Lotus Chapman Bespoke launched in China
New customisation service offers three levels, including 'one-off personalisation of an entire vehicle'
Lotus has announced a new service that will offer buyers the chance to customise their cars to a far greater extent than was previously possible, up to and including the creation of ‘their own unique Lotus’. Dubbed ‘Lotus Chapman Bespoke’ and clearly intended to compete with similar programmes offered by rival carmakers, the new facility will launch in China next month and then roll out globally.
Named after Colin and Hazel Chapman, the personalisation service is available in three tiers: Tailor-made, Collection and One-off. Tailor-made, the simplest, offers a choice of colours and unspecified ‘exclusive personal touches and details’. Collection moves onto ‘limited-edition designs, brought to life in partnership with partners, artists and likeminded luxury brands’, while One-off, as the name suggests, permits the personalisation of an entire car.
“Many of our customers are looking for a bespoke experience; be that colour, texture, fabric, detail – and we are excited to see their individuality stamped on our cars around the world,” noted Ben Payne, VP Design at the Lotus Group. For now there is no additional detail on precisely how far the customisation process extends or which models it will apply to, although the pictures accompanying the release confirm that Lotus Chapman Bespoke certainly comes with its own unique black and gold badge. So there’s that.
If this all sounds like the sort of thing that would have its namesake spinning in his grave, then Lotus begs to differ. Qingfeng Feng, Lotus Group CEO reckons: “The story of Lotus is the story of a bespoke carmaker. The first cars were hand-drawn and hand-built at home by Colin Chapman, and that spirit lives on in us today.” Naming the service after its founder is apparently meant as the highest accolade.
Clive Chapman, son of Colin and Director of Classic Team Lotus, added: “Together my parents shared an extraordinary adventure. Their dynamic personalities created innovative designs for the drivers to enjoy. Now the drivers can enjoy creating their own innovations with Lotus Chapman Bespoke.”
Expect to hear more about the ‘almost unlimited combinations’ the manufacturer has in store when the service arrives in the UK, presumably in time for Emeya buyers to take full advantage.
k china. They’re the reason why these new lotus look absolutely horrible. And since the same can be said regarding the design of all new bmw and Mercedes: 3 times f
k you, china.As for the article and the service offered ... I've not got much other than a vague shrug and a sad shake of my head.
FFS, when you buy a brand or a company at least TRY & pretend that you are going to invoke the spirit of the original. Otherwise why not just start a new company, or buy one that actually suits your goals?
BMW for all their faults where the British car industry is concerned got this. MINI, Land Rover, Rolls Royce are all immeasurably better for having been owned by a company that actually gets what made them desirable in the first place.
This is up there in the naffness stakes with the egregious ‘Q’ by Aston Martin.
(I await the day when your finance agreement is handed across is a cold war facsimile brown folder marked TOP SECRET, even better journeys on the sat nav could be referred to as ‘missions’. End of AM rant.)
Despite his supposed obsession with weight cutting ( which I think is slightly over exaggerated and can just as easily be read as cost cutting ) he more than anything wanted to run a profitable business. Which is something Lotus often struggled to do.
The premium world in which they are now trying to play is as much about making bespoke options available to customers, at a price, as it is about driving dynamics. People are willing to pay for individuality. It would be foolish of them not to offer this.
The companies that make this work, such as Ferrari, Rolls and Bentley, make fortunes via their bespoke programs. Happy if Lotus can do to - it allows them to develop better cars at the end of the day....
Admittedly there are far too many manufacturers in China in the EV space and we shall see a big consolidation and clear out, but I wonder how much even well established companies like the owners of Lotus will be willing to spend on ventures like Lotus if they are not consistently cash generative, especially with their home market stagnating.
So while I might look at this launch and yawn a bit - if it helps them keep going in Norfolk with their traditional cars, well every little helps I guess.
Still a cynical badge for cynical cars, though. Not even the fun kind of cynical where you come up with amusingly dour one-liners and get really into Kafka. More the edge of the kind of cynical that involves cryptocurrency scams and using video games to get kids addicted to gambling. Bleeagh.
t about this.Had he not died when he did then he would have gone to jail for the part he played in the DeLorean money Laundering scandal.
I'm guessing the people posting here all supported the 'Simplify and add lightness' philosophy, by buying a new traditional Lotus?
They appear to have so many fans, yet they sold so few of them? Only 576 cars worldwide in 2022.
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