Lotus execs speak out
Green light for supercar, red for more powerful Elise/Exige
PistonHeads (PH) grabbed the opportunity to talk to three Lotus executives recently to get a feel for where the company's going, especially with respect to the forthcoming supercar.
We spoke to:
- Victor Kiam (VK), commercial director and shareholder’s representative of Group Lotus
- Chris Arnold (CA), head of Lotus Motorsport
- Andreas Maenner (AM), European Press Officer of Lotus Cars Ltd.
PH: Mr Kiam, how long have you been with Group Lotus, and how's the company doing?
VK: About three years. We are very satisfied with the actual situation of Lotus Cars. We returned to America this summer and it has been very successful.
PH: Is America the only interesting market at the moment ? European sales are dropping, especially in Germany.
VK: At the moment, nearly 50 per cent of our production is sold to America. Other important markets are the UK and Japan followed by key countries in the mainland of Europe. We sold fewer cars in Europe than last year, but we don't have a general problem in Europe, it' s only a problem of supplying three new products – the Elise 111R, the federal Elise and the Exige.
To maintain our high quality, we ramped up the volumes slowly and steadily so there was no drop in supply. We are now ramped up and our plant in Hethel is working to capacity, producing 125 cars per week. The delivery time for a Lotus in Europe is about three months, in America you still have to wait longer.
PH: In America you are only offering the Elise 111R, is it also planed to
sell the Exige (above) in America?
VK: No, it is not planned in the near future.
PH: Which new Lotus will we see in the future?
VK: We are working on a new range of cars including a new mid engine supercar.
PH: When will it hit the road?
VK: You know it takes time to develop a car, it's not possible from one day to the next, but we won’t give a firmer time constraint than “a few years time”.
PH: In what stage of development is the new "Supercar" at the moment? Has the design already been confirmed?
AM: Development of this vehicle has high priority right now. We will - as a principle - not comment in detail on the stage of development of any project.
PH: What about the supercar's engine - will it be V8 or V10, Lotus-developed or bought-in ?
AM: We are assessing a number of options but will not announce the route that we have chosen for the engine yet.
PH: Are there any plans for a car between the Elise and the ”Supercar“?
AM: We are looking at this type of car at the moment, but it is a concept and feasibility study at the moment. We can't disclose more details right now.
PH: Can we expect a more powerful Elise or Exige?
CA: No, for the time being we don't have the capacity at Lotus Motorsport. It's not only to develop a tuning kit for the engine. The brakes, clutch, gear box etc. must also be modified and we don't have the time for this now.
PH: The spectators and some customers at the Lotus Cup Europe claimed that the sound of the actual Elise / Exige isn't exciting.
CA: It's no problem to develop a loud exhaust, but our cars are all road legal, even the Cup - Exige. Our exhaust respects the current laws regarding emission and on many tracks there are also strict noise limits.
PH: The first season of the Lotus Cup Europe is now over. Did you have any problems with the cars?
CA: No mechanical problems at all. There were only some damages to the cars through accidents.
PH: Is the Cup - Exige a limited edition?
CA: No, it's only limited to our capacity at Lotus Motorsport.
PH: Are there any modifications planned for the Elise within the next year?
AM: No, we have spent time and money to fit the Toyota engine into the Elise. The rear structure of the 111R is new, developed to fit this new engine. At the moment no further modifications are planned.
PH: What can we expect for the Geneva motor show next year?
AM: Let's wait and see...
PH: Gentlemen, thank you.
I wonder what the definition of 'Supercar' is these days? They chose the word to describe what is presumably going to follow the Esprit. Does this mean they will be competing at the high end, with things like the Enzo, Korengigissesesgggg (zig-a-zig-a), and Lambo? Or are we going to see something 175mph+ more in line with 'exotic' performance rather than groundbreaking?
PastHim said:
Not much of an eye opener was it? The execs succeeded in telling us just about nothing. 'A few years' and 'no comment'.
That's exactly what I was thinking. They could have got some PR automaton to say exactly the same thing, it would have been just as disatisfying.
Kingr
Remember when the original S2 Elise came out - the dealers (and hence customers)were the last to know about it.
We pretty much know they are working on some form of GT as well as the new Esprit. Add to that the rumours of a factory supercharger for 'Yota engined cars and you have a fairly comprehensive development programme.
[k]
xxplod said:
Never believe a word Lotus says.
I particularly liked their stance on the Toyota engine. It was something along the lines of...
"No we are not putting the Toyota engine in UK cars"
"We are sticking with the Rover engine for the foreseeable future"
"The Toyota engine is for the Federalised Elise only"
"By the way, here is our new Toyota-engined 111r"
[k]
It's basically just a 111R with a few extra stuck on body bits, (that look real tacked on as well IMHO) .
Perhaps they feel they can't go ahead with more power now, as it will harm the release of the rumoured next model, which is supposed to be a slightly bigger more upmarket car.
I reckon either they'll rush release something really new for Geneva, or a supercharged version will make the Geneva Show.
They always flatly deny every development rumour right up to its release date.
Their marketing department are bonkers, if they worked the rumour mill properly, they could build a fantastic hype for their developments, instead of always running s**t scared of harming sales of what they have in stock. Crazy.
guitarman said:
Everyone knows the Elise/Exige S2 is underpowered and there were a lot of rumours about a supercharger at least for the Exige. Releasing a new Exige with only the exact same power as the Elise 111R was always going to be a total marketing disaster.
the truth
guitarman said:
It's basically just a 111R with a few extra stuck on body bits, (that look real tacked on as well IMHO) .
get up close, sit in it, drive it and as long as its yellow and black it looks good.
guitarman said:
Perhaps they feel they can't go ahead with more power now, as it will harm the release of the rumoured next model, which is supposed to be a slightly bigger more upmarket car.
Agreed. Personally cannot see that the cost/benefits of a lotus developed system make it worthwhile -you're looking at a niche market power upgrade of a niche of their sales to start with. 3rd party or lotus 'hijacked' 3rd party system more likely
guitarman said:
Their marketing department are bonkers, if they worked the rumour mill properly, they could build a fantastic hype for their developments, instead of always running s**t scared of harming sales of what they have in stock. Crazy.
i do wonder if they walk around with their heads up their own backsides. the S2111 also pissed me off so now a few years later i have to order a ptp170
In less than ideal circumstances (like the recent nice wet weather), the Elise can be a handful. The bodyshape and cabin really aren't suited to a higher top speed and getting the 0-60 time any lower is great for bragging rights, but can only increase the number of cars in accidents. Lotus would get no benefit from producing significantly higher powered Elises from the factory and those that really want it can always go for aftermarket upgrades.
It makes a lot of sense to put higher power/greater top speeds in a new package that is better suited to it. The Exige is a good package to take that higher power, and the Esprit replacement will certainly take the greater top speed.
Wanting Lotus to just max out the Elise just ends up as a willy-waving exercise and rather reflects the top-trumps attitude to comparing cars by nothing more than 0-60 times and horsepower.
They need to get their cars and pr sorted. I suspect if they did, they would have more orders than they can handle!
Mr Fix It said:
They need to get their cars and pr sorted. I suspect if they did, they would have more orders than they can handle!
i think the cars are sorted, that why they obviously don't have an order problem with a 3 month waiting lists, and a 3+ month waiting list for the federal elise.
i also think europe are the least of their problems. their primary concern seems to be getting elises/exiges out of the door at the rate that they can manage.
they also seem to be more interested in growing organically rather than expanding the existing production line at the cost of external finance, and then betting the ranch on the "next car".
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