RE: Lotus five-car future is canned
Discussion
It's a Yamaha engine - maybe Yamaha will sell it?
The Chevy's the best engine for the job. It's the smallest and lightest 500 hp engine available for road use, and it'll reel off 300,000 miles between rebuilds. Its use would make the Esprit seem a bit kit-car-ish, though.
How about the 6.4 liter, 480 hp Chrysler Hemi Magnum? It's roughly Chevy-sized, nobody else uses it, and it should be just as good.
The Chevy's the best engine for the job. It's the smallest and lightest 500 hp engine available for road use, and it'll reel off 300,000 miles between rebuilds. Its use would make the Esprit seem a bit kit-car-ish, though.
How about the 6.4 liter, 480 hp Chrysler Hemi Magnum? It's roughly Chevy-sized, nobody else uses it, and it should be just as good.
AlpineWhite said:
Indeed, the cancellation of the five car plan is simply an indication of their increased dedication to bringing out five cars in five years.
Those 5 cars being:1) Evora Olympic edition
2) Evora ParaOlympic edition
3) Evora Sports edition
4) Evora Supersports edition
5) Evora GaryBaldie edition
So the new Esprit is going to have to be MORE than competitive with the Ferrari Italia, the McLaren, the Mercedes SLS, the upcoming 991 Turbo, and whatever awesome car is about to replace the Lamborghini Gallardo. Talk about having to show up with your A Game -- any new Esprit is going to have to have to be a virtual moon shot from Lotus.
rohrl said:
I can think of no better way for a small manufacturer to bankrupt themselves in short order than to attempt to develop and build their own engine. I can't believe anyone thinks that's a good idea.
That was the best part of the plan. License out detuned versions to others, design it so an alternate engine can be used for replacement, do something.When you look at the engine on Lotus's flagship, it should be a Lotus engine.
"The ambitious Lotus 'five cars in five years' plan has been cut to a single new car for launch in 2014, likely to be the Lotus Esprit."
A very welcome outbreak of common sense.
Now lets see. Evora chassis, longitudinal V8, substantially improved dashboard, totally revised bodywork.
Job done!
Model range,
A very welcome outbreak of common sense.
Now lets see. Evora chassis, longitudinal V8, substantially improved dashboard, totally revised bodywork.
Job done!
Model range,
- Elise in 4-pot and maybe normally aspirated V6 too.
- Exige S for the trackday crowd.
- Evora some-model-or-other at a lower price.
- Esprit V8 priced against the 911
"We're told quality is the new mantra, making sure every car is spot on. "Lotus believes the best way to improve its profile to produce great cars and ensure fantastic feedback," says our source."
This is the single best thing I've heard come out of Lotus for years. Bravo. Finally this has been acknowledged and they might actually do something about it if they want to survive. Which is what this is about, not being the next Ferrari/Porsche FFS, one step at a time! Then they can be Lotus on their own merit.
This is the single best thing I've heard come out of Lotus for years. Bravo. Finally this has been acknowledged and they might actually do something about it if they want to survive. Which is what this is about, not being the next Ferrari/Porsche FFS, one step at a time! Then they can be Lotus on their own merit.
This is good news. They're being realistic about the future and focusing on what they do best.
I always felt the Elite and Eterne were pie-in-the-sky that never seemed in keeping with the Lotus ethos of performance through light weight. Given the history of tweaking saloons for high-performance it seems the idea of a Lotus saloon is perpetually on the cards in a Lotus Carlton sense anyway. A folding metal-roof cabrio is totally against Lotus values and I hope it never sees the light of day again.
However, as for the other cars in the lineup, it seems to me they were fairly strong anyway, it's just that Lotus has chosen to do them differently.
New Elise - they realised there was nothing wrong with the old one being subjected to development. Good. Plus, the new Exige has received nothing but praise since it arrived. IMO it's with this model they'll make most money.
New Elan - look at the specs and you'll see it was an evolved Evora anyway. They're moving it in this direction - look at the new GTE - and a new cabriolet will broaden its appeal Stateside and get people who are perhaps less bothered about setting fast lap times interested in it. An Evora convertible makes more sense than the proposed new Elite so it could be said it ticks that box more convincingly than an SL-alike.
New Esprit - sounds like it's mostly there. GO GO GO!
And as for motorsport - I'm not sure about most of the tie-ups, but so long as Lotus is in F1 with drivers of Raikkonen and Grosjean's calibre on the podium for most races, I fail to see how this could be anything but a good thing. As financial confidence grows within Lotus and the team cements its identity as championship contenders, I think some kind of clear link-up between the organisations beyond the mere financial would make sense too.
Doesn't have to be that binding (Ferrari as a car factory and the Scuderia Ferrari are very separate organisations with little to do with each other), but to get them both under the same umbrella would be a very good move.
Under Bahar they couldn't really sink any lower. They have nothing to lose and it sounds like the new boss has his head screwed on the right way. Time to see results (and if successful, attract buyers like BMW and Toyota).
I always felt the Elite and Eterne were pie-in-the-sky that never seemed in keeping with the Lotus ethos of performance through light weight. Given the history of tweaking saloons for high-performance it seems the idea of a Lotus saloon is perpetually on the cards in a Lotus Carlton sense anyway. A folding metal-roof cabrio is totally against Lotus values and I hope it never sees the light of day again.
However, as for the other cars in the lineup, it seems to me they were fairly strong anyway, it's just that Lotus has chosen to do them differently.
New Elise - they realised there was nothing wrong with the old one being subjected to development. Good. Plus, the new Exige has received nothing but praise since it arrived. IMO it's with this model they'll make most money.
New Elan - look at the specs and you'll see it was an evolved Evora anyway. They're moving it in this direction - look at the new GTE - and a new cabriolet will broaden its appeal Stateside and get people who are perhaps less bothered about setting fast lap times interested in it. An Evora convertible makes more sense than the proposed new Elite so it could be said it ticks that box more convincingly than an SL-alike.
New Esprit - sounds like it's mostly there. GO GO GO!
And as for motorsport - I'm not sure about most of the tie-ups, but so long as Lotus is in F1 with drivers of Raikkonen and Grosjean's calibre on the podium for most races, I fail to see how this could be anything but a good thing. As financial confidence grows within Lotus and the team cements its identity as championship contenders, I think some kind of clear link-up between the organisations beyond the mere financial would make sense too.
Doesn't have to be that binding (Ferrari as a car factory and the Scuderia Ferrari are very separate organisations with little to do with each other), but to get them both under the same umbrella would be a very good move.
Under Bahar they couldn't really sink any lower. They have nothing to lose and it sounds like the new boss has his head screwed on the right way. Time to see results (and if successful, attract buyers like BMW and Toyota).
juansolo said:
"We're told quality is the new mantra, making sure every car is spot on. "Lotus believes the best way to improve its profile to produce great cars and ensure fantastic feedback," says our source."
This is the single best thing I've heard come out of Lotus for years. Bravo. Finally this has been acknowledged and they might actually do something about it if they want to survive. Which is what this is about, not being the next Ferrari/Porsche FFS, one step at a time! Then they can be Lotus on their own merit.
As long as they mean making cars that bits don't fall off rather than making cars with slightly softer plastics in the interior, I agree. This is the single best thing I've heard come out of Lotus for years. Bravo. Finally this has been acknowledged and they might actually do something about it if they want to survive. Which is what this is about, not being the next Ferrari/Porsche FFS, one step at a time! Then they can be Lotus on their own merit.
kambites said:
juansolo said:
"We're told quality is the new mantra, making sure every car is spot on. "Lotus believes the best way to improve its profile to produce great cars and ensure fantastic feedback," says our source."
This is the single best thing I've heard come out of Lotus for years. Bravo. Finally this has been acknowledged and they might actually do something about it if they want to survive. Which is what this is about, not being the next Ferrari/Porsche FFS, one step at a time! Then they can be Lotus on their own merit.
As long as they mean making cars that bits don't fall off rather than making cars with slightly softer plastics in the interior, I agree. This is the single best thing I've heard come out of Lotus for years. Bravo. Finally this has been acknowledged and they might actually do something about it if they want to survive. Which is what this is about, not being the next Ferrari/Porsche FFS, one step at a time! Then they can be Lotus on their own merit.
Twincam16 said:
New Elan - look at the specs and you'll see it was an evolved Evora anyway. They're moving it in this direction - look at the new GTE - and a new cabriolet will broaden its appeal Stateside and get people who are perhaps less bothered about setting fast lap times interested in it. An Evora convertible makes more sense than the proposed new Elite so it could be said it ticks that box more convincingly than an SL-alike.
The Elan was going to be longitudinal-engined rather than transverse wasn't it? Twincam16 said:
Under Bahar they couldn't really sink any lower. They have nothing to lose and it sounds like the new boss has his head screwed on the right way. Time to see results (and if successful, attract buyers like BMW and Toyota).
I still maintain DB wasn't all bad for Lotus. During his tenure several fantastic cars came out of the factory - witness the Exige S, Elise S, Evora GTE all getting rave reviews. Motorsport was heavily plugged (although he probably spread it a bit thin) and the majority of new customers are unlikely to know about the tenuous connection between Group Lotus and the current Lotus F1 Team when they go into the Regent Street store (another good idea in my view). And there was other good stuff like the new trim and paint shop, the extension to the factory, the new test track and so on.But then he spoilt it all by the C list celebrity stuff, the bling marketing, cocking up the funding draw downs after working so hard to get it in the first place and, if the allegations are true, fiddling his expenses.
I find it really odd that he could commission slick marketing material like this which, as a long time Lotus fanatic, almost brings a tear to my eye -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_mjA_ipiNI&fea...
When it came out I thought yes, this guy knows what Lotus is all about and I was really hopeful for the future. Then he decided that Lotus should compete with Aston, Porsche, Ferrari and his hubris knew no bounds. What an odd contrast and at the end of the day, very disappointing.
So, DRB appear to be fully committed to supporting Lotus but the new car plan will be scaled to probably 2 or 3, including the Esprit, We will see an Evora convertible and other derivatives of the existing range. This sounds more sensible but I really hope DRB can make it work profitably. I would hate to see another major hiatus in 2 years time....
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff