EVs are inevitable for every brand it seems but the point of the video was to highlight the sad reality that Lotus will never be the same. Their new EVs seem ok but by Lotus standards that are completely unrepresentative of the brand.
While I agree that Lotus making an SUV, and I despise SUV's, is a shame. People said the same thing about Porsche making Cayenne's or Macans. Those SUV's saved the brand meaning so enthusiasts can get 911's still. And Chinese manufacturing of cars is now insanely good. Time will tell.
I agree that it is good that the brand has been saved by Geely and their backing and that SUVs are part of this but I feel their heritage makes it worse than Porsche. The German brand previously experimented with luxury cars and many of their previous models had modern comforts whereas Lotus have always seemed to more or less disregard them in a bid to save weight and improve handling. It will be interesting though to see the sales of the Emeya and Eletre as to how much of an impact they have on Lotus' poor financial record.
Exactly. Lotus did what it has to do to survive and to be able to keep building great sports cars/supercars. Just like so many other carmakers before them. Also, Lotus cars have to get heavier. Not because Lotus is less capable, but because the regulations (and maybe a less compromising, taller and bigger customer) leave them no choice. I'm the happy owner of a Louts Elise S2, and while I love it, it is just too small for humans above 1,80m, which is most of people nowadays.
The Exige was a pretty damned good car at the track, providing Porsche GT3-like performance, but at a much lower price. Also: with extreme penalties everywhere else. :P Exige was nightmare to get in and out of, and almost impossible to see out of, having to crouch down to see traffic lights, for example. Also extremely loud, and quite uncomfortable - especially as a passenger, where there were no hand holds, and no foot rest, to prevent you putting your foot under the clutch pedal (RHD) of the driver, in an effort to brace yourself. An Exige wasn't so much something you rewarded yourself with, but rather, punished yourself every time you used it.
I think this is something Lotus will miss as they try to move more upmarket and make silent EVs and the spirt of Lotus will only live on in their previous models
I really enjoy the exige, ye it might be hard to get in/out if u are 60+ or have penalty weight but for a decently fit person its just about the technique of getting in/out (dont hold on the windscreen it can crack) ye its loud, ye its uncomfortable but thats what you expect when getting one
I disagree with this comment. I came out of 15 years of Porsche ownership spanning Caymans, Turbos and GT3 products. I now own an Exige 410 and it's an infinitely more engaging car than any Porsche I've ever owned. It's also more comfortable than the GT3. The combination of uncomfortable bucket seats in the GT3s and jarring suspension left me needing to get out and stretch every 45 minutes or so. Getting into the Exige is about technique and once you've learnt it's easy. Moreover, the bucket seats are far more comfortable and the ride quality is significantly more compliant. I'll never sell the 410 it's that good.
I know right, they should be buddy buddy with Cosworth and turning out some great pure lightweight H shift ICE driver's cars. Maybe have one EV or hybrid model to keep up with the others.
I completely agree. Lotus should try and keep combustion engines in their lineup for as long as possible to stop themselves just becoming another EV brand.
even though you forget to mention (like never happend) the ESPRIT maybe the most iconic model ( i own an Esprit S4s ) i agree ...The Lotus must find its self by looking back to elite , ESPRIT ,exige etc , and build cars just like those ....(sorry for my bad english )
My bad, I should have included it but I wanted to keep it concise and also had time constraints. Lotus should definitely keep making cars like the ones you listed to ensure their ethos isn't lost.
I have a Lotus Evora GT in the States. I love the car. if Lotus didn't sell out to Geely it would have gone under. There is another thing about Lotus. For a hand-built car, there is a lot of sloppy workmanship. The Lots of Trouble Usually Serious has some reality. If Honda was building the Lotus cars, they would, well, run like a Honda.
I think Geely have done a good thing by rescuing the brand but they don't seem to understand what it stands for. Their inability to fix quality control issues suggests they are not the main priority as well.
meanwhile props to Caterham for making a lightweight ev
Dude if Lotus don't go electric they are history, gone.
These new cars are beautiful in my opinion.
EVs are inevitable for every brand it seems but the point of the video was to highlight the sad reality that Lotus will never be the same. Their new EVs seem ok but by Lotus standards that are completely unrepresentative of the brand.
While I agree that Lotus making an SUV, and I despise SUV's, is a shame. People said the same thing about Porsche making Cayenne's or Macans. Those SUV's saved the brand meaning so enthusiasts can get 911's still. And Chinese manufacturing of cars is now insanely good. Time will tell.
I agree that it is good that the brand has been saved by Geely and their backing and that SUVs are part of this but I feel their heritage makes it worse than Porsche. The German brand previously experimented with luxury cars and many of their previous models had modern comforts whereas Lotus have always seemed to more or less disregard them in a bid to save weight and improve handling. It will be interesting though to see the sales of the Emeya and Eletre as to how much of an impact they have on Lotus' poor financial record.
Exactly. Lotus did what it has to do to survive and to be able to keep building great sports cars/supercars. Just like so many other carmakers before them.
Also, Lotus cars have to get heavier. Not because Lotus is less capable, but because the regulations (and maybe a less compromising, taller and bigger customer) leave them no choice.
I'm the happy owner of a Louts Elise S2, and while I love it, it is just too small for humans above 1,80m, which is most of people nowadays.
The Exige was a pretty damned good car at the track, providing Porsche GT3-like performance, but at a much lower price. Also: with extreme penalties everywhere else. :P
Exige was nightmare to get in and out of, and almost impossible to see out of, having to crouch down to see traffic lights, for example. Also extremely loud, and quite uncomfortable - especially as a passenger, where there were no hand holds, and no foot rest, to prevent you putting your foot under the clutch pedal (RHD) of the driver, in an effort to brace yourself.
An Exige wasn't so much something you rewarded yourself with, but rather, punished yourself every time you used it.
I think this is something Lotus will miss as they try to move more upmarket and make silent EVs and the spirt of Lotus will only live on in their previous models
I really enjoy the exige, ye it might be hard to get in/out if u are 60+ or have penalty weight but for a decently fit person its just about the technique of getting in/out (dont hold on the windscreen it can crack)
ye its loud, ye its uncomfortable but thats what you expect when getting one
I disagree with this comment. I came out of 15 years of Porsche ownership spanning Caymans, Turbos and GT3 products. I now own an Exige 410 and it's an infinitely more engaging car than any Porsche I've ever owned. It's also more comfortable than the GT3. The combination of uncomfortable bucket seats in the GT3s and jarring suspension left me needing to get out and stretch every 45 minutes or so. Getting into the Exige is about technique and once you've learnt it's easy. Moreover, the bucket seats are far more comfortable and the ride quality is significantly more compliant. I'll never sell the 410 it's that good.
I know right, they should be buddy buddy with Cosworth and turning out some great pure lightweight H shift ICE driver's cars. Maybe have one EV or hybrid model to keep up with the others.
I completely agree. Lotus should try and keep combustion engines in their lineup for as long as possible to stop themselves just becoming another EV brand.
even though you forget to mention (like never happend) the ESPRIT maybe the most iconic model ( i own an Esprit S4s ) i agree ...The Lotus must find its self by looking back to elite , ESPRIT ,exige etc , and build cars just like those ....(sorry for my bad english )
My bad, I should have included it but I wanted to keep it concise and also had time constraints. Lotus should definitely keep making cars like the ones you listed to ensure their ethos isn't lost.
I have a Lotus Evora GT in the States. I love the car. if Lotus didn't sell out to Geely it would have gone under. There is another thing about Lotus. For a hand-built car, there is a lot of sloppy workmanship. The Lots of Trouble Usually Serious has some reality. If Honda was building the Lotus cars, they would, well, run like a Honda.
I think Geely have done a good thing by rescuing the brand but they don't seem to understand what it stands for. Their inability to fix quality control issues suggests they are not the main priority as well.