RE: Driven: Lotus Evora GT4

[kambites]

Curious. I've not driven one but all the reviews I've seen and the comments from people I know who have driven them implied that the engine was a pretty good match for the car, both in character and power output. I'm sure it's not as good as the Cayman engine, if nothing else because the CoG is so much higher, but then no engine they bought in was going to be as good as the Cayman engine and if they'd developed their own it would have cost 70k instead of 50.

I think your other two points are much more of an issue, really. Lotus don't have the badge kudos to compete as a major player in the very badge conscious 50k+ sports car market and bits falling off the press cars really doesn't help their cause.


It'll be interesting to see whether they do do a track focused road car, given that they already have the 211. I wouldn't have thought that the Evora platform was an obvious one to use for a track toy - it's rather heavy.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd August 14:51

[Guvernator]

kambites said:

It'll be interesting to see whether they do do a track focused road car, given that they already have the 211. I wouldn't have thought that the Evora platform was an obvious one to use for a track toy - it's rather heavy.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd August 14:51

I think a track focused Evora might actually be a good idea. Don't forget people often don't have the funds, space or inclination to run a dedicated track car hence why things like the Elise are so popular as they can perform duel duties to an extent. Look at how successful the CSL was for BMW as a halo model. That is an excellent track car and it's based on a 4 seater coupe. In that context I think a hardcore Evora would make a lot of sense for people who want to have some track fun but still use the car everyday. It would have to be priced right though. I still think that is the biggest issue for the Evora.

[kambites]

Guvernator said:

I think a track focused Evora might actually be a good idea. Don't forget people often don't have the funds, space or inclination to run a dedicated track car hence why things like the Elise are so popular as they can perform duel duties to an extent. Look at how successful the CSL was for BMW as a halo model. That is an excellent track car and it's based on a 4 seater coupe. In that context I think a hardcore Evora would make a lot of sense for people who want to have some track fun but still use the car everyday.

Hmm, yes maybe you're right. Because the Elise is such a perfect daily driver for me, I tend to forget that other people find them too impracticable. A GT3 RS style Evora might do them a log of good, although everyone will just complain that it's too expensive if they do one.

[T1berious]

Hi,

I'm just a bit curious about the real world ability to use a single car for both every day use and track days?

I'm probably being very naive and apologise in advance but the impression I get is that Tires, Brakes, Engines take a real hammering at the track.

I'm dead keen to get my own car on the track but the "real" cost of doing so scares me s**tless

Back on topic, I can’t think of any car that doesn’t benefit from a Halo model, be it a track based one or a “premium” one (obviously model segment dependant).

Porsche don’t seem to suffer too much with the GT2 RS etc, no reason a GT4 shouldn’t have the same affect. I remember the Autocar review being very positive about the car, just saying it needed more grunt but the handling was sublime, believe it one on the handling day.

T1b

[ewenm]

T1berious said:

Hi,

I'm just a bit curious about the real world ability to use a single car for both every day use and track days?

I'm probably being very naive and apologise in advance but the impression I get is that Tires, Brakes, Engines take a real hammering at the track.

I'm dead keen to get my own car on the track but the "real" cost of doing so scares me s**tless

Depends what car it is. If it's a big heavy performance car then you're right, it takes a major hammering on track. If it's a light performance car (Caterham, Elise etc) then it's a lot easier on the car. Plus the lightweights tend to be designed more with the track in mind so handle it better than a car designed for the motorway with a big engine added

Plenty of people use lightweights every day (I did with the Caterham for 5 years), but it is a compromise.

[Guvernator]

kambites said:

Hmm, yes maybe you're right. Because the Elise is such a perfect daily driver for me, I tend to forget that other people find them too impracticable. A GT3 RS style Evora might do them a log of good, although everyone will just complain that it's too expensive if they do one.

Lotus are to an extent a victim of their own success. The Elise started off as a cheap way for people to get into a car which looked like a supercar and could keep up with most things on a trackday. Admittedly it got more and more expensive with each iteration but it was still considered as a bargain supercar slayer by most. You can't spend years building up that sort of reputation and then just try to jump up market with a wave of a magic wand. It just doesn't work that way. In one fell swoop you loose your core market and are then trying to compete against the big boys.

This isn't unique to Lotus though, it seems to be a mistake that a lot of less established manufacturers are making at the moment. Unfortunately for them you can't just decide to jump up market on a whim. It takes years to attain the kind of brand image that allows you to sell overpriced cars which is why I have a real concern for the future if Lotus. Their 5 car master plan to take on the establishment fills me with dread.

[braddo]

Guvernator said:

Lotus are to an extent a victim of their own success. The Elise started off as a cheap way for people to get into a car which looked like a supercar and could keep up with most things on a trackday. Admittedly it got more and more expensive with each iteration but it was still considered as a bargain supercar slayer by most. You can't spend years building up that sort of reputation and then just try to jump up market with a wave of a magic wand. It just doesn't work that way. In one fell swoop you loose your core market and are then trying to compete against the big boys.

This isn't unique to Lotus though, it seems to be a mistake that a lot of less established manufacturers are making at the moment. Unfortunatel for them you can't just decide to jump up market and wave a magic wand. It takes years to attain the kind of brand image that allows you to sell overpriced cars which is why I have a real concern for the future if Lotus, their 5 car master plan to take on the establishment fills me with dread.

The Lotus of the Elise era is more of a blip in their history rather than what you describe - they were producing premium, expensive cars for many years (original Elite, Espirit).

[kambites]

braddo said:

The Lotus of the Elise era is more of a blip in their history rather than what you describe - they were producing premium, expensive cars for many years (original Elite, Espirit).

They were never particularly profitable doing it, though. Not that the Elise was particularly profitable either.

[Scuffers]

kambites said:

They were never particularly profitable doing it, though. Not that the Elise was particularly profitable either.

I do wish you would stop repeating this line.

The Elise earned Lotus more money than they have ever had before in their entire history of making road cars, the fact they pissed most it up the wall is another matter....

[Guvernator]

kambites said:

braddo said:

The Lotus of the Elise era is more of a blip in their history rather than what you describe - they were producing premium, expensive cars for many years (original Elite, Espirit).

They were never particularly profitable doing it, though. Not that the Elise was particularly profitable either.

They may well have done in the past but for at least the past 15 years when someone mentions Lotus, the first thing to spring to mind is the Elise. I'd hardly call that a blip. Even the Espirit was a relative bargain compared to it's rivals at the time. I just don't think Lotus currently have the brand image to go head-to-head on price with people like Porsche.

[Chris71]

Riggers: Some say he's scared of alcantara...

[pthelazyjourno]

Guvernator said:

They may well have done in the past but for at least the past 15 years when someone mentions Lotus, the first thing to spring to mind is the Elise. I'd hardly call that a blip. Even the Espirit was a relative bargain compared to it's rivals at the time. I just don't think Lotus currently have the brand image to go head-to-head on price with people like Porsche.

Conveniently missing out the fact that Porsche also (and still does?) undercut Ferrari by a whacking great amount in terms of pricing - I'd say the Esprit was very much on the money, along with the 911, and Ferrari out on its own.

From what I can gather the new Esprit will be priced in a similar way - undercutting cars like the 458 by a significant margin. Or have I missed something?

[kambites]

Scuffers said:

kambites said:

They were never particularly profitable doing it, though. Not that the Elise was particularly profitable either.

I do wish you would stop repeating this line.

The Elise earned Lotus more money than they have ever had before in their entire history of making road cars, the fact they pissed most it up the wall is another matter....

You do understand the word "particularly"? I know that the Elise produced both the biggest profit and the biggest revenue stream that Lotus Cars have ever had, but neither of those is saying a huge amount.

[ItsaTVR]

Chris71 said:

Riggers: Some say he's scared of alcantara...

that he carries one of their pelts to ward off another attack...

[peter450]

kambites said:

Better in what way? I don't think I've ever actually seen a road test criticise the engine for anything other than the badge on the rocker cover.

Better as in the direct injection version of the engine, which makes around 310 + hp in standard tune, so lotus could have probably got 330 + seeing as they managed to get 280 from the current one which only makes around 250 in toyota trim

The S/C version would have been a real rocket

[ItsaTVR]

peter450 said:

Better as in the direct injection version of the engine,

The S/C version would have been a real rocket

That's only a few GBP more...

And may be Toyota wouldn't sell them the latest/upmarket versions.
No one can fault the current motors for reliability and economy of operation.

[anonymous-user]

Lotus might usefully focus their time and attention into making the road car a marketable proposition rather then fannying about with this (yet another) special racer edition.

[kambites]

5 USA said:

Lotus might usefully focus their time and attention into making the road car a marketable proposition rather then fannying about with this (yet another) special racer edition.

I might be wrong, but I get the impression that Lotus' executive management view their current road cars as more of a necessary annoyance as they go about their new plans, than something to spend time and money on.

[The Wookie]

5 USA said:

Lotus might usefully focus their time and attention into making the road car a marketable proposition rather then fannying about with this (yet another) special racer edition.

This is an out and out race car rather than a special edition and, as it says in the article, it sells for £125k. There are plenty of them being raced competitively by customer teams already as well!

[zebedee]

5 USA said:

Lotus might usefully focus their time and attention into making the road car a marketable proposition rather then fannying about with this (yet another) special racer edition.

It is more than marketable, it is superb. And they are looking at the Evora continuing and adapting, at the expense of the new model car that would have trampled the Evora's feet, the Elan I think.