Lotus Elise Eating into Kit Car Marketplace?

[Joe T]

I have noticed how Series 1 Lotus Elises have come down to £7k, surely this will start to have an effect on the Kit industry. Heres an Example for reference
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-LOTUS-ELISE-NORFOLK-MUS...

I know there will still be people out there who want to build a car but who would buy a secondhand kit GTM, Aeon etc with these on offer. Don't get me wrong I am not saying the Lotus is better, do you think this will affect pricing. They will only get cheaper and when they reach £5K I think it could be interesting.

As a car builder I have an interest in this sort of stuff.

[grumpy]

The falling prices of main stream cars has always had an impact on the Kit Car industry, particularly on the Kit Car manufactures who have tried to build cars to compete with the main stream like Quantum with there 2+2, and H4 and lately GTM, and other manufactures who's names escape me.

There 'll always be a market for those who want something that's different. Whether it be a replica, Cobra/Seven, they seem to be the "staple" of the industry, or something quite mad.

I've built a couple of Se7ens but now have an Elise, (don't mention the part built Cobra lurking in the garage).

Not saying which is best but there's something nice in owning a Lotus.

[deviant]

I wouldnt think it would affect the kit car market toooo badly...there will always be people who want to build a car themselves and by the time Elises drop below £5K there is a good chance most of them are feeling their age so some people are going to weigh up the maintenance on an Elise or building a 'brand new' car.

[Sam_68]

It's got to be a worry for GTM, in particular, and I would imagine that the OP's Costin project will struggle to achieve big sales for the same reason

I've driven and Elise and a GTM Libra back-to-back, and they have very similar performance and capabilities. The GTM used to have a niche in the market; lighter and more focused than mainstream sportscars in the same capacity range, but practical enough for everyday use. Now, there must be a significant number of people who would have previously considered the Libra who will simply save themselves the time and expense and buy an Elise.

From my experience, the Elise is a very reliable car, so the maintenance vs. 'new kit' argument simply doesn't stack up; the amount of time and effort required to build a kit would keep an Elise properly maintained for a lifetime...

... but there'll always be a steady supply of people who want to be different, or who want to build a car as a recreational/technical challenge.

[fuoriserie]

Joe T said:

I have noticed how Series 1 Lotus Elises have come down to £7k, surely this will start to have an effect on the Kit industry. Heres an Example for reference
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-LOTUS-ELISE-NORFOLK-MUS...

I saw this comming....and this is the real threat for the kitcar industry, a real sportscar with heritage, that has a unique and original design, with great handling charateristics, and is affordable!

In my opinion very few kitcars in the industry could compete equally against a used Elise, and the only few would be those high spec looking replicas and classics, Catfield......all the others would really have a hard time to prove their value for money.

To be honest and fair the Elise would be hard to beat by any global sportscar/car manufacturer, let alone a kitcar manufacturer, that doesn't have the kind of money for research and development and its expertise in design.

It really is on a class of it's own, and the quality of the concept, is so simple, but effective in all of its parts, and will continue to be so also in the near future.

The question would have to be, what new kitcar concept could equal in the future the Elise on styling/design, chassis dynamics, and value for money ?

If I were a kitcar manufacturer, that would be my personal daily question ?

Edited by fuoriserie on Monday 21st July 14:03

[Joe T]

Yep pretty much as I thought, its a very different prospect to compete with that as time rolls by will set a benchmark for pricing.

I am in a different sector really, I don't have to turn a profit as its a project for me, I don't really aim to build more than ten cars, the record for a Costin model of any sort is 8. Most seemed to be destined for track use.

Must be a concern though for kit manufacturers especially at the design stage or even fund raising stage, a 5k Elise will be hard to beat for cheap driving fun.

Just imagine starting a car building business, the Banks question when raising funds would be what has your car/project got that a secondhand Elise hasn't?

Maybe is time to look at reclothing the Elise? Italo?

Edited by Joe T on Monday 21st July 23:48

[qdos]

I am a Lotus fan and I'm also a fan of Kit Cars too I've had a Lotus and I've also built kits too. Much as it pains me to say this however buying the Lotus was sadly the biggest mistake of my life. I loved the car it was superb to drive but it was just a total liability and in the end I didn't dare move it and had to get rid of it.

What did I replace it with? A Ginetta G27. I can source the parts easily and cheaply but most of all I can actually work on it easily as I put everything on it I know how it works and I built it with the view of what do I need to do if I have to repair it at sometime. Production cars are built just for the production line.

Don't get me wrong the Lotus Elise is in my books the perfect car in looks, design, and purpose, only I had my fingers burned very badly and I just wouldn't risk it again however cheap and however much I love the car and wish I had one. I learnt my lesson. You'll find it hard to beat a car you built yourself.

Edited by qdos on Tuesday 22 July 04:21

[MGYoung]

It's not only thre lotus that may eat into kit car sales. With a 10K budget there are now some very nice 2 seater open top cars available. 2.7 Porsche Boxster, late Mk2 MX-5, Toyota MR2, BMW Z3M, perhaps an early Z4, TVR Chimeara, TVR Griffith, even a TVR Cerbera is now within this figure. Whilst these are undeniably softer and less focused that most kit cars they do offer good value for money and may appeal to the sort of person though would normally buy second hand kit cars (like me!). I have thought about swapping the Caterham for something more mainstream.

All the best.

Martin.

Edited by MGYoung on Tuesday 22 July 05:40

[Sam_68]

qdos said:

Much as it pains me to say this however buying the Lotus was sadly the biggest mistake of my life. I loved the car it was superb to drive but it was just a total liability...

But judging by your profile it's an Excel you're talking about, not an Elise?

Older Lotus certainly are a liability, unless you are willing to molly-coddle them with constant attention and preventative maintenance (having said which, my Elan gets the attention it demands and I'd be happy to jump in it and head off to the South of Europe at the drop of a hat).

... but the Elise is a very different proposition to any previous Lotus. Mine have both exhibited Japanese levels of reliability and even the spectre of K-series HGF (much over-played in any case) is receding, now that the Toyota engined models are taking over.

[fuoriserie]

Joe T said:

Maybe is time to look at reclothing the Elise? Italo?

Edited by Joe T on Monday 21st July 23:48

I was asked to recloth an Europa a few months ago.......