No more motorsport or proper cup cars?

[550superfast]

With Lotus Motorsport closed (or moved?) where does that leave production of race and cup cars?

If they are going down the normal production line - like the Elise 250 Cup is it an end of an era?

 

[JayEmm]

I expect what might suffer is "the details" - as far as I understood it the Motorsport cars were built properly by a dedicated team. Slinging them down the production line is going to mean they're built to the same standards as the rest of the Lotus line-up. Which, judging by my Evora, is not great.

[Stubox]

Have to say an attraction of getting my Cup was it being a 'Motorsport' car fettled by Russ and team. It's a feature that made Lotus cars even more interesting.

While appreciating there must be some calculated economic benefit involved, I feel they've just lost something valuable.

[JayEmm]

I believe a number of members here had cars maintained by Motorsport - the GTE owners in particular I am sure are disappointed to see this happen

[The Pits]

Sadly the buyers just didn't get or particularly care that the Cup cars were developed by a real Motorsport team. I'm not sure many people believe that a Renault Sport or Porsche Motorsport car is much more than a marketing exercise and the authenticity of the Lotus approach was never promoted. I'm not even sure many V6 S owners really understood the premium charged for the Cup cars, so there's not much hope of getting through to anyone outside Lotus circles. The greatest single impact of the V6 Cup was a marked increase in orders of V6S with matt black panels! 

However many aspects of the car such as the uprated brakes, bespoke adjustable dampers and baffled sump wouldn't have been put on a regular production car with Cup decals on it. Without the intention for dedicated and hard track use there's just no point in having that stuff developed, the regular car is more than up to trackday use as it is. For those few of us that bought Motorsport cars it is undoubtedly a loss. I have my suspicions that the 311's development has already suffered to some degree. I'm not convinced it has received the equivalent thoroughness of the Exige V6 Cup and CupR programs.

I do stand by the belief that the whole of Lotus is much closer to anyone else's 'Motorsport Department' than their regular production line. Every Lotus comes with the expectation of genuine track ability, I'm sure that will remain the case. I also think since Gavan Kershaw has taken over from Matt Becker there has been a subtle shift in the road/track balance towards 'track'. The E400 and Exige S350 have all become more focused with understeer reduced, steering response increased and damping firmed up. The Matt Becker cars had compliance and road manners to spare in the great Lotus tradition and Gavan and Ross have just dipped into the excess with minimal penalty for road use. A mean spirited non-believer might also point out that the new Hethel Edition Exige can boast a headline weight figure that's actually lighter than the V6 Cup. Based on that you have to conclude that all is not lost.

I would like to think that Russell and whoever's left at Motorsport will still have some input on future 'Motorsport' cars, if indeed there are any. If not we're still going to be getting faster lighter versions but I can't help but think it's a shame if the V6 Cup is the last true 'Lotus Motorsport' car.

[JayEmm]

Very good points as always Jonny. Driving an S1 Evora and the 400 back to back is very interesting. Lotus need to be extremely careful I think to not fall into the trap of just "make it all stiffer and faster on track" - a large part of the joy of Lotus cars is their compliance on road. It seems to be one of the few areas they can genuinely compete with their German rivals, and consistently give them a good drubbing. My 400 is still a minor miracle though - it's reasonably firm through town (although not punishing), but when pressing on it transforms and becomes just magical. Something my Elise never does, although that may be the suspension setup it has.

[The Pits]

That was another thing that what was great about the Cup cars, they allowed the road cars to be more road focused, to great effect.

Hopefully the E410 Sport will prevent the E400 from becoming any more track focused. It's very nicely judged as it is.

[NedaSay]

Well I just realized today that the Evora GT4 was not displayed on the corporate website anymore.

So will it be an Evora 410 Race or 450 Race this year?

Does anyone have any idea of how many 3-Eleven Race and Road (sport) they have sold so far? 

[K666ADM]

Private entries in the Hankook 24h series are running Evora and Elise - one is on track just now (13/1/17 to 14/1/17) Dubai 24 hour race. Pretty sure later in the series a further Evora is going to be run by another team.  

Watch live now at www.24hseries.com 

[Arregueti]

A very "Lotusesque" number too!

[NedaSay]

And a very nice livery... thanks for posting.

[K666ADM]

 

If you want to rent a car for a race or for a track day the company is www.track-group.com