Lotus 3rd Phone Call

[LotusAmateur]

So, I placed my deposit September 11th here in NY. I am guessing I might not see my Emira until 2023? What a time to be trying to purchase vehicles, with all of the shutdowns and craziness in the world. I am on the list for a Z06 and Cybertruck as well

Maybe by 2023 I will have made a final color decision?

Cybertruck is rad! At least with that you dont have to make a colour decision - much easier

 

[NickR]

Have they spoken to you to confirm that change hasn’t impacted on delivery?

No, they said they would contact me if it does.

 

[prestonc]

No, they said they would contact me if it does.

Ok, missed my third call today, received the stock email, called them back and spoke to a call centre guy.
Not sure why I called back, I knew the answers.
Anyway, I'm in the June slot, so nice and early.

To save you all from asking, I placed my first deposit on the day before Goodwood, 7th July I think, at around 6PM.
Will I change my config? No.
Do I want to change my config? Yes.
Am I bothered? A bit.
What would I change? Wheels only.
Is it worth delaying for just the wheels? Tired of answering my own dumb questions? 42

Anyway, I'm happy I'm in early.

Good night all.

 

[LotusAmateur]

Will do. I intend to keep my Alpine A110 as a daily driver - smaller, DCT, great fuel economy, etc. And use the Emira V6 manual for drives out. So will be keeping that in mind as I evaluate the suspensions.

Will be driving a manual after years - pretty apprehensive how well I will handle that.

Right - did my test drives at B&C today. Jamie there was amazing, accommodating and informative - really great esp. given that Lotus are cutting the dealers out of the picture and giving them no info.

Drove two setups - i) manual Evora GT410 with touring suspension, and ii) automatic Evora GT410 Sport with sport suspension set up.

Close call but will be switching my configuration to touring. Touring was more pliant that even my Alpine which was a surprise. Sport was 'almost fine' esp. on the scenic road next to Newlands Corner. But on the potholed and uneven roads near B&C - it was a little brutal. Feel that it will be tiring on special drives out.

Was driving a manual after years - surprised how easy and engaging it was. I will be sticking to my manual config - enjoyed it. Did not take to the automatic - it was pretty temperamental compared to the Alpine DCT. Maybe I was doing something wrong.

So, I am now comfortable with my final config. Will let Lotus know and let's see what delays that leads to. Jamie thinks it should not but

 

[TomE]

Ok, missed my third call today, received the stock email, called them back and spoke to a call centre guy.
Not sure why I called back, I knew the answers.
Anyway, I'm in the June slot, so nice and early.

To save you all from asking, I placed my first deposit on the day before Goodwood, 7th July I think, at around 6PM.
Will I change my config? No.
Do I want to change my config? Yes.
Am I bothered? A bit.
What would I change? Wheels only.
Is it worth delaying for just the wheels? Tired of answering my own dumb questions? 42

Anyway, I'm happy I'm in early.

Good night all.

Good that you have a June slot.

If you think you might change wheels then ask them to assess the impact. I've requested clarification on the approach to changes and hope to have an answer later in the week.

 

[TomE]

Right - did my test drives at B&C today. Jamie there was amazing, accommodating and informative - really great esp. given that Lotus are cutting the dealers out of the picture and giving them no info.

Drove two setups - i) manual Evora GT410 with touring suspension, and ii) automatic Evora GT410 Sport with sport suspension set up.

Close call but will be switching my configuration to touring. Touring was more pliant that even my Alpine which was a surprise. Sport was 'almost fine' esp. on the scenic road next to Newlands Corner. But on the potholed and uneven roads near B&C - it was a little brutal. Feel that it will be tiring on special drives out.

Was driving a manual after years - surprised how easy and engaging it was. I will be sticking to my manual config - enjoyed it. Did not take to the automatic - it was pretty temperamental compared to the Alpine DCT. Maybe I was doing something wrong.

So, I am now comfortable with my final config. Will let Lotus know and let's see what delays that leads to. Jamie thinks it should not but

Good to hear your feedback and I agree with your assessment on the handling on different road surfaces. I suspect some people will be switching to Sports after the Harry's Garage and Gav Kershaw videos, but I think you're making the right choice for road driving and their switching should make your change easier to accommodate.

 

[donskibeat]

Paid first deposit on 7th July, second deposit on 30th October - not had 3rd call yet....

 

[prestonc]

Paid first deposit on 7th July, second deposit on 30th October - not had 3rd call yet....

No email in junk?

 

[TomE]

Calls aren't necessarily in deposit date order. But 7 July should mean you're in the June delivery batch, as I know they have called people with 8 July deposits. They're trying to get to all the June folks before Christmas, but do check spam/junk emails.

 

[Leonard]

Right - did my test drives at B&C today. Jamie there was amazing, accommodating and informative - really great esp. given that Lotus are cutting the dealers out of the picture and giving them no info.

Drove two setups - i) manual Evora GT410 with touring suspension, and ii) automatic Evora GT410 Sport with sport suspension set up.

Close call but will be switching my configuration to touring. Touring was more pliant that even my Alpine which was a surprise. Sport was 'almost fine' esp. on the scenic road next to Newlands Corner. But on the potholed and uneven roads near B&C - it was a little brutal. Feel that it will be tiring on special drives out.

Was driving a manual after years - surprised how easy and engaging it was. I will be sticking to my manual config - enjoyed it. Did not take to the automatic - it was pretty temperamental compared to the Alpine DCT. Maybe I was doing something wrong.

So, I am now comfortable with my final config. Will let Lotus know and let's see what delays that leads to. Jamie thinks it should not but

The one thing I worry about with Touring is the body roll. How pronounced is it on the road pushing on? Did you manage a spirited drive

 

[donskibeat]

No email in junk?

No

 

[prestonc]

No

It'll happen.
Maybe santa will bring you a phone call on Saturday

 

[TomE]

The one thing I worry about with Touring is the body roll. How pronounced is it on the road pushing on? Did you manage a spirited drive

The Lotus approach to suspension setup means Touring has only a modest amount of initial roll then stiffens up. This is so the driver gets a subconscious visual and visceral cue on cornering force. But not the wallowing you’d get with a softer setup or one with more travel.

Sports is stiffer and so you need to be more attuned to the car’s behaviour, particularly when driving near the limit, as you don’t get the same cues.

On the road you’d have to be doing some fairly extreme manoeuvres to get a lot of roll.

 

[Leonard]

The Lotus approach to suspension setup means Touring has only a modest amount of initial roll then stiffens up. This is so the driver gets a subconscious visual and visceral cue on cornering force. But not the wallowing you’d get with a softer setup or one with more travel.

Sports is stiffer and so you need to be more attuned to the car’s behaviour, particularly when driving near the limit, as you don’t get the same cues.

On the road you’d have to be doing some fairly extreme manoeuvres to get a lot of roll.

OK I'm trusting you Tom. I'd best not have my knee down on the first corner

 

[TomE]

OK I'm trusting you Tom. I'd best not have my knee down on the first corner

This is me in my Evora S (equivalent to Touring suspension on the Emira) chasing my buddies in an Exige and Elise on a famous hill climb on the Isle of Man (no speed limits). Corners are 50-80mph. Spot the body roll?

 

[TomE]

And this is on track at Goodwood in the same car. A fast circuit, all 3rd or 4th gear, all corners are 70mph+ and the fastest section is 145mph. The car will easily catch and pass 4-cyl Elises and Exiges, Caterhams and Esprits. I couldn’t hold off a modified supercharged Exige. There’s some initial roll then it loads up, so is very capable on track for a road-biased car.

 

[DJS]

All

Due to the first cars now arriving in June (no delay's thou ;-( ) it looks like only around 600 FE cars will be delivered in 2022. Does anyone one have any further information on the amount of cars they will deliver next year (uk) as If I remember in previous posts it was mentioned maybe 90 to 100 cars per month (uk) would be made, It did say on the Topgear YouTube video that they were going to build around 4500 per year worldwide. If Hethal has this capacity does it mean more uk cars than first expected in 2022.

Congrats to those of you who have had their call and getting their cars in June.

 

[TomE]

All

Due to the first cars now arriving in June (no delay's thou ;-( ) it looks like only around 600 FE cars will be delivered in 2022. Does anyone one have any further information on the amount of cars they will deliver next year (uk) as If I remember in previous posts it was mentioned maybe 90 to 100 cars per month (uk) would be made, It did say on the Topgear YouTube video that they were going to build around 4500 per year worldwide. If Hethal has this capacity does it mean more uk cars than first expected in 2022.

Congrats to those of you who have had their call and getting their cars in June.

There will be more info on this in January. I can't say too much ahead of Lotus communicating about it officially. The start of production is not delayed, it is just the first deliveries to customers will now be June rather than April/May. They have also worked out how to build at a faster rate than originally planned, which was 4800 per year globally. UK production in 2022 should be 1000+ cars, up from the original plan of 800.

 

[Tonyshepp]

There will be more info on this in January. I can't say too much ahead of Lotus communicating about it officially. The start of production is not delayed, it is just the first deliveries to customers will now be June rather than April/May. They have also worked out how to build at a faster rate than originally planned, which was 4800 per year globally. UK production in 2022 should be 1000+ cars, up from the original plan of 800.

Have they bought the guys and girls on the manufacturing floor trainers?

 

[TomE]

They've worked out how to supercharge the AGVs

Automation Helps Lotus Zoom Ahead

Lotus Cars Ltd. has been famous for cutting-edge technology for more than 60 years. For decades, the British company founded by legendary engineer Colin Chapman was synonymous with Formula 1 motor racing.

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