Future of Lotus

[au-yt]

Interesting commentary in this video, Jump to 12.38Seconds for the LOTUS discussion

 

[au-yt]

 

[ramjet]

On 28/04/2019 at 07:33, Bee said:

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

Oooh. Looks just like the guy that played The Punisher.

[KAS-118]

I assume this will be used by/of benefit to Lotus as well 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/polestar-sets-rd-centre-coventry-develop-more-evs

[NedaSay]

It is very possibly going to be in the same building ...

In the meantime Lotus keeps bolstering its head office : All hail the man that will be in charge of the sales and aftersales network.

https://www.am-online.com/news/people-news/2019/05/08/lotus-appoints-geoff-dowding-as-global-sales-and-aftersales-director

[Advantage]

Lotus to hire 200 extra engineers* for both Hethel and Warwickshire sites.

https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/lotus-will-hire-200-engineers-expansion-paper-says

 

 *Not sure if that's the proper meaning of the term, or the more generic slang that's in everyday use.

[NedaSay]

When they say Warwickshire,  they do mean the Geely/ LEVC Coventry campus, right?! Good gosh This place is going to be crowded with brains, between Polestar, Lotus, Geely design... Geely is essentially creating its sixth R&D Excellence centre - the second in Europe after CEVT in Gotenburg - and the level of cross pollination is going to be off the charts : The London Taxi may become the fastest hybrid taxi on the Nurburgring if both Polestar and Lotus are let loose on it 😁

Edited May 14, 2019 by NedaSay

[NedaSay]

Everybody is talking about Lotus...  

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/05/12/phil-popham-got-get-lotus-back-road/

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/lotus-considering-gt-saloon-crossover-and-suv-projects

The skeleton building lis finally in the process of being completed. More recruits, new computers for the staff and automation on the new production line.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by NedaSay

[Nathan Pitman]

6 hours ago, NedaSay said:

The skeleton building lis finally in the process of being completed. More recruits, new computers for the staff and automation on the new production line.

 

They had computers? Honestly can't wait to see what this investment brings. Hopefully they don't leave the gateway product that is the Elise behind in the rush to establish themselves as a premium brand. It's not only the car that saved them, but also one which continues to act as a gateway drug for their more expensive products.

[Bazza 907]

3 hours ago, Nathan Pitman said:

 It's not only the car that saved them, but also one which continues to act as a gateway drug for their more expensive products.

Watch out for The Car Years, 8pm Tuesday night on ITV4 - It's all about how the Elise saved Lotus 😀

[Techyd]

I hope they can accommodate people from Swindon, there’s a lot of skill and expertise there for the taking now the Honda plant is closing down

[swindon_alan]

That is a really good call actually, Coventry is not that far away from here.

[NedaSay]

6 hours ago, Techyd said:

I hope they can accommodate people from Swindon, there’s a lot of skill and expertise there for the taking now the Honda plant is closing down

I'm pretty sure that talent wherever it comes from will be welcome, the new office in Coventry will be Design, advanced engineering and R&D if people have a desirable skillset they'll be hired.

Also I will bet my 2 cents  that the bulk of the engineering of the upcoming SUV and sedan will come from that centre, because, I'm not buying the "we haven't decided yet". Geely is building a factory in China, the wheels are moving. The SUV will have a bespoke chassis but it will use Geely modules and components.  I wonder how many portacabins will pop up near the LEVC facility in the next few weeks.

[au-yt]

This all wonderful in the news but the direct to previous customers is non existent, their so caught up in spending money there not letting their heartland know directly. I'm on a Mclaren list and I get weekly emails about whats going on with the new GT.

Wake up LOTUS the internet and emails exist, not doing this to me is a basic marketing flaw..... its simple they have data from down loading online brochures. News please media department

Edited May 15, 2019 by au-yt

[C8RKH]

27 minutes ago, au-yt said:

. its simple they have data from down loading online brochures. News please media department

Oh how little informed people are. There is a little thing, with massive teeth, called GDPR which means that to stay compliant Lotus cannot merely harvest customer data, they need your express permission to collect it, to hold it and to use it.  It's not always "simples" and in signing up to the McLaren list you will have given them explicit permission to contact you. 

Let's be honest. The comms - the frequency, the relevance, the use of social media, the magazines/journo access - you can feel and see momentum building. So give them a chance eh?

[au-yt]

I gave them permission when I ordered the Brochure.

Their missing a great opportunity to get the motoring world excited, news about employing people is nice, but not exciting

I have seen the 5 minute media release at a lotus only organised track day, about the future, the buildings the heritage and whats happening, its not on any website.

 

[jonwat]

Another Autocar article. 

Lotus plots expansion to include more sports cars and SUV

[Breeze]

In the immediate future I’d like to see the new Exige built on the Evora platform, hopefully with a longitudinal engine /transaxle install, to take over the track /sports sector of the range. The Evora, which will probably be with us for some time yet, should go back towards its original concept as a useable daily GT, not the highly focused track car it has become. One of the problems with the current Evora in my mind is that it is perhaps too focused to have a wider appeal. The 911 has appeal because the vast majority of the cars sold are non focused, standard 911’s, not the GT2 /3’s

As an aside. The Geely DSG box was mentioned, is this for a transversals or longitudinal engine installation?

[NedaSay]

Has this interview been posted before? Udai Senapati interview at Shanghai back in April: "it is not if, it is when".

 

[au-yt]

I wonder if this is the new engine?

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/a27813866/mercedes-amg-most-powerful-four-cylinder-m139/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rdt&utm_medium=email&date=060819&src=nl&utm_campaign=17140065

[KAS-118]

On 22/05/2019 at 12:05, Breeze said:

In the immediate future I’d like to see the new Exige built on the Evora platform, hopefully with a longitudinal engine /transaxle install, to take over the track /sports sector of the range. The Evora, which will probably be with us for some time yet, should go back towards its original concept as a useable daily GT, not the highly focused track car it has become. One of the problems with the current Evora in my mind is that it is perhaps too focused to have a wider appeal. The 911 has appeal because the vast majority of the cars sold are non focused, standard 911’s, not the GT2 /3’s

As an aside. The Geely DSG box was mentioned, is this for a transversals or longitudinal engine installation?

I agree with you - they do need a car that is sporty -  but does have some nod to practicality as well.

The 911 does have rear seats that although are cramped - you can still get a teenager in there.

I was all prepared to get an Evora last year - went down to Bell & Colvill - only to find out that my daughter had to have her head tipped on her side and the way the rear seats were shaped made you sit with your knees projecting forwards - and not like on an Elite 503 were they were scooped out which made you sit with your knees up and brought back.

Now toying with the idea of getting my daughter, who will be learning to drive in about 18 months, a Smart Car and myself and Elsie - but now I'm beginning to think do I really want to replace by car at the moment (which after 8 years has done less than 12k miles) when to me the future is very uncertain as to what power trains we'll be using in 10 to 15 years time (which if I bought a Lotus now I would keep it for).

On that subject - what was the latest on the Elise Replacement? I thought the new one was targeted for 2020?

[NedaSay]

The next Elise was postponed under JMG as the ink was drying on the Geely deal. It was deemed that a new exige was more important to the brand, to compete with the Cayman/Boxster presumably.

The Elise and Evora were supposed to soldier on  for a while longer under JMG while a new halo car now known as Type 130 and a new sport car were to be introduced. We assume the new sport car is an Evora based Exige car. A strict two seater but with a lot more room for the cabin occupants and all the gadgets lifestyle buyers demands, Geely providing the backbone for these. The other options being a new take on the Evora but rebranded or an Esprit successor.  

As for the Elise, JMG stated that it was going to come to market in 2022... Popham said last year that the next generation cars were about 4 years away so that would be still be around 2022.  I'm guessing that they may just go with the early sketches and designs of Carr and his team done under JMG and refine them to umpteenth degree.  So far it seems Popham and Co have been refining the plan set in place by JMG and are just modifying it. 

[Bee]

Very, very interesting video from Jaguar, showing the development of the I-Pace. It's left me wondering about what similar processes are going on at Lotus. I really hope they're documenting the process as I'd love to see a record of the immense changes they are going through. I always especially loved the documentary tracking the development of the Elise, and there must be so much exciting work going on at Hethel at the moment! The film has an interesting conclusion, with Ian Callum noting that the I-Pace is the car taking Jaguar forward. The Type 130 is that first step for Lotus, and the interim model is the next; I think we'd all like to see just how they really do this so please, please, please, Lotus, make the film!

 

https://biites.com/uk/jaguar/?fbclid=IwAR095C-V0mJuluGW4HlNVlavwky38MGg5rOIJGJjwYg2fgyINeOTqUlE38Y

[NedaSay]

I think we'll see something similar when they launch the Type 130.

[LotusDan]

Let's not forget Lotus are still trying to sell their current range of cars. Early talk (and I mean, it is very early...) of the next generation of cars will just turn people off to the current range. There's not really a lot of sense in trying to sell 'the next car' to people who aren't really listening right now (hence showcase car, the Type 130). I'm not sure how much I can say of the new gen cars and what they'll be based on, but I think it'll be evolution rather than revolution...