📓 Journals JClem's Magma V6

[JClem]

Brilliant day at Hethel yesterday. 3 hours of track time, factory tour and Team Lotus Tour.

Emiras everywhere and Scott said that 576 cars were finished in September so the factory has really ramped up. It looked like a 50/50 split between i4 and v6 but the majority of i4’s were heading to China. Apparently the order book for China is significant. I did see 2 Emiras that were obviously for the North American market in the factory but unfortunately didn’t get round to ask Scott if there was any update on delivery time. I only saw a handful of new colours, Mist White, Meridian Blue, Atlantis Blue, Osmium silver and Zinc grey. No vivid reds or cosmos blacks. The blues looked great and if I get another Emira in the future I would go for one of the blues.

Apparently, Lotus have realised that the selling model, particularly for the UK, hasn’t worked. The result is large amount of orphaned cars (as a result of Lotus not locking in buyers and then continuing the build) that are not currently on the market. However, they will be dialling back the UK allocation next year to protect owners and the 2nd hand market.

The track time was fantastic and if you ever get the opportunity to go take advantage of the instructors. After 10 laps with them I was orders of magnitude faster, although I was starting as a complete novice! It won’t sound like much to some but I was happy with reaching 125mph on the Mansell Straight!

It certainly makes you appreciate the full capabilities of the car. The grip, even without cup2s, is incredible.

 

[Eagle7]

OMG no pictures!? You saw 5 of the new colors and North American cars and no pictures?? Were they not allowing pictures?

Good info though, at that kind of build rate that's well over 5,000 cars a year. Hopefully they've got the early issues sorted out.

 

[JClem]

OMG no pictures!? You saw 5 of the new colors and North American cars and no pictures?? Were they not allowing pictures?

Good info though, at that kind of build rate that's well over 5,000 cars a year. Hopefully they've got the early issues sorted out.

No photography allowed in and around the factory unfortunately.

 

[Eagle7]

No photography allowed in and around the factory unfortunately.

Well crud. What colors were the NA cars you saw? Anything that looked like a base model?

 

[Nova]

I did see 2 Emiras that were obviously for the North American market in the factory but unfortunately didn’t get round to ask Scott if there was any update on delivery time.

Were these among the inventory of completed cars waiting for transport? Care to provide a bit more context? The NA customers would love more details so that we can have something other than nothing.

 

[JClem]

Were these among the inventory of completed cars waiting for transport? Care to provide a bit more context? The NA customers would love more details so that we can have something other than nothing.

They were inside the factory somewhat tucked away in a corner I’m afraid. They weren’t outside with the queues of Emiras waiting for delivery to customers. They were both First Edition, one Nimbus Grey the other Verdant Green.

Hopefully with UK allocation decreasing next year NA Emiras will be crossing the pond soon!

 

[Eagle7]

They were inside the factory somewhat tucked away in a corner I’m afraid. They weren’t outside with the queues of Emiras waiting for delivery to customers. They were both First Edition, one Nimbus Grey the other Verdant Green.

Hopefully with UK allocation decreasing next year NA Emiras will be crossing the pond soon!

How did they look with the amber lens in the headlights? Okay? So-so?

 

[azlambo]

Brilliant day at Hethel yesterday. 3 hours of track time, factory tour and Team Lotus Tour.

Emiras everywhere and Scott said that 576 cars were finished in September so the factory has really ramped up. It looked like a 50/50 split between i4 and v6 but the majority of i4’s were heading to China. Apparently the order book for China is significant. I did see 2 Emiras that were obviously for the North American market in the factory but unfortunately didn’t get round to ask Scott if there was any update on delivery time. I only saw a handful of new colours, Mist White, Meridian Blue, Atlantis Blue, Osmium silver and Zinc grey. No vivid reds or cosmos blacks. The blues looked great and if I get another Emira in the future I would go for one of the blues.

Apparently, Lotus have realised that the selling model, particularly for the UK, hasn’t worked. The result is large amount of orphaned cars (as a result of Lotus not locking in buyers and then continuing the build) that are not currently on the market. However, they will be dialling back the UK allocation next year to protect owners and the 2nd hand market.

The track time was fantastic and if you ever get the opportunity to go take advantage of the instructors. After 10 laps with them I was orders of magnitude faster, although I was starting as a complete novice! It won’t sound like much to some but I was happy with reaching 125mph on the Mansell Straight!

It certainly makes you appreciate the full capabilities of the car. The grip, even without cup2s, is incredible.

View attachment 32021

How do you know the 2 cars were “obviously” for the North American market? I was there on Sept. 19th, and saw NO cars for the North American market! (No amber strips on the outside of the headlights). And I looked at about 200 cars in their holding area. Scott was my tour guide also, and he was pretty “tight-lipped”, but you could tell he knew what was going on. He basically implied that Lotus does not have certifications yet. I doubt if they would build U.S. cars without them.

 

[JClem]

How do you know the 2 cars were “obviously” for the North American market? I was there on Sept. 19th, and saw NO cars for the North American market! (No amber strips on the outside of the headlights). And I looked at about 200 cars in their holding area. Scott was my tour guide also, and he was pretty “tight-lipped”, but you could tell he knew what was going on. He basically implied that Lotus does not have certifications yet. I doubt if they would build U.S. cars without them.

The amber strips were very clear on these two and they were not held with the others either outside or inside in preparation for delivery. They were being held in a corner of the factory with two other cars which didn’t have the amber strips. Hence, “obviously”.

 

[JClem]

Cold one this morning! 1,700 miles in and the only issue is the blower which is being fixed next week.

Using it every day and loving every minute.

 

[MickOpalak]

where did you go for the carbon fiber? how much was it?

It's not actual carbon fiber. More like painted plastic.

 

[JClem]

Frosty this morning. HVAC was fixed just in time!

 

[EspritGuy]

Frosty this morning. HVAC was fixed just in time!

View attachment 33714

Begs for a car cover.

 

[JClem]

Begs for a car cover.

I’ve thought about it but I’m using it everyday so would be a pain.

Better option is to build a car port but that involves dealing with planning people!

 

[JClem]

I may have taken drawing with the kids a bit too seriously!

 

[JClem]

She’s been parked at Heathrow for 4 days in freezing temperatures and started first time when I got back this morning like it was nothing.

She was in good company though. Out of shot was an R8, a Supra and a DB11.

 

[JClem]

So I had my first ‘moment’ at the weekend.

I was coming up to a roundabout and accelerated to get into a gap in the traffic. I lifted the throttle which loaded the front and caused lift-off oversteer. Must have looked fairly dramatic from the outside going sideways round a roundabout. Thankfully a bit of opposite lock sorted it.

Stupid really as the tires (eagle F1s) were cold and it was damp. There was me being super cautious in the sub zero temperatures we’ve had in the UK only to be cocky as soon as it hit 8c.

Lesson learnt.

 

[virtualmacho]

So I had my first ‘moment’ at the weekend.

So, how many laps around the roundabout did you do?

 

[JClem]

So I had the first service done by B&C yesterday which included the HVAC cover being installed and software updates. I jump in the car this morning and it feels like the gear changes are noticeably faster.

Has anyone else with an auto V6 had software updates recently and noticed a change in the gearbox management or the speed of shifts?

 

[Lego Man]

So I had the first service done by B&C yesterday which included the HVAC cover being installed and software updates. I jump in the car this morning and it feels like the gear changes are noticeably faster.

Has anyone else with an auto V6 had software updates recently and noticed a change in the gearbox management or the speed of shifts?

Hi, I had my V6 Auto service and software updates and I also noticed a subtle improvement, but didn't think much off it until I read this.