Lotus have gone MENTAL

[Alexg]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98706

 

LOL, wtf etc

 

The start is reference to this from sniff petrol

 

[MrDuke]

And in response... THIS just made me rupture my spleen laughing.

[dollywobbler]

It's either the cleverest bit of viral PR work ever, or the stupidest.

[Negative Creep]

Seems to have been trouble for quite some time, especially with the supposed new models that haven't seen the light of day. Is it me, or is the annoucement of "a move upmarket to challenge the 911" the death knell for any british sports car maker?

[Spiny Norman]

Is it me, or is the annoucement of "a move upmarket to challenge the 911" the death knell for any british sports car maker?

 

Usually a sign that another multi-millionaire is about to become a millionaire and someone's bank manager is going to be disappointed.

I thought "challenging the 911" was what the Evora was for?

 

Sorry, but Lotus is one of these companies I just can't get enthusiastic about at all. I can't think of a single Lotus I'd even slightly want for the money it would cost.

[morris_ital_lover]

Indeed Lotus are toast unfortunately, and when they perform their last dance they'll join the long list of british sport car marques that should have stuck to building stuff in grotty industrial units in the midlands and not trying to take Porsche on.

 

They do appear to have gone mental though so I 'm hoping for an epic collapse if that's the way they are going...

[Ross_K]

Jesus, that rant on their Facebook page was bat shit insane.

 

They'll be joining TVR on the scrapheap of history shortly.

 

How they lasted this long is anybody's guess.

 

I think the business model was:

Let's put a Rover engine in the Elise

Let's put a Toyota engine in the Elise

Lets make a light version of the Elise

Lets make a supercharged version of the Elise

Lets make an electric version of the Elise for Tesla

 

That's been it since 1996 really...

[Negative Creep]

Is it me, or is the annoucement of "a move upmarket to challenge the 911" the death knell for any british sports car maker?

 

Usually a sign that another multi-millionaire is about to become a millionaire and someone's bank manager is going to be disappointed.

I thought "challenging the 911" was what the Evora was for?

 

Sorry, but Lotus is one of these companies I just can't get enthusiastic about at all. I can't think of a single Lotus I'd even slightly want for the money it would cost.

 

 

I'd be gutted if they went. They made interesting lightweight cars for drivers, as opposed to heavy, gimmick laden poser wagons

[Rover414]

I'd be gutted too as Lotus made one of my all time favourite cars, the Esprit. There has always been something about that I've rated and definitely prefer it to the Elise.

[MrDuke]

Thing is, like all classic brands, it's no longer the same company anyway. Despite all the guff about non-interference from the parent corporation, once a company is bought out, they're subject to a whole different set of rules and can no longer function in the same way. Lotus have indeed made some awesome cars in the past, both for the road and track (although the ethos behind the track cars was dubious), however you just can't consider them to be the same company now. I really couldn't care less about what happens to any car maker, outside of the jobs that would be lost as a result of their demise - none of the cars that are turned out now will ever spark my desire in the way they used to.

[Ross_K]

Failure to innovate got Lotus where they are today. They were content to churn out the same thing for 16 years with minor tweaks.

 

I don't think you can do that with niche cars. If Lotus have an existing Elise driver looking to upgrade, what are they going to sell him next?

 

A different coloured Elise?

A Toyota VVTi engine instead of a Rover K-series?

 

Hardly the stuff to get you breaking out your chequebook and handing over 30 grand.

 

Fuck. For that kind of money I could get a top of the range Megane RS and have change left for an MX5 in case I wanted open top motoring on the rare occasion when it's not raining.

 

The 911 is in a different league and doesn't deserve comparing to the Elise. The Boxster would be a fairer comparison.

[Ross_K]

That's a lot of progress for 16 years. You don't see the point I'm trying to make?

 

Anyway a 60 grand Evora is hardly a replacement for a 30 grand Elise, is it? I see where that might be wishful thinking on Lotus' part - the single guy who bought an Elise in the 90's can now buy an Evora and have somewhere to put the child seats?

 

Didn't Lotus say they wanted the Evora to go up against the Porsche Cayman? Again that's a very capable car which, in Cayman R guise, is 10 grand cheaper than the equivalent top of the range Evora.

 

Or one of the 5 new models to be launched over the next few years.

 

If they're still around in five years, their Chinese overlords will have them knocking out Lotus-badged MG TF clones.

[fiatdaft]

Failure to innovate got Lotus where they are today. They were content to churn out the same thing for 16 years with minor tweaks

 

Sounds just like a 911 !

[Ross_K]

Touché.

 

Ok, there's obviously something else missing from the winning formula - seeing as people actually buy 911's.

[Rocket88]

I've never understood the fanboi worship of Lotus [and Colin Chapman in particular] Some of their cars, due to Chapman's blind obsession to paring down every component to it's maximum, were bloody dangerous, especially the some of the 60/70's Formula 1 offerings.

As for Chapman, he did very well [ahem] out of the De Lorean fiasco, and was apparently a ruthless bastard, who thought little for the safery of his drivers.

[dollywobbler]

I've never understood the fanboi worship of Lotus [and Colin Chapman in particular] Some of their cars, due to Chapman's blind obsession to paring down every component to it's maximum, were bloody dangerous, especially the some of the 60/70's Formula 1 offerings.

As for Chapman, he did very well [ahem] out of the De Lorean fiasco, and was apparently a ruthless bastard, who thought little for the safery of his drivers.

 

Though to be fair, he was one of the old school who witnessed first hand people racing around in cars with little or no safety kit. I though we'd love Lotus on here. They are after all, quite shite. Brilliant when they work, utterly dreadful when they don't. It's also a fine line between successful businessman and charlatan at times. I don't think Ford were that impressed.

[Autoplas]

My former boss has 3 Elises (2 special editions) and an Exige S

 

All of them as cramped and uncomfortable as hell by his admission with minimal equipment and bone hard seats. Also while fun to drive once they start to go it is game over - no chance of correction, which is why one of his cars ended up decorating a tree and he has had 3 operations on his back. Silly twat.

[Formula Autos]

Any company that has a history of churning out things like this deserves an Autoshite Award of Merit:

 

 

That is all.

[HillmanImp]

^^WHS.

[Largactil]

I though we'd love Lotus on here. They are after all, quite shite. Brilliant when they work, utterly dreadful when they don't. It's also a fine line between successful businessman and charlatan at times. I don't think Ford were that impressed.

 

Indeed.

 

I'm no fanboy, but have owned an Elan SE and a couple of Elises over the years.

 

 

Personally, I'd be very sad to see the brand go the way of TVR / MG...

 

I'll agree, the last 16 years have seen a plethora of stickered 'special edition' Elises and not much else - The Europa was a VX220T in a Proton-donated frock.

 

The Evora is a nice thing to be in - But flogging a car with the gearbox from an Avensis diesel is always going to be a hard sell when competing with the 'might' of Stuttgart and the like.

 

Lotus have always been about innovation to me - They've led the way in many new technologies. (e.g Bonded, multi platform chassis - Jag use this tech, along with others like Aston Martin - range extender engines, bolted to electric motors - Something we'll be seeing more & more of.... etc)

 

They also focused on weight reduction and driving enjoyment, while many other were happy to laden their offerings down with crap, and fit all sorts of electronic parachutes to cover fundamental handling flaws.

 

Also while fun to drive once they start to go it is game over - no chance of correction, which is why one of his cars ended up decorating a tree and he has had 3 operations on his back. Silly twat.

 

A 911 / Cayman will behave in much the same way, if you switched off all the stuff which 'spoils the fun'... i.e TC,(ABD,ASR,MSR,) PASM...

[Ross_K]

And I think the Lotus customer base are to be applauded. They're making a choice to drive something they enjoy and put up with the associated discomfort and cost.

Mr Elise-track day-chap has more in common with one of us in a brown Meastro than any non-car person in a silver golf or Audi sline on finance.

 

Correct. I was never slagging off the end user of the product - just the producer.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Lotus have done pretty well out of the small stuff - the Elan and Elise. They first came unstuck in the seventies when they 'tries to take on Porsche etc' with the hateful Elite. As great as the original Esprit looked, handled and sounded, it was a complete and utter abortion that was unsuitable for regular use. The FWD Elan was the work of genius - decently built (really), incredible handling and grip and a cracking little Japanese turbo motor. I used to sell these for a main dealer in the nineties and they remain a high point - superb all rounder. Lotus was owned by GM then and they could never build enough. Some say it was overpriced but it wasn't - 1 year old cars were fetching over list price. The problem was, it cost a fortune to build and could never make a profit. GM killed it off and that was that.

The Elise, although blighted by truly evil on limit handling and a junk Rover engine, was their masterstroke. How many have they sold? Bloody loads.

I know a Guy who works at Lotus. They're all wondering why in the name of Fuck they are spending millions on designing their own engine and not buying a cheap, ready made, powerful and perfectly built, reliable Toyota unit. In the past, the only reliable Lotus cars had a Ford, Toyota or Isuzu engine. Anything with their own engines was crap.

[AnthonyG]

Sounds like they are fucked. Being owned by the weakest* car manufacturer in Asia doesn't help either.

 

 

 

*Unless Perodua are still going by some miracle.

[ashmicro]

Failure to innovate got Lotus where they are today. They were content to churn out the same thing for 16 years with minor tweaks.

 

I don't think you can do that with niche cars. If Lotus have an existing Elise driver looking to upgrade, what are they going to sell him next?

 

A different coloured Elise?

A Toyota VVTi engine instead of a Rover K-series?

 

Hardly the stuff to get you breaking out your chequebook and handing over 30 grand.

 

Fuck. For that kind of money I could get a top of the range Megane RS and have change left for an MX5 in case I wanted open top motoring on the rare occasion when it's not raining.

 

The 911 is in a different league and doesn't deserve comparing to the Elise. The Boxster would be a fairer comparison.

 

This, +1111. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[skattrd]

Any company that has a history of churning out things like this deserves an Autoshite Award of Merit:

 

 

That is all.

 

Totally agree with you on this.

I still want an Elite, but my recklessness doesn't quite go as far as a 40 year Lotus, a 25yr old French motor is bad enough.

[Cavcraft]

I'd have a Lotus in a heartbeat. An Esprit would be top of the list but an Elise would do. Tbh anyone buying one because they expected it to be like a 911 would have to be pretty stupid and would get what they deserved.

[bigstraight6]

I'd have a Lotus in a heartbeat. An Esprit would be top of the list but an Elise would do. Tbh anyone buying one because they expected it to be like a 911 would have to be pretty stupid and would get what they deserved.

 

So would I, a Europa would do me if I could shoehorn myself into it. The earlier comments of how Lotus stuck to the same theme for years making them not comparible to the likes of Porshe made me laugh, I don't think the Porshe 911 has changed much over the decades

[Rocket88]

Just ask yourself this question. If you had a choiuce of a Porsche, and a Lotus, and you had to drive from Glasgow to Nice in 24 hours, carrying no tools, and no breakdown recovery back-up, which would you choose...............

[rml2345]

Lotus, of course!

"It'll be fine...."

[Cavcraft]

Not sure if that's an entirely fair comparison tbh. A Porsche is more of a grand tourer where the Lotus us more sort of balls out and probably better for short fun journeys.

 

And the Porsche would probably be a million times more reliable!