Battery - Lithium or not?

[emiraspain]

Does anyone know if the car will have a standard battery, ie one which we don' need to tether if we are leaving it more than about 2 - 3 weeks, which was the limit for my new Elise (sold to purchase the Emira).
To save 10-15 kilos, it would have historically been something Lotus would do, but I hope the guys higher up from other companies have convinced them not to do it as it is a small fraction of the owners who would put up with the hassle for such a small saving in a car which already weighs as much and more than its competitors, if we take the caymen GT4 as such a car for example. Bear / bare in mind porsche always understate their official figures on the customers side, ie cars generally go quicker than they publish and generally weigh less than they publish.

Anyway, I got a slight glimpse in one launch in Asia on youtube and the battery seemed to be normal, but not sure.

Also, I am guessing no insurance companies have the car in their data base yet for the UK, or for anywhere else. As I intend to use my car in Spain, this is going to be a HUGE issue, insurance.....

thanks

 

[eclat2emira]

Here's an idea I had based on the wheels I saw on the Evija.

This is the all silver forged wheel.
View attachment 4675

This is masking off the silver fronts, and painting everything else matte black.
View attachment 4676

Changes the character of the wheel completely. Makes it look bigger and gives it more depth.

I love it @Eagle7, although it has the bizarre effect of making the entire wheel look anthracite or gun metal!

 

[PaperLawyer]

Hmm, I thought the silver wheel was a gloss finish? Interesting...

Certainly not on the wheels on the production line and, in the context of discussing the satin vs gloss black finish on the diamond cut version, we were told that the wheels on the production line were the production version (and so the diamond cut have a satin black, rather than gloss black finish).

 

[digilotus]

Certainly not on the wheels on the production line and, in the context of discussing the satin vs gloss black finish on the diamond cut version, we were told that the wheels on the production line were the production version (and so the diamond cut have a satin black, rather than gloss black finish).

I confirmed with Lotus a few months back that the diamond cut wheels had a satin and not gloss finish after the Shanghai wheels were glossy so that is consistent.

What has taken me back is that the silver wheels are satin as well! That's thrown a spanner in the works for me as I wanted the silver wheels to be shiny bling.

 

[PaperLawyer]

I confirmed with Lotus a few months back that the diamond cut wheels had a satin and not gloss finish after the Shanghai wheels were glossy so that is consistent.

What has taken me back is that the silver wheels are satin as well! That's thrown a spanner in the works for me as I wanted the silver wheels to be shiny bling.

That makes two of us and, of everything that I saw yesterday, that was the biggest surprise for me and has meant aborting my plan for silver wheels on a magma red car - I think I will go for diamond cut as a result of the tour.

 

[digilotus]

That makes two of us and, of everything that I saw yesterday, that was the biggest surprise for me and has meant aborting my plan for silver wheels on a magma red car - I think I will go for diamond cut as a result of the tour.

For all others out there - just confirmed with Lotus that the production silver forged wheels are a "satin silver finish".

I'm seriously considering changing too.

I guess they were going for the satin silver Porsche forged wheel look. Might look good on platinum/black as satin adds a white sheen to it and brightens it up, but probably doesn't do silver any favours as it makes it look almost white in some lighting conditions.

 

[digilotus]

@emiraspain - I'm so sorry for hijacking your thread.

We should move this wheel discussion elsewhere!

Moved to here: Emira forged and cast wheel thread

 

[andyss]

Shadow grey - ‘mean and purposeful’, that’s good enough for me!

Mind you we have bright harsh sunlight down under so it should pop a lot more in the sunlight than in Hethel.

Colour is such a personal thing - do you have a shortlist of ones you like?

Definitely not enough light in the UK to make the best of shadow grey in my opinion, based on what I saw in the factory on a fairly dull day. All the rest I saw looked brilliant, to be honest and I don't think I'd regret any of them. Nimbus is out as my missus hates silver/grey cars and also tan interiors, which I think would be an awesome combo. Didn't see Verdant, but probably too dark for my tastes. Which leaves Seneca, Hethel and Magma. Seneca would fit well with the vehicles my Emira will be sharing a garage with It'll be a while before I have to lock it down the way things are going

 

[emiraspain]

@emiraspain - I'm so sorry for hijacking your thread.

We should move this wheel discussion elsewhere!

haha..dont worry, I feel 82% sure the battery will not be lithium ion so go for it...
I have always gone with black wheels on a lotus style car... but I will go with the diamond cut wheels on blue or red paint work, but would be nice to see them in person. Easy change afterwards in any case... maybe for winter tyres...

 

[andyss]

For all others out there - just confirmed with Lotus that the production silver forged wheels are a "satin silver finish".

I'm seriously considering changing too.

I guess they were going for the satin silver Porsche forged wheel look. Might look good on platinum/black as satin adds a white sheen to it and brightens it up, but probably doesn't do silver any favours as it makes it look almost white in some lighting conditions.

View attachment 4680

The forged wheels in the factory did look very satin indeed. And that includes the face of the diamond-cut wheels too, which was surprising to me even having seen the blue roadshow car last year.

 

[digilotus]

Definitely not enough light in the UK to make the best of shadow grey in my opinion, based on what I saw in the factory on a fairly dull day. All the rest I saw looked brilliant, to be honest and I don't think I'd regret any of them. Nimbus is out as my missus hates silver/grey cars and also tan interiors, which I think would be an awesome combo. Didn't see Verdant, but probably too dark for my tastes. Which leaves Seneca, Hethel and Magma. Seneca would fit well with the vehicles my Emira will be sharing a garage with It'll be a while before I have to lock it down the way things are going

With all the blues there I'd add in a yellow which would make the combination of all really pop!

 

[PaperLawyer]

haha..dont worry, I feel 82% sure the battery will not be lithium ion so go for it...
I have always gone with black wheels on a lotus style car... but I will go with the diamond cut wheels on blue or red paint work, but would be nice to see them in person. Easy change afterwards in any case... maybe for winter tyres...

Battery - we saw the battery uncovered in the boot/trunk of one of the cars at the end of the production line. It looked like a standard sized lead battery to me....

 

[digilotus]

Battery - we saw the battery uncovered in the boot/trunk of one of the cars at the end of the production line. It looked like a standard sized lead battery to me....

I would expect Lithium batteries will appear down the track when they add carbon fibre parts and race seats in a future model.

 

[roundincircles]

Anybody know where the battery is located?

 

[emiraspain]

Anybody know where the battery is located?

i saw a youtuber launch and it was in the boot/trunk.. for weight distribution I would imagine and closer to the engine anyway
who kinows what they have in the front of the car.... taking up weight there

 

[Eagle7]

If those of you who were wanting the silver wheels just want them glossy, that's easy enough to get them sprayed with a high heat resistance glossy clear.

 

[FlyNavy01]

Anybody know where the battery is located?

 

[andyss]

View attachment 4684

Yep, around there. That's an early prototype - the current cars have black boot/trunk mouldings throughout and the battery is better tucked away towards the engine than that (thankfully).

 

[Daz]

Here's an update following an interesting tour around the factory:

- wheel weights - no one (even Scott who was called after the tour) could clarify the weight difference between the cast and forged wheels. One for a Lotus engineer, I guess. I asked several lotus employees!

- Seats - the back of the seat is apparently a composite - no stripe on the back. [EDIT: Just seen the comment above confirming there is a stripe!]

- ADAS - confirmed (again, through the call to Scott) not on the V6 but will be on the i4 "at some point". None of the V6 cars on the production line appears to have the plastic gubbins above the numberplate plinth (noted on the Chinese i4) .

My thoughts on the colours (at the risk of going over old ground/not adding much to previous experiences posted on the forum):

- Magma red - my key concern prior to the tour is that the paint would appear burgandy but in the flesh it was more like a sophisticated, deep red - plenty of magma red cars around the production facility to see in differing lights. It was only a couple of panels, sat in particuarly shadowy areas, which risked looking too burgandy-like. We also saw one magma red panel hung alongside the forthcoming flat red paint - the magma red was more interesting and the flat red more akin to any sportscar red. In short, my positive impression of the magma red justified my trip to Hethel. I saw several maga red cards without the full black pack and I personally preferred the red roof. However, this is all subjective.

- Hethel yellow - this was also one of my preferred colours but the only car in HY was one that appeared for a few seconds before the tour started. It disappeared behind a truck and then seemed to vanish! However, we did have an opportunity to see a HY wing sat next to a magma red wing and the flat paint of the HY meant the curves of the panel were revealed better by the magma red. This was my concern before the tour and was reinforced today.

- Nimbus - first and foremost, I was glad to see nothing which screamed "bronze" to me, although I totally agree with previous comments about it being a sophisticated silver, almost liquid, and certainly more interesting than, for example, the silverstone silver of my previous Honda S2000. I would be really happy with this colour, too. There were a number of nimbus cars lined up, alongside the maga red examples.

- Verdant green - when we walked into the factory we immediately saw one on the line and my immediate thought was, "it IS green, rather than appearing black". HOWEVER, elsewhere on the production line we saw different panels (and perhaps another VG car) and the paint looked very dark in certain lights. Our guide, Nick (who was excellent) commented that it was a colour which really needed to be kept clean and that the lines could be lost on a dirty example (just like any dark coloured car). I could see it working in a summy climate, with a tan interior, but it isn't for me in the climate we "enjoy". I preferred the lighter green on the S1 Elise in the HQ Reception.

- Shadow Grey. The best example was at the end of the production line and, clean and in strong light, it looks mean and purposeful. However, it struggles in a similar way to VG in anything other than strong light (and, personally speaking again, less interesting than the VG). For me, bottom of the list.

- Seneca blue. No revelations here - as per the car that did the rounds. LOTS of them on the production line, all with full black pack.

Other observations:

- wheels. Nick kindly let several of us get up close and personal with a pile of alloys. We agreed that the plain silver forged wheel was a real disappointment - really doesn't look special at all on the cars that were wearing them (yes, not all of the cars were sat on the cast standard wheels). So, for me, it is a decision between the diamond cut (and the care that requires) or the gloss black.

- interiors. Spoke to one of the lotus team, Sarah, at the end of the production run who confirmed that ice grey (which appeared in a number of the cars on the line) is more easily marked than the other colours (as you'd expect/fear). Saw the tan interior and, whilst I like the configurator combo of magma red and tan, the tan is too light/orangey for my personal taste. So that leaves black leather or, more likely, alcantara with red stitching for my maga red choice (on diamond cust wheels and either silver or black calipers).

- Sub. It has been pointed out on this forum that there is a hole for the sub within the bulkhead (from memory). The position behind the driver (RHD) was confirmed by Sarah.

Thanks for your excellent write-up on your factory tour. Good news with the magma observation but you’ve thrown a spanner into my plan. I wanted the tan interior but not if it’s ‘orangey’ so I think I will return to my original black choice, leather/alcantara to be decided. I also had my mind made up on forged silver wheels as the wheels are a massive element to the look of a car, if they look plain then I may go black too

 

[NicolasB]

Thanks for your excellent write-up on your factory tour. Good news with the magma observation but you’ve thrown a spanner into my plan. I wanted the tan interior but not if it’s ‘orangey’ so I think I will return to my original black choice, leather/alcantara to be decided. I also had my mind made up on forged silver wheels as the wheels are a massive element to the look of a car, if they look plain then I may go black too

I've always wanted a tan interior and that is what I had planned to go with, however the other day I saw a new video showing color samples of the leather and the paint and the tan did indeed look a bit orange-ish.

 

[Maverick1]

I was initially thinking about the v-spoke silver wheels but now I'm leaning more towards the diamond cut.
I think the v-spoke silver wheels will make the wheels stand out too much and take away from the overall look of the car.
Now all I have to do is get over the "flower look" of the diamond cut wheels and I'll be all set.
Such a pretty flower.