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.

 

[VL3X]

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.

Hm.. First time hearing about orange peel on wheels. On what color and style wheels did you observe this?

I really wish we had more options as far as wheel finishes and paint colors.

 

[Blue97]

Hm.. First time hearing about orange peel on wheels. On what color and style wheels did you observe this?

I really wish we had more options as far as wheel finishes and paint colors.

All the pre production cars were on the Silver Evora wheels you see on all the test mules. There were some very shiny Black ones on a Seneca car which did not look good. I have ordered Silver so I can have them re sprayed diamond cut etc if necessary

 

[BeHappy]

All the pre production cars were on the Silver Evora wheels you see on all the test mules. There were some very shiny Black ones on a Seneca car which did not look good. I have ordered Silver so I can have them re sprayed diamond cut etc if necessary

Oh that doesn’t sound good were they the black gloss I’ve ordered them hope they don’t look rubbish

 

[EM33RA]

Mate I got the black forged wheels and have 100000% confidence in the fact they will look amazing. Sorry but don’t believe it unless you see it with your eyes as they say.

Oh that doesn’t sound good were they the black gloss I’ve ordered them hope they look rubbish

 

[DenzilP]

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!

Had a factory tour yesterday afternoon with one other Lotus customer. First impressions of the site (bearing in mind I have never been before), old school meets new school, extremely good. All the staff very helpful, polite, and happy (which is very rare, especially in large manufacturing). The tour itself I really enjoyed, just amazing to see how everything goes together to build the car. The factory was smaller than I expected (only been to Range Rover factory before – that was huge), but extremely well equipped and efficient looking. They are still on the pre-production models; customers cars start soon. One of the reasons for my visit was to decide between nimbus and DV, I saw the nimbus but only a half built DV (tub and the panels), next to the nimbus were two magma reds, they look stunning so much so, I decided on magma. But after seeing a fully built i4 Cosmos black and more DV panels I have now decided on DV. We also saw the hethel yellow outside driving around (and that looks amazing in the flesh and daylight). The gap between the wheels and arches is a lot bigger than the blue demo car, but at the angles you see the car (not laying down) you don’t really notice the gap also whilst its travelling you don’t. I must admit I was a bit concerned about this, as the photos of the shadow grey car from low down and side on make the car look slightly out of proportion – too tall, but this is not the case in the flesh – they look awesome, also better for road bumps and no front lift required. The i4 will have a different rear sub frame to the V6, it will be bonded aluminium, whereas the V6 is galvanised steel. The i4 runs very hot and has 3 cooling systems, a small advantage is it will get up to temperature quicker than the V6. I am going for the i4 but after hearing the v6 wish I opted for a v6 last year when I had my first call from lotus – just hope the i4 sounds good. I have had 3 x Porsches, boxster and two 911’s and I loved all of them, but think I will love the Emira even more.

I have to say Lotus have done an amazing Job.

 

[VL3X]

Had a factory tour yesterday afternoon with one other Lotus customer. First impressions of the site (bearing in mind I have never been before), old school meets new school, extremely good. All the staff very helpful, polite, and happy (which is very rare, especially in large manufacturing). The tour itself I really enjoyed, just amazing to see how everything goes together to build the car. The factory was smaller than I expected (only been to Range Rover factory before – that was huge), but extremely well equipped and efficient looking. They are still on the pre-production models; customers cars start soon. One of the reasons for my visit was to decide between nimbus and DV, I saw the nimbus but only a half built DV (tub and the panels), next to the nimbus were two magma reds, they look stunning so much so, I decided on magma. But after seeing a fully built i4 Cosmos black and more DV panels I have now decided on DV. We also saw the hethel yellow outside driving around (and that looks amazing in the flesh and daylight). The gap between the wheels and arches is a lot bigger than the blue demo car, but at the angles you see the car (not laying down) you don’t really notice the gap also whilst its travelling you don’t. I must admit I was a bit concerned about this, as the photos of the shadow grey car from low down and side on make the car look slightly out of proportion – too tall, but this is not the case in the flesh – they look awesome, also better for road bumps and no front lift required. The i4 will have a different rear sub frame to the V6, it will be bonded aluminium, whereas the V6 is galvanised steel. The i4 runs very hot and has 3 cooling systems, a small advantage is it will get up to temperature quicker than the V6. I am going for the i4 but after hearing the v6 wish I opted for a v6 last year when I had my first call from lotus – just hope the i4 sounds good. I have had 3 x Porsches, boxster and two 911’s and I loved all of them, but think I will love the Emira even more.

I have to say Lotus have done an amazing Job.

Wow, so you went from Nimbus/DV to Magma and back to DV?! What didn't you like about Nimbus? What sold you on DV?

I'm sure the i4 will sound great too. I wish I was local to visit the factory... that's good to hear about the positive/happy vibe from the workers too!

 

[Blue97]

Wow, so you went from Nimbus/DV to Magma and back to DV?! What didn't you like about Nimbus? What sold you on DV?

I'm sure the i4 will sound great too. I wish I was local to visit the factory... that's good to hear about the positive/happy vibe from the workers too!

I saw the yellow one outside. Gap between tyre and bodywork is large - don’t know why it needs to be so much and definitely spoils the stance of the car.

 

[VL3X]

I saw the yellow one outside. Gap between tyre and bodywork is large - don’t know why it needs to be so much and definitely spoils the stance of the car.

Yeah, that's a little high, but not too bad. None of this would be an issue if Lotus would have given it height adjustable suspension. Either way, it's about $3k for quality coilovers and you can adjust the stance all you want.

 

[Cachaco131]

Yeah, that's a little high, but not too bad. None of this would be an issue if Lotus would have given it height adjustable suspension. Either way, it's about $3k for quality coilovers and you can adjust the stance all you want.

I'm not well versed on suspensions but wouldn't that negate some of the tuning work Lotus has undertaken? Won't they know more than the aftermarket manufacturers?

 

[Speedluvver]

They are also not the FE wheels, so may not be final height..

 

[DenzilP]

Wow, so you went from Nimbus/DV to Magma and back to DV?! What didn't you like about Nimbus? What sold you on DV?

I'm sure the i4 will sound great too. I wish I was local to visit the factory... that's good to hear about the positive/happy vibe from the workers too!

Nimbus was lovely and nothing I didn't like about it, all the colours look fantastic, the quality of the finish is world class. Maybe, because there was two Magma's together, I never considered red up until that point. After seeing more DV panels and the black i4, it sealed it for me. I did also see a shadow grey with a black roof, looked really cool, when you looking at the front, head on at the car the curves and shadows the colours produce are so cool, a work of art.

 

[VL3X]

I'm not well versed on suspensions but wouldn't that negate some of the tuning work Lotus has undertaken? Won't they know more than the aftermarket manufacturers?

Sure, but that can be said with any manufacturer who put years into R&D. Most quality aftermarket coilovers (like KW V3) have adjustable compression AND rebound dampening as well as height adjustment. I'm sure they can be fine tuned to be near identical to the Bilstein/Eibach combo Lotus uses and then even further adjusted to lower the car as desired while increasing responsiveness and handling.

 

[digilotus]

Nimbus was lovely and nothing I didn't like about it, all the colours look fantastic, the quality of the finish is world class. Maybe, because there was two Magma's together, I never considered red up until that point. After seeing more DV panels and the black i4, it sealed it for me. I did also see a shadow grey with a black roof, looked really cool, when you looking at the front, head on at the car the curves and shadows the colours produce are so cool, a work of art.

Ooh, shadow with black pack sounds interesting! Do you have any more outdoor pics you could share with us?

 

[DenzilP]

Ooh, shadow with black pack sounds interesting! Do you have any more outdoor pics you could share with us?

Sorry, we were only allow to take photos of the clay blue car in the main reception, once they start the production cars, I am sure they will release proper photos. I suspect they don't want post production car photos on the internet as they could be confused with the production cars.

 

[DaaS]

I saw the yellow one outside. Gap between tyre and bodywork is large - don’t know why it needs to be so much and definitely spoils the stance of the car.

I think this is intentionally done by some manufacturers so they can incrementally "improve" their cars over the lifecycle. Based on the pics I've seen, earlier Evoras had a higher ride height than the later versions. On my 21 Evora GT, the rear tire/arch gap barely fits 1 finger in an angle. I am guessing that future versions of Emira S or GT will have a lower ride height.

 

[Porter]

One of the reasons for my visit was to decide between nimbus and DV, I saw the nimbus but only a half built DV (tub and the panels), next to the nimbus were two magma reds, they look stunning so much so, I decided on magma. But after seeing a fully built i4 Cosmos black and more DV panels I have now decided on DV.

Nimbus was lovely and nothing I didn't like about it, all the colours look fantastic, the quality of the finish is world class. Maybe, because there was two Magma's together, I never considered red up until that point. After seeing more DV panels and the black i4, it sealed it for me.

Thanks for this info Denzil! Can you please give us some more insight into what you saw about the DV that swayed you to switch to it? Was it clearly green on the panel, or did it look black? What specifically inspired you to choose that over Magma Red after just seeing (and liking) the red? Really interested to hear your thoughts.

Those of us who haven't seen a DV painted vehicle in person are really completely in the dark about what the color looks like on a car, or even on a painted panel. I also have a weird open question and comparison shot over on the DV color thread. Any help you can provide would be excellent.

 

[roundincircles]

Those of us who haven't seen a DV painted vehicle in person are really completely in the dark about what the color looks like on a car, or even on a painted panel. I also have a weird open question and comparison shot over on the DV color thread. Any help you can provide would be excellent.

You are in the dark. Maybe I can help/confuse. I have seen a number of DV in the flesh. In low light it is dark but in light it is a rich deep green.....a dark mysterious deep deep green.....classy and very rare.......hopefully Lotus will post some pics and video.......sooooon!

 

[Porter]

You are in the dark. Maybe I can help/confuse. I have seen a number of DV in the flesh. In low light it is dark but in light it is a rich deep green.....a dark mysterious deep deep green.....classy and very rare.......hopefully Lotus will post some pics and video.......sooooon!

Thanks! Any idea whether it's similar to the Elise I posted here?

 

[roundincircles]

Thanks! Any idea whether it's similar to the Elise I posted here?

I don't know but there is a recent image on the Verdant Green thread......

 

[roundincircles]

Thanks! Any idea whether it's similar to the Elise I posted here?