Evora GT430

[Bravo73]

After Lotus last treated him, I very much doubt it... ☹️

[anthonyyule]

Absolutely! If it is built to the same quality and it rides and goes like my XC90 then sign me up now. It’s a great piece of understated technological luxury and I absolutely love it. When Geeley start to trickle Volvo stuff through to Lotus it’s going to be epic! 

2 hours ago, Bravo73 said:

After Lotus last treated him, I very much doubt it... ☹️

I have a short term memory and a very forgiving nature. Although deeply pi55ed at the time, my experience thus far with the GT430 has been very enjoyable and hopefully my future experiences are as good. I stand by my feelings that Lotus warranty are the effective weak link in the chain and that Sales could do more to retain “serial” buyers/ Owners, but on the whole I still hold the brand dear to me and I’m ever hopeful that under Geeley things can only get better!

[C8RKH]

Excellent post @anthonyyule and a great outlook. The only thing I would add is that th Dealers need to to step up and some of the issues need to be identified when the car is delivered to them, and certainly on the PreDelivery inspection to the end customer. It has to be a partnership between Lotus AND the Dealers for a successful customer experience.

The XC90 looks superb by the way. Not that I am a big fan of SUV's.

[Gashead1105]

@anthonyyuleIf you think about moving on that XC90 once 2018 has passed, please let me know... 

[anthonyyule]

18 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Excellent post @anthonyyule and a great outlook. The only thing I would add is that th Dealers need to to step up and some of the issues need to be identified when the car is delivered to them, and certainly on the PreDelivery inspection to the end customer. It has to be a partnership between Lotus AND the Dealers for a successful customer experience.

The XC90 looks superb by the way. Not that I am a big fan of SUV's.

I would completely agree. There still doesn’t seem to be the same consistency across Lotus dealers as there is with something like Volvo,..... both in the way you are dealt with as a customer and the way in which th dealers look. Lotus needs to brand across all dealership buildings accordingly. But I think it’s gettinng better? 

15 minutes ago, Gashead1105 said:

@anthonyyuleIf you think about moving on that XC90 once 2018 has passed, please let me know... 

That’s very unlikely to happen! The love for the XC90 is real! I’ll have it for it’s 3 year term for sure. To be honest there is more chance of the GT430 being traded before the Volvo! 

[Gashead1105]

2 minutes ago, anthonyyule said:

That’s very unlikely to happen! The love for the XC90 is real! I’ll have it for it’s 3 year term for sure. To be honest there is more chance of the GT430 being traded before the Volvo! 

When's the 3 year term up?! 😉 

New (by which I mean second hand) Volvo is very much what my wife is angling for. Bought the last one at 3 years old and had it for 5 now. Hopefully get a year or two more out of it but she mentioned getting a replacement for the first time last night. And she has never done that before!! 

[DarrylV8]

3 hours ago, anthonyyule said:

I would completely agree. There still doesn’t seem to be the same consistency across Lotus dealers as there is with something like Volvo,..... both in the way you are dealt with as a customer and the way in which th dealers look. Lotus needs to brand across all dealership buildings accordingly. But I think it’s gettinng better? 

That’s very unlikely to happen! The love for the XC90 is real! I’ll have it for it’s 3 year term for sure. To be honest there is more chance of the GT430 being traded before the Volvo! 

Anthony we both agree the GT430 is pretty awesome, so what would you trade it in for?

[anthonyyule]

I honestly don’t know Darryl..... as a driving machine I personally believe it to be quite peerless at the moment. When you start to look at aspects of the car and the brand beyond the aspect of actually driving then I still believe there is some room for improvement...... infotainment/ finish/ after-sales/ access to dealer network could be improved - purely on those points alone I could be tempted into a Mclaren 570 or a new Aston Vantage or possibly an AMG GT. I don’t fancy a 911 of any sorts. But seriously, I enjoy the feeling of the GT430 and can’t think of anything right now that I would swap out for.... I’m waiting to see what Geeley do and the changes which come from Lotus over the next 24-36 months or so. 

[geartox]

Due to the fact that I have a psychological problem with gloss black plastic 😜🤣😱

do you think that it's possible to change some parts of the 430 like below (I will ask to lotus directly through the exclusive programme) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bravo73]

The cosmetic panel (AKA, incorrectly, the ‘sail panel’) only comes in black GRP from the factory. If you want a cf version, you will have to buy an aftermarket piece & fit it yourself. 

Lotus have stopped substituting the rear window for a carbon panel (due to complaints re 3/4 visibility). They are now glass again. 

The rest of the items should be able to be painted body colour. I think that you will struggle to get the factory to make any other custom pieces in carbon. You’ll be better off going aftermarket. 

[PAR]

Or you could paint the rest of the car black to match those bits?

 

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by PAR

[C8RKH]

4 hours ago, Bravo73 said:

The ventilation panel (AKA, incorrectly, the ‘sail panel’ or "cosmetic" panel) only comes in black GRP from the factory. If you want a cf version, you will have to buy an aftermarket piece & fit it yourself. 

Lotus have stopped substituting the rear window for a carbon panel (due to complaints re 3/4 visibility). They are now glass again. 

The rest of the items should be able to be painted body colour. I think that you will struggle to get the factory to make any other custom pieces in carbon. You’ll be better off going aftermarket. 

FTFY

[anthonyyule]

21 hours ago, Bravo73 said:

Lotus have stopped substituting the rear window for a carbon panel (due to complaints re 3/4 visibility). They are now glass again. 

This interested me greatly.

With so few cars actually built and sold..... who complained? I love the panels on mine and feel that it adds to the cocooned nature of the cabin. Under what circumstances would a glass panel have made 'that' much difference that new owners (or potential purchasers) felt the need to complain.... and shock of shock.... Lotus felt compelled to collate all such complaints and make a change to the design? We must be talking single figures for complaints.... surely not enough to warrant a change? 

Is it not more feasible that this was one of JMG's last cost cutting measures and simple 'cheap' glass was substituted in place of the more expensive carbon and a plausible story was woven to mask the change?

[CocoPops]

There are 25 GT430s in UK, so there are more than a few (in context).

[C8RKH]

2 hours ago, anthonyyule said:

This interested me greatly.

With so few cars actually built and sold..... who complained? I love the panels on mine and feel that it adds to the cocooned nature of the cabin. Under what circumstances would a glass panel have made 'that' much difference that new owners (or potential purchasers) felt the need to complain.... and shock of shock.... Lotus felt compelled to collate all such complaints and make a change to the design? We must be talking single figures for complaints.... surely not enough to warrant a change? 

Is it not more feasible that this was one of JMG's last cost cutting measures and simple 'cheap' glass was substituted in place of the more expensive carbon and a plausible story was woven to mask the change?

I only have a 410 Sport but it has the black panels too and I personally love them. No more of an issue with the view than there was in my S1 as to be honest the passenger seat headrest gets in the way anyway.

No idea if it was cost cutting or not. But I do like the look and like you, I do feel it adds to the cocooned nature.

7 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

There are 25 GT430s in UK, so there are more than a few (in context).

I have a sneaky feeling that's the same as the number of 410 Sports...

[Bibs]

2 hours ago, anthonyyule said:

Is it not more feasible that this was one of JMG's last cost cutting measures and simple 'cheap' glass was substituted in place of the more expensive carbon and a plausible story was woven to mask the change?

To be fair, he it was during his tenure than it was approved to be in there in the first place and again, a flat piece of carbon is actually a similar price to a flat piece of glass. I think it was genuine that the 3/4 view was quite compromised and the change was for safety. 

[C8RKH]

22 minutes ago, Bibs said:

To be fair, he it was during his tenure than it was approved to be in there in the first place and again, a flat piece of carbon is actually a similar price to a flat piece of glass. I think it was genuine that the 3/4 view was quite compromised and the change was for safety. 

Also, the carbon ones are £520 each, so hardly cheap!

[Spinney]

Maybe I'm in the minority on this but I prefer it with the glass and had Jamie at B & C confirm my new 410 would have that rather than the blacked out panel. My main reasoning, rather than for safety sake was because I prefer my cars with a light interior, hence my interior colour choice, and although very small, the side glass does make it that bit more airy inside.

Although one has no choice with Lotus, I particularly dislike dark or black headlinings for the same reason and when I bought my current Mercedes daily I had to spec the non Sport version as that was the only one that had a light coloured headlining. Apparently Mercedes believe that if you want a more sporty feel to your car, then you must also want a black headlining! Not too sure on what logic they base that assumption, but that's what the sales guy assured me.

[DarrylV8]

On 28/07/2018 at 11:08, Bravo73 said:

The cosmetic panel (AKA, incorrectly, the ‘sail panel’) only comes in black GRP from the factory. If you want a cf version, you will have to buy an aftermarket piece & fit it yourself. 

Lotus have stopped substituting the rear window for a carbon panel (due to complaints re 3/4 visibility). They are now glass again. 

The rest of the items should be able to be painted body colour. I think that you will struggle to get the factory to make any other custom pieces in carbon. You’ll be better off going aftermarket. 

Quarter panel on our car is cf not glass.

4 hours ago, anthonyyule said:

This interested me greatly.

With so few cars actually built and sold..... who complained? I love the panels on mine and feel that it adds to the cocooned nature of the cabin. Under what circumstances would a glass panel have made 'that' much difference that new owners (or potential purchasers) felt the need to complain.... and shock of shock.... Lotus felt compelled to collate all such complaints and make a change to the design? We must be talking single figures for complaints.... surely not enough to warrant a change? 

Is it not more feasible that this was one of JMG's last cost cutting measures and simple 'cheap' glass was substituted in place of the more expensive carbon and a plausible story was woven to mask the change?

Ours are cf and are as we wanted.

[Stubox]

Bit odd and never had an issue with visibility on mine , even out of some odd angled T junctions, in fact harnessed in the V6 Cup was far more awkward!

[scotty435]

6 hours ago, CocoPops said:

There are 25 GT430s in UK, so there are more than a few (in context).

You are wrong 25 is still a few ( in context ) and in the big scheme of things with most high performance manufacturers having there limited runs towards the 1000s, don't understand your problem with Lotus increasing the numbers from what they originally quoted and yes not good for the original buyers of the 430 and they seem more than happy with there cars and don't keep going on about the build numbers of the car unlike you. Every seems happy, Lotus and more importantly the owners. Win Win for Lotus and for the lucky 25 owners on a amazing car.

[CocoPops]

Scotty, think you’ve misread my post. I was replying to Tony’s post about a “few owners commenting on CF vs Glass”.

I was simply saying that there were more than a few (few is normally 3 in phrases like a couple or a few).

25 would give them a representative sample to get feedback from owners 👍

25 911s, sure you’d have maybe 1 or 2 passionate people giving feedback to manufacturer.

25 430s and everyone would be passionate about their car to provide feedback.

Maybe I should have quoted Tony, might have made it clearer I was referring directly to his post. 👍

[scotty435]

6 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

Scotty, think you’ve misread my post. I was replying to Tony’s post about a “few owners commenting on CF vs Glass”.

I was simply saying that there were more than a few (few is normally 3 in phrases like a couple or a few).

25 would give them a representative sample to get feedback from owners 👍

25 911s, sure you’d have maybe 1 or 2 passionate people giving feedback to manufacturer.

25 430s and everyone would be passionate about their car to provide feedback.

Maybe I should have quoted Tony, might have made it clearer I was referring directly to his post. 👍

Fare point but it's not the first time you have mentioned the numbers of the 430 and like said the it's been a success story for Lotus and more importantly for the owners.

[C8RKH]

Total Evora's on the road currently according to "how many left" in the UK is 672.  That's less than 75 cars a year for the 9 years the Evora has been going. Given the GT430 has only been around in 2018, 25 is a significant number, certainly more than a few, of all Evora's registered in the UK in 2018.

That's not a bad thing at all. For Lotus it is superb news and it marks a shift in the move upwards in value. If you look at the raw performance figures, the spec, how the car looks, how it goes, and yes, even the build quality (which i think is right up there really) then I also think it is superb news for the lucky owners who can enjoy driving, owning and cherishing what truly are outstanding cars.

The boggo R8 right now is around £118k and it looks like an upside down skip in comparison to the GT430. Has nothing like the carbon panels, it's about the same performance and in comparison is as common as dog poo on a residential street.  The only reason the Porker 911's look such good value is, I truly believe, because the butcher of Stuttgart is artificially keeping their prices lower as they can afford to make a much smaller margin on them given how much they make on their SUV's.

I honestly cannot think of a car, right now, you can buy for under £150k new (not list price, actual price you would need to pay) that provides the visual appeal, the noise (oh my god the noise!), the driving sensation or the "look at me I am NOT a pretentious winker kerb appeal of the GT430.

Congrats to all who have bought one. Now drive it like you stole it and tell us all about it and show us the piccies and the videos 

[Techyd]

I think build quality is right up there, having seen them being built too, it’s a great factory, calm and composed I thought as well! They had a few 430 sports there too and they looked incredible!!

Showed my best mate my MY12 Evora the other day and he had three things to say, n this order:

1) I’m amazed how well built it is

2) sounds amazing

3) Its quicker than my Maserati! (4200 GT)

So I can only imagine how much fun and enjoyment people are having in theirs!!! Good choice people!!