Lotus Advanced Performance - new division announced focusing on bespoke vehicles and customer experiences

From Lotus media release today:

• New ‘special operations’ team from Lotus, delivering halo projects, limited editions and unique content for customers
• Enticing new image hints at an exciting future project
• Experiential elements include Lotus Driving Academy and tours of the revitalised advanced production facility in Hethel, Norfolk
• Simon Lane joins Lotus as Director, Lotus Advanced Performance, to lead the team

Introducing Lotus Advanced Performance, a new division of the business dedicated to delivering thrilling bespoke vehicles and world-class customer experiences.

It is another significant development in the ongoing transformation of Lotus from a UK sports car company to a global performance car business and brand. An enticing new image of a rear wing from Lotus Design hints at an exciting future project.

The portfolio of services that Lotus Advanced Performance will offer includes:

• Halo projects – ultra-exclusive and unique vehicles that expand the Lotus product portfolio in exciting new directions
• Limited editions – exclusive high-spec and highly desirable versions of Lotus cars, allowing customers to stand out from the crowd
• Bespoke – personalise your Lotus car with exclusive colours, trims and materials
• Experiential – from tours of the new £100m Hethel sports car and hypercar production lines to ‘money can’t buy’ opportunities all around the world, activities to enable customers, fans and partners to experience the Lotus brand
• Lotus Driving Academy – expert tuition at the wheel of a Lotus at locations around the world, including the iconic Hethel test track in Norfolk
• Motorsport – starting with the Emira GT4 race car, Lotus Advanced Performance will support and deliver lightweight competition cars to customers around the world
• Options – exclusive extras for your Lotus
• Accessories – a broad range of Lotus Advanced Performance products and brand merchandise ‘For The Drivers’

All programmes are being led by Simon Lane, Director, Lotus Advanced Performance, who has joined from the bespoke 'Q by Aston Martin' business.

Simon commented: “I have always been a Lotus fan, and this has to be one of the most exciting roles in the automotive industry right now – a blank sheet of paper and the opportunity to launch a completely new division at the world’s most ambitious car brand. The LAP team and I have some fantastic and truly innovative ideas with very broad appeal, for Lotus fans young and old to those in search of unique experiences and collectible opportunities.”

He added: “Working in tandem with the hugely experienced Lotus Design team, and colleagues in our engineering teams around the world, we are going to build the most exciting and exclusive Lotus cars, embracing our exciting electrified future while also honouring our illustrious past.”

Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars, commented: “With high-profile success in leading the delivery of bespoke vehicles and world-class customer experiences, Simon Lane is the perfect person to lead Lotus Advanced Performance. This new division is an exciting addition to our business and another key element of our Vision80 transformation.”

He added: “With the Emira and Evija starting production in the coming months, Lotus Advanced Performance is another significant opportunity to enhance our brand and communicate direct with customers.”

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

Respect given, spent day with Scott at Hethal.... the work they have done in 2 years, in the middle of covid...... Epic

Yes the configaurator now is best in cxlass I think..... it had to be..... that thing they had, well we all know, and that some one even thought it was ok...... tells me plenty

Im Tom's own words " you have expressed many of our views to senior lotus folks..... as you have said " whilst they acknowledged they could have done things differently, they were not going to change the approach " tehy are not going to change

Guys have had to lock in there cars, they had been told they would get to see before they had to do that

They said they are going to contact every one in Jan. The coms have got no better

As I know at this point.... you can not spec for your car to not come with number plate fitted

Still no pictures of car..... ok the config sreen shots look good, but still not real world pictures of all colours.

You still have to bundle up 3K pluss zero value items if you do take there finance

I think i would be right in saying most of the oders have come from people that have or had a Lotus or wanted one that fitted there life style..... But new customers are not going to put up with bad service, bad coms.... let things slide.

Its about time we said ok, well done...... but a long way to go........... Not , oh well its lotus, they done well to get this far

Valid points.

In all fairness i wasn't too happy that being told on the 2nd deposit that I could still make changes and then come January I was told it was locked in and no more changes allowed.... Communication is kak,agreed.

 

[First Lotus]

Valid points.

In all fairness i wasn't too happy that being told on the 2nd deposit that I could still make changes and then come January I was told it was locked in and no more changes allowed.... Communication is kak,agreed.

This has been the worst failing I think. As it's quite major. It also seems to grate customers whilst not being strictly true either (I don't think). As from what I read on here, when customers are contacted the 3rd time, it is to give them a delivery date and tell them that they tend to have about 2 days to confirm spec or risk a month delay. So in theory they can change if they do so straight away.
I was certainly surprised when I received my last email saying spec locked in. Tbh, I would happily stick with my spec as it would make my decision re BP for me. But I don't think it's particularly great customer experience if you have to settle for a spec you've changed from when you were told it wasn't locked in when you made the decision.
Personally, I think we need to give Lotus more time to improve. They are welding a big machine now, which takes time to switch course.
I feel for the guys who are taking delivery in June / July who are effectively doing so completely blind. That's not exactly a 'reward' for the early supporters. I just hope you are recognised by means of it proving to be a decent saving off base +options. Or perhaps even a special presentation/gift/driving experience. Obviously you're lucky to be getting your car early, but there is the obvious downside.
FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE!

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

This has been the worst failing I think. As it's quite major. It also seems to grate customers whilst not being strictly true either (I don't think). As from what I read on here, when customers are contacted the 3rd time, it is to give them a delivery date and tell them that they tend to have about 2 days to confirm spec or risk a month delay. So in theory they can change if they do so straight away.
I was certainly surprised when I received my last email saying spec locked in. Tbh, I would happily stick with my spec as it would make my decision re BP for me. But I don't think it's particularly great customer experience if you have to settle for a spec you've changed from when you were told it wasn't locked in when you made the decision.
Personally, I think we need to give Lotus more time to improve. They are welding a big machine now, which takes time to switch course.
I feel for the guys who are taking delivery in June / July who are effectively doing so completely blind. That's not exactly a 'reward' for the early supporters. I just hope you are recognised by means of it proving to be a decent saving off base +options. Or perhaps even a special presentation/gift/driving experience. Obviously you're lucky to be getting your car early, but there is the obvious downside.
FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE!

Exactly this.
I was told I was locked in,to my surprise,just before the new Configurator came out with a much better indication of the colours,if I'd have seen this first I would have changed my colour choice,instead I decided to keep with my original choice kn fear of losing my place and being delayed for months,again the impact on that was not clear.

But I take it in grace,as you said the early depositors have taken a risk to be the first and sometimes you miss out I guess,it is what it is

 

[andrew6382]

Exactly this.
I was told I was locked in,to my surprise,just before the new Configurator came out with a much better indication of the colours,if I'd have seen this first I would have changed my colour choice,instead I decided to keep with my original choice kn fear of losing my place and being delayed for months,again the impact on that was not clear.

But I take it in grace,as you said the early depositors have taken a risk to be the first and sometimes you miss out I guess,it is what it is

I am sorry for you.... I am ..... for me its taking a little of the joy out of getting the car..... for you I would think may be more.

What does make me laugh, is Lotus choose to switch to this drirect selling format.... they clearly did not think it over, or have and dont still have the quaility off staff to carry it forward.

My thinking

If you have dealers, lets say 10, each with 3 sales staff, so you habe 10 places that can be called to answer question, 30 staff lets say.... customer service/sales staff...... and they get paid to sell and keep customers happy as there pay packets are effected by that

Hethal customer service 7 staff ? guess few have worked in sales... not worked face to face with people. and a lot of the time, treated like mushroom fed on **** and kept in the dark....

I got a littel feeling of frustration from Scott the day we went to Hethal. He had some real good ideas about getting information out..... let the customers see how the car came together.

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

I am sorry for you.... I am ..... for me its taking a little of the joy out of getting the car..... for you I would think may be more.

What does make me laugh, is Lotus choose to switch to this drirect selling format.... they clearly did not think it over, or have and dont still have the quaility off staff to carry it forward.

My thinking

If you have dealers, lets say 10, each with 3 sales staff, so you habe 10 places that can be called to answer question, 30 staff lets say.... customer service/sales staff...... and they get paid to sell and keep customers happy as there pay packets are effected by that

Hethal customer service 7 staff ? guess few have worked in sales... not worked face to face with people. and a lot of the time, treated like mushroom fed on **** and kept in the dark....

I got a littel feeling of frustration from Scott the day we went to Hethal. He had some real good ideas about getting information out..... let the customers see how the car came together.

I think he got a little frustrated speaking to me too at Rybrook

 

[andrew6382]

View attachment 3042
I think he got a little frustrated speaking to me too at Rybrook

LOL..... i was there the second day...... made it on there video

 

[Tonyshepp]

View attachment 3042
I think he got a little frustrated speaking to me too at Rybrook

For goodness sake stop with the questions just give us your money !!

 

[TomE]

My points
I. Is it right that lotus force you to bundle zero value items in the finance

2 We don’t know what the rates are going to be its not an example it’s an illustration, and from what I have seen the residuals are not that good. Do they have the T&C of the finance deal to check?


3 The base rate of a finance deal is not always what makes it go or bad. If you look back, you will see I brought this point up



Yes, they are being indexable, your own comment supports that “whilst they acknowledged they could have done things differently, they were not going to change the approach “



I said my point and view, and you countered…. Am I not entitled to reply?

Of course you can reply. But you had diverted off the topic of this thread and it was politely suggested you take up the discussion in another more appropriate existing thread. A thread you had started.

I'm glad you edited your original post to remove the first line you initially wrote.

None of this is going to change anything, so I don't see the point in taking up Tom's time in a debate over the semantics of finance when Lotus frankly do not need to offer bargain basement rates or lots of options.

Tom has so much useful insight to offer elsewhere and has already been so generous with his time that I strongly recommend we do not take up any more of his time on the topic of finance.

Thanks, I'm happy to decide which threads to read and reply to. I think it's also helpful for other people searching for information if posts on a particular thread are largely about that topic - I know that's not always easy and tangents happen (and have happened A LOT on this thread).

If people want to discuss UK finance or US dealer allocations or EVs then there are threads on those. If it's not of interest to people then they can skip them. Some US folks don't want to read about UK finance and some UK folks aren't interested in US allocations.

True..... but it dont change that I think they Lotus, should do better.... I expressed my view. Tom countered it, should i just shut up and not reply

Is any of what I have said un-true, and the original point was, the Jan update was.... well not so much an update, more a plication.... Tom has himself said it was not all they said it would be

If being part of the Lotus family, means I should tow the line, shut up when I am told. Then clearly I am in the wrong place.

"None of this is going to change anything, so I don't see the point in taking up Tom's time in a debate over the semantics of finance when Lotus frankly do not need to offer bargain basement rates or lots of options."

when did i mention bargin basement rates... I did not say the should offer options.... but that they will only invoice you, and not your finance company.... less than helpful, not a big issue.... but something others do

So you happy adding 3K to your finace for zero value items

No one asked you to shut up and not reply. I explained what was in the January update and you (like me) thought it was less info than had been expected. You then started a debate on the details of the finance offer. You then continued to raise finance-related points and were asked to take them into an existing finance thread.

 

[TomE]

Folks, there's been a lot of "topic drift" in this thread onto several other topics unrelated to the original subject. It makes it difficult for people to find info later and there are other threads to talk about EV ordering process, finance, US dealer allocations etc.

We don't heavily moderate threads or posts on here and it's mostly been OK so far. But more recently I've been seeing some of the "hot topics" being raised or repeated across threads started for other purposes.

Are you OK with the current light approach and a lot of mixed threads, or do we need to encourage some more self-discipline and maybe remind each other, or should there be more direct intervention by moderators?

 

[andrew6382]

Folks, there's been a lot of "topic drift" in this thread onto several other topics unrelated to the original subject. It makes it difficult for people to find info later and there are other threads to talk about EV ordering process, finance, US dealer allocations etc.

We don't heavily moderate threads or posts on here and it's mostly been OK so far. But more recently I've been seeing some of the "hot topics" being raised or repeated across threads started for other purposes.

Are you OK with the current light approach and a lot of mixed threads, or do we need to encourage some more self-discipline and maybe remind each other, or should there be more direct intervention by moderators?

 

[eclat2emira]

Folks, there's been a lot of "topic drift" in this thread onto several other topics unrelated to the original subject. It makes it difficult for people to find info later and there are other threads to talk about EV ordering process, finance, US dealer allocations etc.

We don't heavily moderate threads or posts on here and it's mostly been OK so far. But more recently I've been seeing some of the "hot topics" being raised or repeated across threads started for other purposes.

Are you OK with the current light approach and a lot of mixed threads, or do we need to encourage some more self-discipline and maybe remind each other, or should there be more direct intervention by moderators?

Personally I'd vote for a bit more discipline in sticking to thread topics - and I'm sure i'm as guilty of wandering as the next man! Sure sometimes the conversation in a thread wil stray onto other topics, just as real conversations do, but when it becomes a conversation in its own right a new thread is better.

Aside from anything else it makes it easier to find relevant info.

Or we could just keep heading for Lord of the Flies!

 

[andrew6382]

Personally I'd vote for a bit more discipline in sticking to thread topics - and I'm sure i'm as guilty of wandering as the next man! Sure sometimes the conversation in a thread wil stray onto other topics, just as real conversations do, but when it becomes a conversation in its own right a new thread is better.

Aside from anything else it makes it easier to find relevant info.

Or we could just keep heading for Lord of the Flies!

it happens, will happend, but who is to say... whats valid or not..... next Hello From Germany or type 132 name... will not be allowed

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

Folks, there's been a lot of "topic drift" in this thread onto several other topics unrelated to the original subject. It makes it difficult for people to find info later and there are other threads to talk about EV ordering process, finance, US dealer allocations etc.

We don't heavily moderate threads or posts on here and it's mostly been OK so far. But more recently I've been seeing some of the "hot topics" being raised or repeated across threads started for other purposes.

Are you OK with the current light approach and a lot of mixed threads, or do we need to encourage some more self-discipline and maybe remind each other, or should there be more direct intervention by moderators?

Agreed,I'm guilty of biting and drifting, but my OCD says a thread should stay on topic.

 

[First Lotus]

Folks, there's been a lot of "topic drift" in this thread onto several other topics unrelated to the original subject. It makes it difficult for people to find info later and there are other threads to talk about EV ordering process, finance, US dealer allocations etc.

We don't heavily moderate threads or posts on here and it's mostly been OK so far. But more recently I've been seeing some of the "hot topics" being raised or repeated across threads started for other purposes.

Are you OK with the current light approach and a lot of mixed threads, or do we need to encourage some more self-discipline and maybe remind each other, or should there be more direct intervention by moderators?

I think the odd stern reminder once I. A while should steer most back on track. And we should all try to be conscious not to engage with the 'drift'.
Shouldn't this conversation be discussed under a different thread?... Please don't engage

 

[Eagle7]

We're sports car owners, of course there's going to be some drifting. We just have to make sure we don't go off track.

 

[~el~jefe~]

I am excited to hear that i wont get an FE version of a car at the price i agreed to and now will spend +20k on things that were once free. this makes me happy. i love being a loser

 

[NickR]

I'd only just picked up this topic and agree. It just goes over the same issues of communication and finance, which I try to avoid!
So my vote is for better discipline or regulation as this forum will get as bad as Facebook!

 

[TXEMIRA]

It’s been 4 months.

Think they’re working on something “Area 51” worthy?

Now would be a great time to show us (FE Depositors) perhaps what may be some things to look forward to.

I dunno. Maybe something more exciting than these lame reviews?

#ForTheCustomShopFans

 

[TomE]

They’ve been busy re-launching the Lotus Driving Academy. Which looks quite a lot like the old one but with newer cars

I also expect they’re dreaming up some “special projects” to show off at Goodwood. You know, like some nice tailored luggage to fit your Emira boot (trunk for you ) or behind the seats. If they did them in the same leather or alcantara as your selected interior, that would be great….

 

[Nick in Sydney]

They’ve been busy re-launching the Lotus Driving Academy. Which looks quite a lot like the old one but with newer cars

I also expect they’re dreaming up some “special projects” to show off at Goodwood. You know, like some nice tailored luggage to fit your Emira boot (trunk for you ) or behind the seats. If they did them in the same leather or alcantara as your selected interior, that would be great….

A better steering wheel for the Emira is one special project I'd happily pay for!