier today, at Hethel....

Obviously the iphone camera doesn't do the paint job justice. Comes out a little desaturated 

There's a two/three week wait on the special tints, which need to be made up in Belgium. Until then, it's tucked away in "The Ballroom". Was great to get a sneaky tour of the paint section from Mally. Top bloke. You can really see the car they put into the paint jobs. Lots of detail checks at several points along the process.

 

[Arregueti]

That's what they call "Prêt à porter" :-)

[MartynB]

It must be how they draw the parts diagrams

[MartynB]

Things I learned at the factory:

• The matte black parts, including engine cover, hardtop (where not body coloured), front access cover and wing mirrors are actually a slightly soft finish
• Best way to clean this is with Concept Go Foam cleaner spray
• The Exige supercharger is now unpainted and doesn't bear a Lotus plaque. Because it's not on show. Obviously that doesn't mean it can't be dressed after market
• Mally, the guy in charge of "paint spec-ops" is a really lovely bloke.
• Mally says if anyone wants Liquid Yellow, and pay the premium he's happy to do cars in it. He had no idea where rumours to the opposite had come from.
• The shortage of soft-tops is in the process of being resolved, but it'll take a fair while to sort. In the meantime soft-top cars are shipping with a hard-top and an IOU
• Scott Walker is a mine of info about Lotuses. He knows chassis numbers, number plates and paint codes like other people know the names of their kids. Maybe better.
• The active suspension Esprit is effectively entombed in the building, though I suspect you might be able to roll it up on its side and squeeze it out of one of the doors.

Still totally stoked to know mine is on its way

[Rancid]

How lucky I am - my 350 has the engine plaque.

They're poor quality anyway so it's no loss...

[MartynB]

I have to say I'm wondering about a possible Red Candy powdercoat finish, but we'll see how it looks in the metal. I only saw them on clamless cars which aren't at all representative of the finished article. I suspect they may actually look quite nice in plain alloy.

[Gashead1105]

51 minutes ago, MartynB said:

• Mally says if anyone wants Liquid Yellow, and pay the premium he's happy to do cars in it. He had no idea where rumours to the opposite had come from.

 

That Liquid Yellow rumor might be me, but it's what I was told by Scott when I was at the factory thinking about my spec/paint job etc

[MartynB]

I suspect he was exaggerating, possibly for comic effect. He does have quite a dry sense of humour.

[550superfast]

4 hours ago, MartynB said:

The Exige supercharger is now unpainted and doesn't bear a Lotus plaque. Because it's not on show. Obviously that doesn't mean it can't be dressed after market

Got a picture of this? Would be interested to see. I always wondered what the little LOTUS PERFORMANCE plaque weighs as it seems to serve no purpose other than for show.

[MartynB]

Pictures? No pictures. Scott said I couldn't take any pictures. Any pictures I posted were obviously Photoshopped 

So, no unfortunately not. Maybe someone with a "Post S/C Badge Delete" Sport 350 can oblige.

[Seriouslylotus]

On 18/09/2016 at 16:42, Arun_D said:

As it happens, the red colour on the Exige 360 Cup wheels is called Motorsport Red.

Only by lotus. If you get the paint formula it's actually called ink red

[Rancid]

1 hour ago, 550superfast said:

Got a picture of this? Would be interested to see. I always wondered what the little LOTUS PERFORMANCE plaque weighs as it seems to serve no purpose other than for show.

I've got a spare one in my garage - it's plastic and probably weighs a few grammes at most!

in fact, I think the postage was less than £1 it's that light.

[Arun_D]

2 hours ago, 550superfast said:

Got a picture of this? Would be interested to see. I always wondered what the little LOTUS PERFORMANCE plaque weighs as it seems to serve no purpose other than for show.

It probably now doesn't look too disimilar to how the 'charger in Evora S looked.

Hopefully the photo works:

[550superfast]

7 hours ago, Rancid said:

I've got a spare one in my garage - it's plastic and probably weighs a few grammes at most!

I stupidly assumed it was metal......

[Seriouslylotus]

9 hours ago, Seriouslylotus said:

Only by lotus. If you get the paint formula it's actually called ink red

Doh.....it's the wheels that are ink red!!!!!

[MartynB]

That pic link fell to bits @Arun_D, let's try this...

and yes, they look like that now. I assume they still have the upper cover between the S/C and the bulkhead.

Another revelation was quite how lovely the Military Grey looks. Wow! Very subtle olive shade with what appears to be a slightly golden metallic sheen. Very nice.

[Freejack]

This is the perfect charger design to have it repalced by a 1900 version

Edited September 22, 2016 by Freejack

[The Pits]

Agree on Military Grey, it's more khaki green than grey, one of my favourite colours for a V6S. Works best on cars without the matt black panels though. But the Evora GTE in Military Grey... sweet Jesus! 

[marky68]

7 hours ago, MartynB said:

That pic link fell to bits @Arun_D, let's try this...

and yes, they look like that now. I assume they still have the upper cover between the S/C and the bulkhead.

Another revelation was quite how lovely the Military Grey looks. Wow! Very subtle olive shade with what appears to be a slightly golden metallic sheen. Very nice.

 

I'm pleased i got mine before this change ,

 

 

[MartynB]

No worries, I'm on it...

[NW76]

Are they serious? Mine just increased in value if that is true 

[Xisthos]

Mine is still finished in black as well. Car was done during May production.