Launch Edition colour samples

[Leonard]

I have 4 pages of notes and about 70 photos, had over an hour with the Lotus folks running through all my questions, then access to the car and samples for another hour. It's going to take a bit of time to write up. I think I might just put it all in one new thread to start with, then post relevant bits into existing topics, such as confirmation I now have on the suspension.

Strong work good Sir

 

[Bradw]

Samples of the six First Edition colours from the UK dealer roadshows. More pictures to follow…

View attachment 463

The nimbus grey is darker than the picture shows. Like a normal grey car you see every day.

 

[Bradw]

The white balence is wrong in this photo, the blue car is not that pale - some of the other sample pics are more accurate than this one.

 

[TomE]

Ah, you were at my "wonderwall"

Verdant Green, Shadow Grey, Hethel Yellow, Seneca Blue, Magma Red, Nimbus Grey

 

[TomE]

And these are against similar coloured cars:

Magma Red on Fire Red:

Verdant Green on Motorsport Green - this really shows how the colour changes from almost black to metallic green depending on the light, very like Empire Green on the Lotus Carlton

Hethel Yellow on Solar Yellow

Shadow Grey: bluey fleck

Seneca Blue: silver fleck

Magma Red: copper/gold fleck

Nimbus Grey: silver fleck and the colour is more silver than grey

Verdant Green: small fine copper/gold fleck

Hethel Yellow: solid colour

 

[Emira]

Gosh that green really is black isn't it.

 

[gpsdesigns]

this Is hugely helpful. Thank you very, very much!

I do wonder, is there some technical reason why Lotus couldn’t spray 6 fenders and have them on display? I just don’t understand the reasoning for these tiny chips with car companies.

 

[donskibeat]

@TomE

Thanks for those photos Tom, making my choice even harder, thought I had settled on yellow but now not so sure.

Does anyone know why they have chosen the Yellow to be the only "solid" colour whereas others are metallic/pearlescent?

And we know that after FE further colours will be added, but will any of the FE colours go away i.e. be exclusive to FE only and not available later.

 

[TomE]

I talked about solid vs metallic yellow with them today. I’m disappointed it’s not metallic and many others I spoke to today agreed. I gave this feedback to Lotus.

Yellow is apparently a hard colour to paint well. They feel they have to include it as a traditional Lotus colour but (reading between the lines) probably would prefer to leave it until later.

The issue is coverage and bleed through on different materials. Most of the exterior panels are the same material but other parts are also painted and made from different materials. These “take” the paint differently, so if you put a body panel next to a painted sill you can notice a slight difference. This is much less apparent with solid yellow compared to metallic due to the paint and painting process.

So basicallly metallic yellow takes more time, requires more QA and costs more than the other metallics.

 

[Leonard]

I talked about solid vs metallic yellow with them today. I’m disappointed it’s not metallic and many others I spoke to today agreed. I gave this feedback to Lotus.

Yellow is apparently a hard colour to paint well. They feel they have to include it as a traditional Lotus colour but (reading between the lines) probably would prefer to leave it until later.

The issue is coverage and bleed through on different materials. Most of the exterior panels are the same material but other parts are also painted and made from different materials. These “take” the paint differently, so if you put a body panel next to a painted sill you can notice a slight difference. This is much less apparent with solid yellow compared to metallic due to the paint and painting process.

So basicallly metallic yellow takes more time, requires more QA and costs more than the other metallics.

The Magma red looks almost identical to the Fire Red. Is that fair comparison?

 

[donskibeat]

Thanks @TomE - very helpful answer

 

[TomE]

The Magma red looks almost identical to the Fire Red. Is that fair comparison?

It’s very close but not identical. The fleck in Fire Red is more obvious and more gold than copper. But it’s probably the closest existing Lotus colour.

I think you’d mostly avoid the “is it a Ferrari” comments

 

[Leonard]

It’s very close but not identical. The fleck in Fire Red is more obvious and more gold than copper. But it’s probably the closest existing Lotus colour.

I think you’d mostly avoid the “is it a Ferrari” comments

I like the Fire Red. Goes well with black pack and trim. Does look a bit meh when not in direct sunlight. I think it's fair to say that's all the FE colours though! I'm still thinking Nimbus grey and if too boring then will have to splash some cash I don't really have on a lighter metallic green wrap.
Pics were great though cheers

 

[kbhoz]

this Is hugely helpful. Thank you very, very much!

I do wonder, is there some technical reason why Lotus couldn’t spray 6 fenders and have them on display? I just don’t understand the reasoning for these tiny chips with car companies.

These samples are going to every dealer in the world so small samples are practical - I would bet they don't have 6 fenders in stock as production hasn't started yet. Hopefully we will see sprayed cars by February 22.

 

[gpsdesigns]

fair enough on the samples distribution, but for the tour, they certainly could provide something larger with curves and cuts.

 

[kbhoz]

And these are against similar coloured cars:

Magma Red on Fire Red:

View attachment 520
View attachment 521

Verdant Green on Motorsport Green - this really shows how the colour changes from almost black to metallic green depending on the light, very light Empire Green on the Lotus Carlton

View attachment 522
View attachment 523

Hethel Yellow on Solar Yellow

View attachment 524
View attachment 525
View attachment 526

Shadow Grey: bluey fleck

Seneca Blue: silver fleck

Magma Red: copper/gold fleck

Nimbus Grey: silver fleck and the colour is more silver than grey

Verdant Green: small fine copper/gold fleck

Hethel Yellow: solid colour

Excellent work. Thanks for that . It give us a good idea on comparison colours.

 

[klho001]

Having seen the detailed colors I'd say i'm back to my original choice which is blue. Probably the only other I'd consider is if a metallic white becomes avail on the FEi4 in the future

 

[firstlotus]

Samples of the six First Edition colours from the UK dealer roadshows. More pictures to follow…

View attachment 463

the blue looks a lot like Rapid Blue Corvette - can't tell if it has a slight pearl in it or is it a flat paint...? The Nimbus looks almost like an off-white pearl - would that be a correct observation...?

 

[kratedisease]

I have 4 pages of notes and about 70 photos, had over an hour with the Lotus folks running through all my questions, then access to the car and samples for another hour. It's going to take a bit of time to write up. I think I might just put it all in one new thread to start with, then post relevant bits into existing topics, such as confirmation I now have on the suspension.

Thank you for your valuable time and effort in doing this for the rest of us here on the forum,

 

[EspritGuy]

OK, a better picture in daylight. The green in particular is clearer

View attachment 481

Excellent view for comparison. Thanks.