Lotus Restarts Hethel Factory Tours After £100 Million Upgrade

Looks like Lotus is starting factory tours again beginning April 4. Here's to hoping we get more Emira content from visitors! Anyone planning to go?

More info here.

 

[Leonard]

I thought Norwich was closer than what it is from Chesterfield its either a 3.5 hour drive or 4 hour train... so my hopes of going to see the factory are slim.

Make a weekend of it. Great places to stay inland or on the coast.
The driving for the last hour and a half is reasonable as well

 

[Tonyshepp]

Make a weekend of it. Great places to stay inland or on the coast.
The driving for the last hour and a half is reasonable as well

Good idea, I’ve been looking at hotels to stay the night before, will have to go on my own as the wife and 3 dogs are most definitely not bothered about cars!

 

[Leonard]

Good idea, I’ve been looking at hotels to stay the night before, will have to go on my own as the wife and 3 dogs are most definitely not bothered about cars!

Get a Kingsize and will come with you

 

[Leonard]

Good idea, I’ve been looking at hotels to stay the night before, will have to go on my own as the wife and 3 dogs are most definitely not bothered about cars!

Cley On Sea and up coast from there, Blakeney etc is nice.

 

[EmiraMike]

Good idea, I’ve been looking at hotels to stay the night before, will have to go on my own as the wife and 3 dogs are most definitely not bothered about cars!

We’ve booked a nice looking Airbnb not far from Hethel. I’m hoping to hear the roar of some engines over breakfast! 🏎https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/21941181?source_impression_id=p3_1648248664_h08+8WxioISDVvLN

 

[Lankan]

WIll certainly look at taking this tour - a visit to Hethel was always on the cards, and it is even better if we can now see Emiras being built.

Making a weekend out of it is a sound idea...

 

[mjw930]

I’m hoping to go the 2nd week of May when I’m in Cambridge for work. A colleague, who’s based in Cambridge, has one on order too so we will make a day of it.

 

[New to Lotus]

I'm booked in 13th of April

 

[Russc]

Gone for the 21st April

 

[freefall_junkie]

Does anyone have any idea when the Lotus Driving Academy might be reopening? I'm tempted to book the factory tour but wondering if it might be worth waiting until I can combine it with some track time.

 

[Gibbo205]

Did the tour today!

Totally brilliant! Got to see all the colours and some new ones, my new favourite is vivid red.

Also got to see the yellow/black production car and OMG wow supercar looks to die for and the quality fit and finish of interior was spot on.

Get the tour booked it’s awesome guys!

 

[Bod27]

Did the tour today!

Totally brilliant! Got to see all the colours and some new ones, my new favourite is vivid red.

Also got to see the yellow/black production car and OMG wow supercar looks to die for and the quality fit and finish of interior was spot on.

Get the tour booked it’s awesome guys!

Booked in for the 25th April , taking my best mate , car due in June and factory visit pick up . Cant wait . Managed to get tickets to FOS last year after they announced the Emira , deposit was placed earlier in the year before any details had been released . To say Im excited is an understatement!

 

[Blue97]

Booked in for the 25th April , taking my best mate , car due in June and factory visit pick up . Cant wait . Managed to get tickets to FOS last year after they announced the Emira , deposit was placed earlier in the year before any details had been released . To say Im excited is an understatement!

Have been on the tour. To be honest I am not sure and was a little underwhelmed - perhaps expecting to see a Ferrari after all the hype . The car is not as aggressively sporty or imposing as I had hoped. Nice but quite soft in comparison to a GT4. Production of customer cars has not started I was told- all pre production going down the line . To me the Yellow looked the best and Vivid Red would be better than the Magma - also saw Seneca , the two Greys , White , Black , Verdant and a putty Grey . I said " there is a big gap between the tyres and wheel arches (Silver Evora wheels )of about 4 fingers width ( on my sons GT4 it is 1.5)is this standard , are there any shims in there now ? " and was told no that is how it is but depends whether Touring or Sport spec. I have read elsewhere on here that both set ups had the same gap ? I think if the gap was much smaller and the car was on production wheels the stance would be greatly improved. Sorry to keep comparing to Porsche but we have to as this is what Lotus are competing against. Comparing to my sons when I got back the finish on the Lotus wheels looked very Orange peely and did not have the satin smoothness of Porsche wheels. All small things , easily rectified hopefully but all add immeasurably to a perceived air of quality - you can't touch it but you know when you see it.
The Tan leather looked really good quality- unfortunately no adjustable side bolsters on seats so don't think they will hold you that tight . Engine sounds good - GT4 sounds a bit dull unless you are in the last 1,500 revs and going at some crazy speed !. Will wait to see road tests reports and hopefully have a drive before I have to say yes or no to my July car.

 

[xen]

Have been on the tour. To be honest I am not sure and was a little underwhelmed - perhaps expecting to see a Ferrari after all the hype . The car is not as aggressively sporty or imposing as I had hoped. Nice but quite soft in comparison to a GT4. Production of customer cars has not started I was told- all pre production going down the line . To me the Yellow looked the best and Vivid Red would be better than the Magma - also saw Seneca , the two Greys , White , Black , Verdant and a putty Grey . I said " there is a big gap between the tyres and wheel arches (Silver Evora wheels )of about 4 fingers width ( on my sons GT4 it is 1.5)is this standard , are there any shims in there now ? " and was told no that is how it is but depends whether Touring or Sport spec. I have read elsewhere on here that both set ups had the same gap ? I think if the gap was much smaller and the car was on production wheels the stance would be greatly improved. Sorry to keep comparing to Porsche but we have to as this is what Lotus are competing against. Comparing to my sons when I got back the finish on the Lotus wheels looked very Orange peely and did not have the satin smoothness of Porsche wheels. All small things , easily rectified hopefully but all add immeasurably to a perceived air of quality - you can't touch it but you know when you see it.
The Tan leather looked really good quality- unfortunately no adjustable side bolsters on seats so don't think they will hold you that tight . Engine sounds good - GT4 sounds a bit dull unless you are in the last 1,500 revs and going at some crazy speed !. Will wait to see road tests reports and hopefully have a drive before I have to say yes or no to my July car.

Thanks for this. It’s nice to read a balanced if contrarian take on the cars. I’ve found most of the commentary a tad effusive but that’s expected in a designated fan forum.

Having seen the cars, which colour would you pick?

 

[NicolasB]

I just emailed me dealer to ask if he had paint sample discs yet, and he said he was not getting them due to limited availability, and just have to look on the internet

 

[Gibbo205]

Have been on the tour. To be honest I am not sure and was a little underwhelmed - perhaps expecting to see a Ferrari after all the hype . The car is not as aggressively sporty or imposing as I had hoped. Nice but quite soft in comparison to a GT4. Production of customer cars has not started I was told- all pre production going down the line . To me the Yellow looked the best and Vivid Red would be better than the Magma - also saw Seneca , the two Greys , White , Black , Verdant and a putty Grey . I said " there is a big gap between the tyres and wheel arches (Silver Evora wheels )of about 4 fingers width ( on my sons GT4 it is 1.5)is this standard , are there any shims in there now ? " and was told no that is how it is but depends whether Touring or Sport spec. I have read elsewhere on here that both set ups had the same gap ? I think if the gap was much smaller and the car was on production wheels the stance would be greatly improved. Sorry to keep comparing to Porsche but we have to as this is what Lotus are competing against. Comparing to my sons when I got back the finish on the Lotus wheels looked very Orange peely and did not have the satin smoothness of Porsche wheels. All small things , easily rectified hopefully but all add immeasurably to a perceived air of quality - you can't touch it but you know when you see it.
The Tan leather looked really good quality- unfortunately no adjustable side bolsters on seats so don't think they will hold you that tight . Engine sounds good - GT4 sounds a bit dull unless you are in the last 1,500 revs and going at some crazy speed !. Will wait to see road tests reports and hopefully have a drive before I have to say yes or no to my July car.

Did you see the yellow VP car that was at BBC? I thought this car looked amazing and I did the finger test on the gap between the arches, the front was a tight two fingers and the rear was three fingers. For me its stance looks spot on. The cars in the factory were sitting much higher for sure, easily 4/5 finger gaps but these cars are on the wheels you can't specify any more and might also be running spring blocks for transport or are simply the incorrect spring for the car and are not built to final production specification.

When I got to see the yellow car at the end of the tour, Scott informed us it was a VP car but built to final production specification except for some basic omissions like no black tail pipes and no vanity mirror on the sun blinds, both of which he confirmed will be on the final cars.

 

[BeHappy]

Booked in for the 25th April , taking my best mate , car due in June and factory visit pick up . Cant wait . Managed to get tickets to FOS last year after they announced the Emira , deposit was placed earlier in the year before any details had been released . To say Im excited is an understatement!

Your paying twice then surely they should give you some discount

 

[vision]

Have been on the tour. To be honest I am not sure and was a little underwhelmed - perhaps expecting to see a Ferrari after all the hype . The car is not as aggressively sporty or imposing as I had hoped. Nice but quite soft in comparison to a GT4. Production of customer cars has not started I was told- all pre production going down the line . To me the Yellow looked the best and Vivid Red would be better than the Magma - also saw Seneca , the two Greys , White , Black , Verdant and a putty Grey . I said " there is a big gap between the tyres and wheel arches (Silver Evora wheels )of about 4 fingers width ( on my sons GT4 it is 1.5)is this standard , are there any shims in there now ? " and was told no that is how it is but depends whether Touring or Sport spec. I have read elsewhere on here that both set ups had the same gap ? I think if the gap was much smaller and the car was on production wheels the stance would be greatly improved. Sorry to keep comparing to Porsche but we have to as this is what Lotus are competing against. Comparing to my sons when I got back the finish on the Lotus wheels looked very Orange peely and did not have the satin smoothness of Porsche wheels. All small things , easily rectified hopefully but all add immeasurably to a perceived air of quality - you can't touch it but you know when you see it.
The Tan leather looked really good quality- unfortunately no adjustable side bolsters on seats so don't think they will hold you that tight . Engine sounds good - GT4 sounds a bit dull unless you are in the last 1,500 revs and going at some crazy speed !. Will wait to see road tests reports and hopefully have a drive before I have to say yes or no to my July car.

Have you actually seen a finished car in any relevant colour or with finished wheels set up etc. Good luck with testing a real car if yours is coming in July, if you have actually ordered one, too many references to Porsche, have I missed something!

 

[Blue97]

Good to hear that production cars have a much smaller gap - kept asking !
Have to compare to Porsche - that is the main other choice and what Lotus would have benchmarked against.
I ordered a manual V6 FE in the hope that it will give a more exciting drive than the Porsche Cayman.
Have ordered the Yellow with Black pack so slightly biased - not changing having seen all the colours. Didn’t see any production wheels. Of the other colours I thought Nimbus was an interesting colour with subtle variations of tone ( classy with Tan leather ) , the Shadow car looked nice at the back of the room , darker and Bluer than in the bright daylight where it looked more Grey and not so interesting .
Hoping there might be cars to test by end May.

 

[roundincircles]

On a recent factory visit the production cars were not on forged wheels which were behind on delivery. I thought the car looked good, imposing in a sporty way. Styling was different but not unlike a Mclaren Artura.



Attention to quality on the line was impressive. Nappa leather fit and stitching was first class. Better than my Porker ( which had to be rectified).1



I've owned several Porkers and they have there own style. I'm pleased the Emira can't be mistaken for a Porker.