RE: Lotus gets back on its bike
Discussion
Mafffew said:
FA57REN said:
Offering a car cheaper than £41,230 would be a more effective way of bringing the brand to the masses.
Can't see it happening any time soon. But should they keep growing, it would be interesting to see them produce something to rival the MX-5 and GT86. Does seem a lot of money for an Elise but suppose it is a pretty specialist bit of kit, and you do get a another 100 bhp or so versus the entry level Series 1 despite inflation wise it not being any more expensive than it was originally.
J4CKO said:
I suppose a cheaper Lotus is called a Caterham
Well, either that - or a Caterham is called a Lotus that's been obsolete for 50 years.Alpine A110 is out there in the market while Caterham are left churning out the same old antiques. Nice if you like antiques - but not everybody wants one.
"The [joint venture] deal between the two sides was forged in 2012, with the partnership dubbed the Societe des Automobiles Alpine Caterham (SAAC)
It is not clear whether the two cars will continue to share the same architecture and powertrains."
Well, it's very clear now!
FA57REN said:
Offering a car cheaper than £41,230 would be a more effective way of bringing the brand to the masses.
Hate to break it to you but Lotus never was and likely never will be a bargain brand. The original Elite cost in the same range as a Jaguar.
The original Elan cost as much as a Porsche 911T.
The original Europa was nearly double the price of an MGB. (And it was created as a low-price, mass-market, entry-level Lotus)
Edited by MikeGalos on Saturday 26th October 16:38
MikeGalos said:
The original Elite cost in the same range as a Jaguar.
The original Elan cost as much as a Porsche 911T.
The original Europa was nearly double the price of an MGB. (And it was created as a low-price, mass-market, entry-level Lotus)
Well yes if you selectively omit the Seven and Cortina Lotus... The original Elan cost as much as a Porsche 911T.
The original Europa was nearly double the price of an MGB. (And it was created as a low-price, mass-market, entry-level Lotus)
Is it really impossible for Lotus to develop and produce a warm-performance mid-£20k MX-5 rival? Other than ringfencing the brand.
I've owned Lotuses on and off since 1975 and recently had to sell my S2 Elise as I can no longer get in and out. I've always expected to pay a premium for the handling, performance, styling, racing heritage and exclusivity. The last thing I would want is for a Lotus Sports Car to be as popular as an MX5, good cars as they are ( and I've owned one and enjoyed it).
I do think the Evoras and top end Exiges are unnecessarily expensive though, stunning driving machines as they are.
I do think the Evoras and top end Exiges are unnecessarily expensive though, stunning driving machines as they are.
MikeGalos said:
Hate to break it to you but Lotus never was and likely never will be a bargain brand.
The original Elite cost in the same range as a Jaguar.
The original Elan cost as much as a Porsche 911T.
The original Europa was nearly double the price of an MGB. (And it was created as a low-price, mass-market, entry-level Lotus)
Not sure why Lotus need to offer a cheap car. It's a quality sports car in a market stuffed with fat wannabe sports cars that are actually GT cars. So they are understandably desirable. The original Elite cost in the same range as a Jaguar.
The original Elan cost as much as a Porsche 911T.
The original Europa was nearly double the price of an MGB. (And it was created as a low-price, mass-market, entry-level Lotus)
Edited by MikeGalos on Saturday 26th October 16:38
Their chassis and setup has been around a few years, but it has evolved during that time, and what's better like for like? Not much really as nothing really competes with the Elise.
The Evora and Exige to models are expensive but again offer a credible alternative the the rest of the bloated sports cars in the market.
Love live Lotus 😁👍
FA57REN said:
V8 FOU said:
Excellent news!
Any publicity to bring the Lotus brand to the masses is great.
Offering a car cheaper than £41,230 would be a more effective way of bringing the brand to the masses.Any publicity to bring the Lotus brand to the masses is great.
Lotus repeating their track cycling dominance would be a very strong commercial win.
rockin said:
Well, either that - or a Caterham is called a Lotus that's been obsolete for 50 years.
Alpine A110 is out there in the market while Caterham are left churning out the same old antiques. Nice if you like antiques - but not everybody wants one.
True, but 50yrs old or not, the Caterham still out performs the Alpine.Alpine A110 is out there in the market while Caterham are left churning out the same old antiques. Nice if you like antiques - but not everybody wants one.
thelostboy said:
I had forgotten about Lotus' connection with the bikes and the Olympics. Want an incredible looking thing the original is - even with Clarkson on it!
The new one looks ace too. I imagine this is a good deal for Lotus when it comes to publicity VFM; good move.
Yep.The new one looks ace too. I imagine this is a good deal for Lotus when it comes to publicity VFM; good move.
The Type 108/110 really were class leading - and contributed heavily to the rules changes that took track bike design back to the 1950s.
Not sure this will have the same impact - no one looking strong for one of the major record attempts, and every nation will be running bikes to the same spec.
It'll be interesting to see if Lotus/Team GB have genuinely found an advantage within the regs (most likely seems to be the potential for the lighter wheels to improve acceleration which is critical in certain events), but to be honest, I think it'll be just another bike on the boards - but a bit cooler as it has a Lotus badge...
Sway said:
thelostboy said:
I had forgotten about Lotus' connection with the bikes and the Olympics. Want an incredible looking thing the original is - even with Clarkson on it!
The new one looks ace too. I imagine this is a good deal for Lotus when it comes to publicity VFM; good move.
Yep.The new one looks ace too. I imagine this is a good deal for Lotus when it comes to publicity VFM; good move.
The Type 108/110 really were class leading - and contributed heavily to the rules changes that took track bike design back to the 1950s.
Not sure this will have the same impact - no one looking strong for one of the major record attempts, and every nation will be running bikes to the same spec.
It'll be interesting to see if Lotus/Team GB have genuinely found an advantage within the regs (most likely seems to be the potential for the lighter wheels to improve acceleration which is critical in certain events), but to be honest, I think it'll be just another bike on the boards - but a bit cooler as it has a Lotus badge...
I've got three variants of the same bike, spanning 10yrs. The latest version is significantly more aero...but then it spent 100s of hours in a wind tunnel.
FA57REN said:
Well yes if you selectively omit the Seven and Cortina Lotus...
Is it really impossible for Lotus to develop and produce a warm-performance mid-£20k MX-5 rival? Other than ringfencing the brand.
The Lotus cortina wasn't cheap.Is it really impossible for Lotus to develop and produce a warm-performance mid-£20k MX-5 rival? Other than ringfencing the brand.
The Lotus 7 was a kit car. So what you are suggesting is Lotus should go back to building kit cars?
It is unreasonable to expect a niche sports car builder to be able to supply a car at a similar price to a bargain 2 seater sports car from a huge manufacturer. The Caterham is cheap because it was designed in the 50s and uses very few parts when compared to something like the Evora.
Lotus will have an easier time competing up market against other niche brands than trying to build low budget hand built sports cars because a low budget hand built sports car cannot compete against a mass produced sports car in terms of value.
Edited by lotuslover69 on Wednesday 30th October 16:56
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