Valenti Motors, Inc. of Watertown article
Discussion
What a kick! Bill Reudgen, Lotus brand specialist for Valenti Motors, Inc. of Watertown, and I took a new Exige out for a spin on a nearby highway. Mr. Reudgen smiled and put his foot on the accelerator as we headed up the entrance ramp. Our bodies moved back ever so slightly as the car slid upwards to a speed in the neighborhood of the posted limit of 65 miles an hour.
"Feel that," Mr. Reudgen said as the full force of the engine kicked in. I sure did. The Lotus moved smoothly into and by the highway traffic, turning heads in the process with its stylish lines and a body that oozes sex appeal. After we exited the highway, I got behind the wheel and we turned onto a winding side road, which the Exige handled flawlessly, attacking each bend with nary a lean.
But what else would one expect from one of the classic cars of automobile history.
Almost from the very day founder Colin Campbell introduced his first design, Lotus has excelled on the track, both in the builder and driver categories. The company, which manufactures its vehicles at a plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England, brought its car to the streets in 1957, with many of its customers building a Lotus from a kit.
Lotuses began showing up on U.S streets in earnest in the 1970s with the Elite and Espirit lines. But the price tag for the Lotus was thought by many to be prohibitive, and the car was reputed to be a bit finicky from time to time, although no one has ever questioned its magnificent styling and performance.
Lotus reinvented itself somewhat two years ago and launched the Elise model in the U.S., compete with a Toyota engine, along with a supremely lightweight frame (slightly less than 2,000 pounds) that features no welds for a more stable ride. And the price tag is a shock of the inverse variety: this hot car only costs around $50,000.
Introduced to the U.S. market in July 2004, the Elise sold just under 2,400 units during the last sales year, the most cars ever sold in the U.S. in one year, said Colin Price, manager of marketing and communications for Lotus Cars USA.
"We thought there was clearly a market for this car in the U.S.," Mr. Price said. "The Elise was sort of a back-to-the-roots car that offered tremendous performance from a relatively small (190 horsepower) engine. And it broadened our appeal to include new customers who would like to go out and play with a $50,000 car instead of a $200,000 car."
The company decided to up the ante a bit this year with the introduction of the Exige, which offers a more "aggressive package for hard core enthusiasts," said Mr. Price. "Not that the Elise is not a hard-core car. But the Exige is a bit more narrowly focused."
Among the standard equipment on the Exige that the Elise does not have is forged wheels, stiffer springs and shocks for improved suspension, an aerodynamic bodywork package that generates greater down force and higher cornering speeds, and a hardtop to manage airflow to the rear wing of the car. The bodywork on the car is hand-laid, and the rest of the car hand-assembled.
The Toyota supplied, four-cylinder, 1,792 cubic meter engine on both the Elise and Exige models produces 190-horsepower with a red line of 7,800 r.p.m. The cars can bolt from a standing position to 60 miles an hour in an astounding 4.9 seconds, and can reach a top speed of around 150 miles an hour.
The standard Exige also features high performance Yokohama tires and twin oil coolers from the Elise Sport. Sport seats are standard and 20 exterior colors are available. Black is the only interior color for both the standard cloth and "Touring Pack" leather seats.
Among the options on the Exige is a limited skip differential with Lotus traction control. This allows the distribution of power evenly between the rear tires to allow more aggressive acceleration out of low speed corners.
Fuel consumption is good considering the power of the car. The Exige and Elise get around 30 miles a gallon on the highway and around 20 on city roads.
Make no mistake about it, the Lotus is a visceral experience. It lacks the plush comforts of today's popular SUVs and luxury cars, but that's part of the charm. When you pour yourself into the driver's seat, you get the feeling of being strapped into a true racing car, one that begs to be pushed to its limits.
But the Exige and Elise do have their share of creature comforts, such as a leather-trimmed steering wheel, radio and CD player with a four-speaker sound system, and cloth with leather trim seats, as well as airbags on both the driver's and passenger side for added safety.
Part of the allure of the Lotus is its mystique, enhanced by its serving as the ride for the main characters in the James Bond flicks and the movie "Pretty Woman," where Richard Gere can't handle an Espirit, but Julia Roberts does just fine with all that power. The car's exterior design is stunning and resembles a big cat preparing to pounce upon unwary prey. In short, the Lotus has the appearance of a fun loving, sleek muscle car without the steroids and with more elegance.
"It's a car that you don't see every day, and that's part of the appeal," said Mr. Price. "It's been rated the most fun car in the world to drive."
Valenti is one of only two dealers in Connecticut, and one of only 45 in the U.S., to carry the Lotus. Some 2,400 Elises and only 300 to 350 Exiges will be sold in the country this year.
"We're thrilled to have these cars," said Mr. Reudgen. "We are one of the oldest Lotus dealers in the country, and we've been selling them since 1988."
"I think they really hit it on the head with the Elise and now the Exige," he added. "Bringing Toyota in has really improved the reliability and performance of the car and it is more stable and consistent now. The public is responding. They are also shocked when they find out the car sells for $50,000 and not $100,000."
Numbers show the Lotus is clearly a man's car. Men buy about 95 percent of the cars sold, and 75 percent of those buyers are professionals, such as doctors and lawyers. In keeping with its lineage, around 35 percent of those who buy a Lotus take the car onto the track.
"There is clearly an element of being part of a unique club when you buy a Lotus," said Mr. Reudgen.
Added Mr. Price, "A fair amount of Lotus owners will do track days on a regular basis. There are groups who rent a track for a number of hours or days to enjoy racing the cars."
"I don't think you will ever see a day when Lotus wants to sell 25,000 cars a year in the U.S. like Porsche does," he said. "We are happy where we are at and don't anticipate substantial growth. Certainly in the long term we would like to broaden our portfolio a bit more. But we will never be a mass market car company."
"Feel that," Mr. Reudgen said as the full force of the engine kicked in. I sure did. The Lotus moved smoothly into and by the highway traffic, turning heads in the process with its stylish lines and a body that oozes sex appeal. After we exited the highway, I got behind the wheel and we turned onto a winding side road, which the Exige handled flawlessly, attacking each bend with nary a lean.
But what else would one expect from one of the classic cars of automobile history.
Almost from the very day founder Colin Campbell introduced his first design, Lotus has excelled on the track, both in the builder and driver categories. The company, which manufactures its vehicles at a plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England, brought its car to the streets in 1957, with many of its customers building a Lotus from a kit.
Lotuses began showing up on U.S streets in earnest in the 1970s with the Elite and Espirit lines. But the price tag for the Lotus was thought by many to be prohibitive, and the car was reputed to be a bit finicky from time to time, although no one has ever questioned its magnificent styling and performance.
Lotus reinvented itself somewhat two years ago and launched the Elise model in the U.S., compete with a Toyota engine, along with a supremely lightweight frame (slightly less than 2,000 pounds) that features no welds for a more stable ride. And the price tag is a shock of the inverse variety: this hot car only costs around $50,000.
Introduced to the U.S. market in July 2004, the Elise sold just under 2,400 units during the last sales year, the most cars ever sold in the U.S. in one year, said Colin Price, manager of marketing and communications for Lotus Cars USA.
"We thought there was clearly a market for this car in the U.S.," Mr. Price said. "The Elise was sort of a back-to-the-roots car that offered tremendous performance from a relatively small (190 horsepower) engine. And it broadened our appeal to include new customers who would like to go out and play with a $50,000 car instead of a $200,000 car."
The company decided to up the ante a bit this year with the introduction of the Exige, which offers a more "aggressive package for hard core enthusiasts," said Mr. Price. "Not that the Elise is not a hard-core car. But the Exige is a bit more narrowly focused."
Among the standard equipment on the Exige that the Elise does not have is forged wheels, stiffer springs and shocks for improved suspension, an aerodynamic bodywork package that generates greater down force and higher cornering speeds, and a hardtop to manage airflow to the rear wing of the car. The bodywork on the car is hand-laid, and the rest of the car hand-assembled.
The Toyota supplied, four-cylinder, 1,792 cubic meter engine on both the Elise and Exige models produces 190-horsepower with a red line of 7,800 r.p.m. The cars can bolt from a standing position to 60 miles an hour in an astounding 4.9 seconds, and can reach a top speed of around 150 miles an hour.
The standard Exige also features high performance Yokohama tires and twin oil coolers from the Elise Sport. Sport seats are standard and 20 exterior colors are available. Black is the only interior color for both the standard cloth and "Touring Pack" leather seats.
Among the options on the Exige is a limited skip differential with Lotus traction control. This allows the distribution of power evenly between the rear tires to allow more aggressive acceleration out of low speed corners.
Fuel consumption is good considering the power of the car. The Exige and Elise get around 30 miles a gallon on the highway and around 20 on city roads.
Make no mistake about it, the Lotus is a visceral experience. It lacks the plush comforts of today's popular SUVs and luxury cars, but that's part of the charm. When you pour yourself into the driver's seat, you get the feeling of being strapped into a true racing car, one that begs to be pushed to its limits.
But the Exige and Elise do have their share of creature comforts, such as a leather-trimmed steering wheel, radio and CD player with a four-speaker sound system, and cloth with leather trim seats, as well as airbags on both the driver's and passenger side for added safety.
Part of the allure of the Lotus is its mystique, enhanced by its serving as the ride for the main characters in the James Bond flicks and the movie "Pretty Woman," where Richard Gere can't handle an Espirit, but Julia Roberts does just fine with all that power. The car's exterior design is stunning and resembles a big cat preparing to pounce upon unwary prey. In short, the Lotus has the appearance of a fun loving, sleek muscle car without the steroids and with more elegance.
"It's a car that you don't see every day, and that's part of the appeal," said Mr. Price. "It's been rated the most fun car in the world to drive."
Valenti is one of only two dealers in Connecticut, and one of only 45 in the U.S., to carry the Lotus. Some 2,400 Elises and only 300 to 350 Exiges will be sold in the country this year.
"We're thrilled to have these cars," said Mr. Reudgen. "We are one of the oldest Lotus dealers in the country, and we've been selling them since 1988."
"I think they really hit it on the head with the Elise and now the Exige," he added. "Bringing Toyota in has really improved the reliability and performance of the car and it is more stable and consistent now. The public is responding. They are also shocked when they find out the car sells for $50,000 and not $100,000."
Numbers show the Lotus is clearly a man's car. Men buy about 95 percent of the cars sold, and 75 percent of those buyers are professionals, such as doctors and lawyers. In keeping with its lineage, around 35 percent of those who buy a Lotus take the car onto the track.
"There is clearly an element of being part of a unique club when you buy a Lotus," said Mr. Reudgen.
Added Mr. Price, "A fair amount of Lotus owners will do track days on a regular basis. There are groups who rent a track for a number of hours or days to enjoy racing the cars."
"I don't think you will ever see a day when Lotus wants to sell 25,000 cars a year in the U.S. like Porsche does," he said. "We are happy where we are at and don't anticipate substantial growth. Certainly in the long term we would like to broaden our portfolio a bit more. But we will never be a mass market car company."
BusaNostra said:
By the way, why Toyota engine why not Honda S2000 engine ? Could have been awesome engineering.
i asked exactly the same question. i answers were along the lines of ......
honda engine would have been perfect for the elise says lotus ..... from this the assumption was that honda would not sell it to lotus.
scott
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