Discussion
Tuna said:
Ed. said:
Wouldn't the V10 be a little out of the price range given the price of the LFA?
The evidence is that the Esprit replacement is going to cost something like £160K+ so it's not inconceivable that it will have the LFA engine. Lotus are trying to produce a supercar, and want to be seen to be competing against Mclaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini - so we're not going to see a car that costs 80K.I'll place good money that when the price of the Esprit is announced, this forum will be flooded with hundreds of posts reading "How much? They've got to be joking!!".
Tuna said:
I'll place good money that when the price of the Esprit is announced, this forum will be flooded with hundreds of posts reading "How much? They've got to be joking!!".
Carbon fiber as used in cars is also a kind of plastic, but nobody ever suggests that an Enzo Ferrari is a plastic toy. Whereas an Elise is frequently referred to as such. The difference in perception is ridiculous, but it's almost impossible to overcome. How many years has it been that the Corvette has been made and yet it's still ridiculed, no matter how formidable an achievement the ZR1 may be.I'd expect that for a large share of buyers in the market for a £150K car. their purchase should be considered "cool". With a Ferrari, this is almost assured. With a Lotus there are a few niggles. For one, others may be unsure whether you got the cheap one or not. This may well have killed the VW Phaeton. Not every luxury car buyers wants to be inconspicuous. And then, there is the issue of how it will be received. GM must have pulled a few strings to get the placement in Pretty Woman. Can the current management pull off something similar?
Finally, Lotus has little credit with buyers. The reputation of unreliability does not seem to go away. Consider for a moment that it was the Esprit that had "thermal problems" and not Ferrari 458. Would you be confident that Esprit's reputation could recover from that?
So, in my opinion at least, success is not anywhere near certain for a £150K Lotus. If they keep prices unchanged for the rest of the lineup, I wouldn't expect the Esprit to take the company down with it, even if it is a horrible failure - hopefully it won't be. However, the stated goal of raising average prices to £80-100K very well might. That goal cannot be compatible with a £25-30K Elise, and that is terrible news for enthusiasts.
ptopman said:
I'd expect that for a large share of buyers in the market for a £150K car. their purchase should be considered "cool". With a Ferrari, this is almost assured.
Hahaha! Ferrari aren't "cool". Far from it. Unless you are a 32 year old short bloke who lives with his Mum and considers wearing leather jackets on the beach and sunglasses at night are "cool".ptopman said:
GM must have pulled a few strings to get the placement in Pretty Woman. Can the current management pull off something similar?
No strings pulled whatsoever. Other manufacturers turned their noses up at the film maker's requests, saying they didn't want to be associated with a film about a prostitute. When Lotus were asked, they simply said 'Yes, how many do you want?'.What kind of people drive a certain car has no effect on whether it's a cool car or not. This whole notion of "footballer's car" or what have you is amazingly lame, sorry. Any modern Ferrari is a very capable car (probably way too capable for most purposes), has a great heritage and looks quite good. Obviously people will have different views, but I feel for a majority a Ferrari is a desirable car and statistics would be what counts. No maker needs to convince everyone.
I wasn't aware that Ferrari and Porsche had turned down requests to supply a car for Pretty Woman (I doubt they would choose to decline if a car were requested for a similar movie today). However, if no other maker wanted to supply a car for the last major movie a Lotus was in, that speaks volumes. Swordfish, even though a crapfest, gave TVR quite a bit of recognition in the US. Lotus has very little recognition anywhere. They are making some moves, but since that is a transition, we still have to see if they can achieve their goals. I'm not sure anybody wanted to buy a Naomi Campbell Evora, however. What was wrong with simply creating a Haitian relief version?
I wasn't aware that Ferrari and Porsche had turned down requests to supply a car for Pretty Woman (I doubt they would choose to decline if a car were requested for a similar movie today). However, if no other maker wanted to supply a car for the last major movie a Lotus was in, that speaks volumes. Swordfish, even though a crapfest, gave TVR quite a bit of recognition in the US. Lotus has very little recognition anywhere. They are making some moves, but since that is a transition, we still have to see if they can achieve their goals. I'm not sure anybody wanted to buy a Naomi Campbell Evora, however. What was wrong with simply creating a Haitian relief version?
Edited by ptopman on Sunday 5th September 23:03
Pretty Woman wasn't the last time Hethel had a car in the movies. It's just a good yardstick for explaining to the unitiated what an Esprit is, as they wouldn't want to admit to watching Basic Instinct (which was a few years later and only muppets like me have seen The Rookie).
However, film contracts aside, it doesn't detract from the fact that a capable car doesn't always mean it's a cool car. Ferraris stopped being cool a long, long time ago. Probably around the late 1970's. They have since developed into some sort of grotesque accessory. Mind you, if you think that selling vast quantities of something means it's desirable or cool, then surely the Fiesta and Corsa must be some of the chicest vehicles on the planet?
Lotus have never been about the obvious 'Look at Me' shouting that other marques seem to yearn for. For that I am quite thankful. And they have never chased the volume market like certain Italian and German manufacturers do. It took 28 years to make all 10675 Esprits (of which just over 1600 are in the UK, so you won't see them everyday) and each one made a profit.
There are enough people around who have been waiting for a replacement to make the new car a profitable one, too. Obviously, going by the previous figures, the majority of 'new Esprit' buyers will be outside the UK, so people of the World do seem to know something of the marque. When you add in those who are fickle enough to be persuaded to buy the next shiny thing on a whim, things are looking just fine in Norfolk. It's comforting to know you are concerned.
However, film contracts aside, it doesn't detract from the fact that a capable car doesn't always mean it's a cool car. Ferraris stopped being cool a long, long time ago. Probably around the late 1970's. They have since developed into some sort of grotesque accessory. Mind you, if you think that selling vast quantities of something means it's desirable or cool, then surely the Fiesta and Corsa must be some of the chicest vehicles on the planet?
Lotus have never been about the obvious 'Look at Me' shouting that other marques seem to yearn for. For that I am quite thankful. And they have never chased the volume market like certain Italian and German manufacturers do. It took 28 years to make all 10675 Esprits (of which just over 1600 are in the UK, so you won't see them everyday) and each one made a profit.
There are enough people around who have been waiting for a replacement to make the new car a profitable one, too. Obviously, going by the previous figures, the majority of 'new Esprit' buyers will be outside the UK, so people of the World do seem to know something of the marque. When you add in those who are fickle enough to be persuaded to buy the next shiny thing on a whim, things are looking just fine in Norfolk. It's comforting to know you are concerned.
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