Lotus launches the new Exige Sport 410

[The Pits]

Price will also be supercharged if they stay on their current trajectory unfortunately.

I don't get the objection to the Sport 410 are we obliged to be annoyed and vow to never buy another Lotus every time a new variant is announced? I think there are more grounds for objection with Lotus stalling with chargecooling the Exige and bothering with a 380 step at all.

A chargecooled Exige suddenly sounds quite reasonable at the Sport 380's £67,900 basic. If the Sport 410 doesn't find many buyers I also think we'll see an Exige 400 with plastic instead of carbon parts for around £70k which may or may not replace the Sport 350.

[pete]

as a matter of interest do Toyota make a car with the v6 engine

[Barrykearley]

Not in this country they dont

[pete]

so likely to be producing the engine for a while yet?

[alias23]

I actually would like a Cup430 and will be keeping an eye out in the future as prices hopefully improve. I just couldn’t see myself ever spending six or close to six figures on a lotus knowing their problems with parts and occasional workmanship. 

Their service needs to improve to match the premiums they are now charging.

I still believe the concept of the lotus being the supercar for every man/woman has been lost by the brand which is a real shame. 

[BfranklynV6]

V6s with an induction kit and tune at circa 400bhp is the supercar for the everyday person.

[Forkhandles]

My 380 is my first Lotus and I love it,, it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. 

 

 

[Steve V8]

I can't see why us Lotus owners keep complaining every time a new incarnation of a model arrives, most manufacturers do it, it's just evolution. 

I can feel for those who had shelled out for the latest model only to have it eclipsed six months later, but to remain competitive the range must evolve. So let's embrace every forward step, bring on Exige 430, and stop moaning a 440 or 450 hybrid is probably just around the corner. 

[stephenwhyte]

56 minutes ago, Forkhandles said:

My 380 is my first Lotus and I love it,, it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. 

 

 

Pick my 380 up tomorrow - I can’t wait and still happy with my purchase whatever Lotus decide is out next!!😎 Pictured here waiting and ready for collection!!👌

[C8RKH]

Lovely. Just lovely.

[Steve V8]

That is one beautiful looking machine Stephen you lucky lucky man. That's one for my bucket list. 👍

[Forkhandles]

1 hour ago, stephenwhyte said:

Pick my 380 up tomorrow - I can’t wait and still happy with my purchase whatever Lotus decide is out next!!😎 Pictured here waiting and ready for collection!!👌

What a cracker Simon you’ll love it. Get those first 800 miles or so out the way then the fun really begins  😉

great colour 👍🏻

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2018 by Forkhandles

[suffolk009]

11 hours ago, geartox said:

That's my bet from the beginning : Exige 500 for 500hp, 500NM, 999kg. end of chapter. but to do that lotus has to find a solution for the gearbox.

 

Such a gearbox seems to exist: https://komo-tec.com/Shop/en/Exige/MK3-Toyota-V6/Gearbox/Sequential-7-Speed-Gearbox.html

[Bravo73]

Not ideal though: “Track use only - NO street use”. 

[JayEmm]

9 hours ago, Steve V8 said:

I can feel for those who had shelled out for the latest model only to have it eclipsed six months later, but to remain competitive the range must evolve. So let's embrace every forward step, bring on Exige 430, and stop moaning a 440 or 450 hybrid is probably just around the corner. 

I think for Lotus themselves to remain in business, some description of predictability in their model range/releases is beneficial. Speak to people considering buying a Lotus, the constant barrage of "special editions" and seemingly moderately tweaked new models does not inspire confidence.

I know it is very popular on here to bash P-Cars, they are very, very different animals from what they were 20 years ago. Interior wise, there was a much bigger difference between my 1996 993 and my 1999 996 than my 2005 Elise and a 2018 Exige Cup 430. That being said, neither were spectacularly nice interiors.

"To defeat the enemy, you must understand them" - and in this case, understand what matters to their buyers.

There are other, basic things Lotus need to solve which I know loses them customers. Stuff like a track legal exhaust, even if it is an option, or getting their CAP codes in order so people who finance cars (most car buyers) can get reasonable rates on them.... or giving dealers some sort of incentive to get P-cars as a trade-in.

I know for a fact there are many, many people out there who have a Boxster or something as a second car, and if they had a weekend to live with an Exige they'd be sold. Lotus should have one factory demo car that just does the rounds and you can book a go in it, something like that. It wouldn't really cost that much money and it'd definitely make sales.

After all, most of us here used to drive/own other brands too but there's a reason we have our Lotus. We all also want the company to do well and continue to make great sports cars, to do that they do need to change what they're doing.

I personally think they've backed themselves into a corner price-wise with some of the models, but the 410 I do agree with some is really the car we should have got in place of the 380 (although I also love the look of that car) and at that price point.

[BfranklynV6]

I agree that owners who spent 40-50k on a pre 718 cayman or boxter really should have tried the Exige, because it’s in an entirely different peformance category for the same money. It’s also much more exclusive and (in my opinion) better looking.

[suffolk009]

We have a Boxster (it's my wife's daily). I am, I hope, going to be buying an Exige this year. I really don't see why the Lotus is constantly being compared to the Porsche. You might as well say that the Exige will get people out of an RS6, or their M3.

I think Lotus and Porsche have different values and wholly different USPs for their customers.

[JayEmm]

@suffolk009 because Porsche has become a benchmark in the sports car sector. Most people haven't driven the Lotus, they've only driven the 911 etc.... so they are always interested "how it compares" even if said comparison is a bit of a moot point - yes an Exige is a completely different propositon.

However, I believe an Exige got @MarkB out of an M4!

[C8RKH]

19 minutes ago, suffolk009 said:

 

I think Lotus and Porsche have different values and wholly different USPs for their customers.

This in spades.

@JayEmm I have to disagree re Porsche being the benchmark for sports cars. I would say many Porsche owners have bought with their heads, not their hearts. They have gone for the safe option. It's a bit like saying Magnolia is the benchmark for paint colours. It isn't. It's just safe, inoffensive to the masses who have been conditioned to fit in to a stereotype and conform. That's it really. Porsche is to sports cars what magnolia is to interiors.

Gt3, 4, RS  etc buyers are a different breed of Porsche owner usually. They tend to be real petrol heads with a passion for driving. The others are a bit, well, errr, bland! 

[GFWilliams]

1 hour ago, Bravo73 said:

Not ideal though: “Track use only - NO street use”. 

This is because of strict TUV rules in Germany and having to go through the approval process to make it road legal there. In the UK you'd have no problems using it on the road.

51 minutes ago, BfranklynV6 said:

I agree that owners who spent 40-50k on a pre 718 cayman or boxter really should have tried the Exige, because it’s in an entirely different peformance category for the same money. It’s also much more exclusive and (in my opinion) better looking.

I tried a 981 Boxster GTS before I bought the Lotus. Ultimately it's a better car in pretty much all ways apart from speed (torque!!) and handling (although Exige was terrible for understeer as standard). If I had bought the Boxster I would have swapped it for something else by now.

Having said that, I do with that I could have PDK in the Exige...

[JayEmm]

@C8RKH as somewhat of a Porsche fan, I would completely agree with you that the modern Porsche customer, 9 times out of 10 they buy it for the badge and have no idea how it drives etc...

Same sadly goes for a large proportion of McLaren and Ferrari owners too.

What's particularly sad about the Marque, one reason I left them and one path I do not want Lotus to go down, is this whole super limited run BS where they're trying to inflate used values of new cars because speculators are buying them. Genuine enthusiasts are being priced out of the cars they want. Those are the customers Lotus should be hoovering up.

Porsche themselves realised 20 years ago they couldn't just keep selling difficult to build sports cars to a small number of customers, it wasn't economically viable. So they got in bed with a large Asian manufacturer and completely changed the way they do business. But some people claim their cars never had the same character after. Sound familiar?

[BfranklynV6]

19 minutes ago, GFWilliams said:

I tried a 981 Boxster GTS before I bought the Lotus. Ultimately it's a better car in pretty much all ways apart from speed (torque!!) and handling (although Exige was terrible for understeer as standard). If I had bought the Boxster I would have swapped it for something else by now.

Having said that, I do with that I could have PDK in the Exige...

Speed and handling are why I’m buying a sports car. And looks, which I think the Exige wins on too. If I wanted ride comfort and practicality I’d be buying a Mercedes saloon. 

I struggled with understeer when I first got the Exige, but after a few months I found I could avoid it on the standard set up. I can’t tell you what I’m doing differently because I don’t know.... I just don’t seem to get understeer anymore. Maybe braking later?

Anyway, if lotus got rid of some of the carbon fibre, and made this Exige 410 sub 70k then (despite pissing a few of us off including me) I reckon they’d be on to a winner.

Edited May 5, 2018 by BfranklynV6

[RoflOnMyWaffle]

I just want to know where the damn canards went!

The Cup 380 had em, but not the Cup 430.

Is it cause of the new clam? Does it really perform that much better now?

[Bravo73]

36 minutes ago, GFWilliams said:

In the UK you'd have no problems using it on the road.

Good luck using a sequential gearbox/sintered clutch combo in a London traffic jam!

[GFWilliams]

I have a Mercedes which I take when I need to go into London 👍