Future of Lotus

[NedaSay]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markewing/2019/04/15/sushi-and-beer-with-lotus-ceo-phil-popham-lotus-embraces-its-dna-to-create-an-electric-hypercar/

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/suvs/new-lotus-saloons-suvs-and-gt-cars-are-all-possible

[au-yt]

I started a thread about the Shanghai announcement on Fchat to gauge the US reaction. Some interesting comments mostly negative 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/lotus-announcements-at-shanghai-motor-show-2019.598487/#post-146566500

[ramjet]

At least they said something. I ran into a bunch of them at a car meet in WA. Only 1 was interested in talking to me. The others would only talk to other Ferrari owners.

I sometimes see one on the Coast Road down here. I wave from the Esprit...................................What do I get back? 🦗 🦗 🦗 

[au-yt]

Owning a dancing donkey is a disease that makes you blind to anything else. It a disease only a vet can cure.

[Spinney]

On 18/04/2019 at 09:31, C8RKH said:

It's not just in Australia that the infrastructure required will take years. Also, the cost is hugely prohibitive as most sub-stations and huge chunks of the energy grid will need upgrading to cope with demand.

In the UK, we have very high housing density levels. Most towns and cities still have terraced houses on narrow streets where parking is not guaranteed for home owners and is at a premium. How you going to charge electric vehicles in that scenario?  People usually side track the discussion at that point to induction loops in the road etc. OK great but 2 major problems (1) how much will it cost to install tens of thousands of them in roads that will need to be dug up and repaired and (2) how are you going to track usage and charge the owners for their use?

If you look at the adverts for all electric from the likes of BMW (i3), Tesla et al they all show expensive and trendy wall charging units installed in nice, clean, spacious garages attached to nice, clean, spacious middle/upper middle class homes in the suburbs etc.  This is not the reality for an all electric vehicle future for large, busy, towns and cities where space for street furniture and parking is at a premium, and also where that street furniture is an easy target for vandals and scammers.

This is why I truly believe that all electric is not the future. it is, and will be, a transition technology that will be superseded within the next 10 years by some form of hybrid based either on hydrocarbon or hydrogen fuel sources with electric regenerating backup.

I agree with this view. There is so much confusion and misinformation being spouted about future power plants in our vehicles. The average car owner is being completely misled in thinking electric is the future.

As C8RKH has said, there just isn’t the infrastructure in place to be able to cope with the demands of widespread use of electric cars. It wasn’t so long ago we were being told the UK would start seeing the lights go out in homes unless we had way more investment in power generation and this still isn’t happening. So, given that scenario, how on earth is the country going to be able to provide power generation for all the cars, never mind the logistics of plugging into it from those parked outside rows of terraced houses?

Unfortunately, clean though hydrogen power is, it also consumes a lot of electricity in its production but I still see that as a far more practical solution in the short to long term. 

As an aside to this, I also wonder if all this confusion is partly responsible for the downturn in car sales over recent times. Most folk just can’t make an informed decision about their next car purchase until we are able to see a practical way forward. Do they stay with diesel, which is being continually demonised, do they go hybrid, all electric or just stay with petrol for now? I have always changed my daily cars every 3-4 years but decided to stick with what I currently have and probably run it into the ground. It is a big engined diesel but happens to suit me perfectly for what I need right now. 

 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Just been for a half day-out in our old Ferrari Mondial T cabrio with the family. Top-down, it was all very nice and no need to break the speed limit for thrills. It’s on 45k miles now, so there’s no real depreciation issues with adding some miles. We won’t keep it forever, but it’s a bit of family fun in the classic car mould. Some guy even offered to swap his 15 year old Mondeo for it!

[Spinney]

And you turned him down???  

[NedaSay]

Thanks to a new press fleet, Lotus is back to being a darling again.  Despite being 10 y/o and facing the latest offering from Stuttgart the Evora GT410 Sport is getting glowing reviews. It bodes well for the upcoming sports car they are going to present next year.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/new-porsche-911-vs-audi-r8-v10-vs-lotus-evora-gt410

Edited April 20, 2019 by NedaSay

[au-yt]

Very complimentary article given the age of the current series of Evora but the last paragraph threw me facelifted 400, Im sure Auto car have driven the 400

Lotus Evora (2009 - now): Blessed with superb handling and an uncanny ability to brush off the most brusque of bumps, the Lotus Evora is the connoisseur’s choice. Whether you go for an early car, a facelifted 400, a lightweight Sport 410 or the GT430, you’ll have a brilliant B-road hack. Early examples start from £28k, while post-facelift cars with an improved gearbox are closer to £60k.

[scotty435]

At half the price of a 400, I am sure that makes the early Evora the bargain of the decade, for some a better looking car, the 400 yes a great car and basically where we are today be it 410, 430. Me for one can not wait for the next incarnation, what will be based on the same platform, but what’s been leaked will be radically different in many ways and believe me for the better, that’s the only way Geely know how to operate.

[NedaSay]

Yeah about that, the release of a GT4 Concept would seem to indicate that the Evora will remain in production for a little while longer and that the new car will come in addition to it. That would mean the car comes either slightly below in terms of range or slightly above...  Remember that JMG hinted at the fact that the Exige would be the first car replaced?

Well I think the upcoming car may be an Evora based Exige, roomier than the current Exige, with all the bells and whistles Lotus can throw at it using Geely components, yet smaller than the Evora and priced lower at the bottom end but on par, if not higher at the top end. Then again the car would be more extreme than any Evora could be at the top end while being able to outgun the competition further down the range, a Cayman killer and at the same time 911 GT3 hunter. The absolute momentum car on track but with a powertrain that will pack very serious punch... 450bhp or more from the engine and because Geely has one on shelf and they will have plenty of time to make it bulletproof a 7 speed DCT gearbox, while still catering for the manual drivers with another refinement on the venerable Aisin BG6... With Geely backing them Lotus now has the legs to ask for a bespoke version.  

[jonwat]

Yet another article on Lotus' next new model in Autoexpress. 

[Bibs]

Evora in the USA discussion is now here...

 

 

[electro_boy]

ohhh are those Autocar pictures from Lotus or ones Autocar created them selfs?

I really like individual bits of the car but not sure it works 100% all together?   Looks a little squashed could maybe be a bit longer?  Its certainly a nice design but needs a little tweak in my opinion before its finished.

[Nelly]

The Bahar era proposed Elan looks to be the basis of their renders...

 

Certainly no bad thing - it was the best looking of the five IMO.

[electro_boy]

Ah knew it looked familiar, that's where I'd seen it!  I think I prefer the Bahar Elan more?  Maybe put the front bumper of the new model on the Elan?

[NedaSay]

The packaging of an electrified mid-engined rear wheel driven 2 seater sports car sounds like a very interesting challenge.

I wonder if it means just a 48v battery paired with a V6 or a full on hybrid motor paired with a 3/4cyl engine, shoehorned in the engine bay, with a battery bank slotted on top of the gas tank or between the passenger.

I wouldn't mind seeing Lotus loose on Geely own V6 to get the thing integrally "lotusified", be it turbo or supercharged with a spec sheet to play the part 7500 max rpm, 450bhp+,  550nm, a 6 speed manual for the purist and 7 or 8 speed DCT or auto gearbox. 

I fully trust the Lotus design team and Geely parts bin to put together a cabin that will not only bring Lotus in the 21st century  but also give some of the established players a run for their money.

I do like the 2010 intent Prototype Elan too, but for some reason I think that Russell Carr and is design team will try to stay as far away from it as they can, and the shadow of the Type 130 seems to point with curvier shapes...

[CharlieBrown]

Hey, 

Why 2 pages of this topic were deleted?...…….Couple of members mentioned their dissatisfaction with Lotus and the new 2020 Evora GT, that is coming to the US.

Why the censorship?

 

Edited April 26, 2019 by ramjet
Content deleted. All in other topic.

[C8RKH]

9 hours ago, Bibs said:

Evora in the USA discussion is now here...

 

 

No censorship @CharlieBrown you just need to read the previous posts....

[CharlieBrown]

HAHAHA....my bad!

[C8RKH]

Yup.

[au-yt]

From recent discussions the future of lotus outside the UK is going to be one hard slog to get a whole new buyer base as current perceptions of people I speck to still think LOTUS Elise is the only thing that they made and it’s just a hard riding tiny sports car..

[PAR]

This is why the are going for a HyperCar to try to hit the reset button but it also means a new esprit carrying the name will béa important soon before the history is all forgotten.

[NedaSay]

Absolutely, Lotus is on the launch pad with a multistage rocket, their job is to make sure that they can reach orbit, and in a way that hypercar is just the first stage of that rocket, just here to provide the initial jolt, then it will be the new sportcar - really curious about that one - that will provide the momentum... A new sport program will help greatly I believe. I'm really confident in the ability of the new management team and the ownership to deliver.  The only thing that can  be a thorn on their side is another major economic downturn, but I think the ownership has already taken some measures... And with group sales exceeding 2M units sold last year and Lynk & Co about to reach cruising speed, Polestar gearing up to start production on #2, and Proton sales looking up, group sales should reach a higher mile stone if only marginally.

I want to put a "penny" on a brand new V6 turbo and electrified powertrain in the next sport car... Because its development was done more under JMG and more importantly Feng Qingfeng the project leader behind Geely Emgrand GT and the first  serious luxury car powered by a V6 that Geely ever produced.

Edited April 27, 2019 by NedaSay

[Bee]

Good opportunity for another sponsorship deal, just as Lotus are wanting to raise their public profile again, nationally and internationally...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47994427