The end of the Elise/Exige?
Discussion
The new Lotus CEO is planning on targeting Ferrari.... I can't see the Elise or Exige falling into this plan anywhere and personally can't see it working either!
"Since taking the helm of Lotus on October 1st, new Lotus CEO Dany Bahar has stated he intends to restore former Lotus glory and develop the marque into a full-fledged rival to Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.
Bahar said the Lotus brand has much unrealized potential, based on strong foundations of innovative sports cars and a successful racing history.
Said Bahar,
"Lotus was mentioned in the same sentence as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati in the 1970s-1990s. Then, it got closed into a corner. We believe it’s the right time to bring Lotus back to where it was."
Bahar, who left Ferrari to join Lotus, will work on a comprehensive plan to build Lotus into a Ferrari rival within the next three to five years.
Group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the recent launch of the Evora is a turning point for the brand to scale greater heights.
Speaking with members of the Malaysian media, he said:
"We believe Lotus’s potential is in the branding. If you go across the globe, the brand recognition is very strong but we have not lived up it"
Syed Zainal also hinted that Proton will greater utilize technology and engineering from Lotus in future Proton products.
"Today, we have reassessed the interaction between the two companies. No doubt there are gaps and weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but we are quite determined to make the collaboration stronger""
"Since taking the helm of Lotus on October 1st, new Lotus CEO Dany Bahar has stated he intends to restore former Lotus glory and develop the marque into a full-fledged rival to Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.
Bahar said the Lotus brand has much unrealized potential, based on strong foundations of innovative sports cars and a successful racing history.
Said Bahar,
"Lotus was mentioned in the same sentence as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati in the 1970s-1990s. Then, it got closed into a corner. We believe it’s the right time to bring Lotus back to where it was."
Bahar, who left Ferrari to join Lotus, will work on a comprehensive plan to build Lotus into a Ferrari rival within the next three to five years.
Group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the recent launch of the Evora is a turning point for the brand to scale greater heights.
Speaking with members of the Malaysian media, he said:
"We believe Lotus’s potential is in the branding. If you go across the globe, the brand recognition is very strong but we have not lived up it"
Syed Zainal also hinted that Proton will greater utilize technology and engineering from Lotus in future Proton products.
"Today, we have reassessed the interaction between the two companies. No doubt there are gaps and weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but we are quite determined to make the collaboration stronger""
steve06 said:
The new Lotus CEO is planning on targeting Ferrari.... I can't see the Elise or Exige falling into this plan anywhere and personally can't see it working either!
"Since taking the helm of Lotus on October 1st, new Lotus CEO Dany Bahar has stated he intends to restore former Lotus glory and develop the marque into a full-fledged rival to Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.
Bahar said the Lotus brand has much unrealized potential, based on strong foundations of innovative sports cars and a successful racing history.
Said Bahar,
"Lotus was mentioned in the same sentence as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati in the 1970s-1990s. Then, it got closed into a corner. We believe it’s the right time to bring Lotus back to where it was."
Bahar, who left Ferrari to join Lotus, will work on a comprehensive plan to build Lotus into a Ferrari rival within the next three to five years.
Group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the recent launch of the Evora is a turning point for the brand to scale greater heights.
Speaking with members of the Malaysian media, he said:
"We believe Lotus’s potential is in the branding. If you go across the globe, the brand recognition is very strong but we have not lived up it"
Syed Zainal also hinted that Proton will greater utilize technology and engineering from Lotus in future Proton products.
"Today, we have reassessed the interaction between the two companies. No doubt there are gaps and weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but we are quite determined to make the collaboration stronger""
Hopefully that's just marketing bull."Since taking the helm of Lotus on October 1st, new Lotus CEO Dany Bahar has stated he intends to restore former Lotus glory and develop the marque into a full-fledged rival to Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.
Bahar said the Lotus brand has much unrealized potential, based on strong foundations of innovative sports cars and a successful racing history.
Said Bahar,
"Lotus was mentioned in the same sentence as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati in the 1970s-1990s. Then, it got closed into a corner. We believe it’s the right time to bring Lotus back to where it was."
Bahar, who left Ferrari to join Lotus, will work on a comprehensive plan to build Lotus into a Ferrari rival within the next three to five years.
Group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the recent launch of the Evora is a turning point for the brand to scale greater heights.
Speaking with members of the Malaysian media, he said:
"We believe Lotus’s potential is in the branding. If you go across the globe, the brand recognition is very strong but we have not lived up it"
Syed Zainal also hinted that Proton will greater utilize technology and engineering from Lotus in future Proton products.
"Today, we have reassessed the interaction between the two companies. No doubt there are gaps and weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but we are quite determined to make the collaboration stronger""
I love Lotus and hope they remain, but £100k - £180k cars are not what they should be producing and if they make this move I feel it will be their down turn just as pretty much all other small car makers like TVR, AC, Marcos to name a few.
Also today's Elise owners should be tomorrows new Lotus buyers, price them out and you'll have no customer base.
We've had the glory decade (well, 1.5), now we get the years where they are in dire trouble and on the brink of folding because they over reached again and failed. Then we'll rinse and repeat.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see them take on the likes of Ferrari, I just don't see it working, especially as the past most often is a good indicator of the future (despite what disclaimers may state). Be a sad day though if they crap all over their loyal customer base by scrapping the entry point to the Lotus brand (although it's not that low TBH these days, so they might not).
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see them take on the likes of Ferrari, I just don't see it working, especially as the past most often is a good indicator of the future (despite what disclaimers may state). Be a sad day though if they crap all over their loyal customer base by scrapping the entry point to the Lotus brand (although it's not that low TBH these days, so they might not).
Not sure what the S1 launched at off the top of my head, around £20k I think (quick google fails me as well 
). A quick check with a deal shows the Elise S for a smidge under £25k. In terms of inflation, £20k in 1996 is the equivalent of £28k in 2009. So whilst it may be true that in real terms the cost of an Elise has come down, when compared to rivals (I'm not bothered if we on here consider them to be true rivals or not) I don't think it has faired so well, as they haven't changed price much in money terms, never mind inflation adjusted. 
). A quick check with a deal shows the Elise S for a smidge under £25k. In terms of inflation, £20k in 1996 is the equivalent of £28k in 2009. So whilst it may be true that in real terms the cost of an Elise has come down, when compared to rivals (I'm not bothered if we on here consider them to be true rivals or not) I don't think it has faired so well, as they haven't changed price much in money terms, never mind inflation adjusted. I think too much is being read into it
the previous head guy had already said that the new Esprit should be a Ferrari/Lambo competitor, not a 911 competitor
so this is nothing new
they will have Elise/Exige entry level, Evora derivatives mid-range and a halo car - new Esprit for £120-140K ish, supposedly a match for the Italians
we shall see eh....certainly interesting times
the previous head guy had already said that the new Esprit should be a Ferrari/Lambo competitor, not a 911 competitor
so this is nothing new
they will have Elise/Exige entry level, Evora derivatives mid-range and a halo car - new Esprit for £120-140K ish, supposedly a match for the Italians
we shall see eh....certainly interesting times
Yep, I very much doubt the article means they want to emulate Ferrari exactly. Competing with Ferrari and keeping the Elise are not mutually exclusive.
I agree that there is definitely some (currently) untapped potential in the brand - I think the Lotus name has enough kudos to be on a Ferrari rival and be taken seriously.
Good luck to 'em.
I agree that there is definitely some (currently) untapped potential in the brand - I think the Lotus name has enough kudos to be on a Ferrari rival and be taken seriously.
Good luck to 'em.
New Lotus Elise S3 by the end of next year, Does anyone honestly believe for one second that they'd stop selling the Elise
Even in the days when they were competing alongside Ferrari, Lambo etc they produced the Elan, Europa etc
Don't make me laugh
I think they mean the new Lotus Super Car (Esprit), why wouldn't it compete? I've driven plenty of Fezza's sure cool car's but I couldn't see anything that Lotus can't do
Boggy
Even in the days when they were competing alongside Ferrari, Lambo etc they produced the Elan, Europa etc
Don't make me laugh
I think they mean the new Lotus Super Car (Esprit), why wouldn't it compete? I've driven plenty of Fezza's sure cool car's but I couldn't see anything that Lotus can't do
Boggy
LivinLaVidaLotus said:
Not sure what the S1 launched at off the top of my head, around £20k I think (quick google fails me as well ). A quick check with a deal shows the Elise S for a smidge under £25k. In terms of inflation, £20k in 1996 is the equivalent of £28k in 2009. So whilst it may be true that in real terms the cost of an Elise has come down, when compared to rivals (I'm not bothered if we on here consider them to be true rivals or not) I don't think it has faired so well, as they haven't changed price much in money terms, never mind inflation adjusted.
The Elise compares well to cars like the Focus or Mondeo which have also risen in price in absolute terms but when compared to Porsche's Boxster, I was really surprised to see in the Dec 97 issue of Car magazine, the price of a 2.5 Boxster was £34,095 and an Elise £20,950. ). A quick check with a deal shows the Elise S for a smidge under £25k. In terms of inflation, £20k in 1996 is the equivalent of £28k in 2009. So whilst it may be true that in real terms the cost of an Elise has come down, when compared to rivals (I'm not bothered if we on here consider them to be true rivals or not) I don't think it has faired so well, as they haven't changed price much in money terms, never mind inflation adjusted. Current base Boxster is £33,704 according to today's Autocar.....
dom180 said:
I was really surprised to see in the Dec 97 issue of Car magazine, the price of a 2.5 Boxster was £34,095 and an Elise £20,950.
That makes sense. I seem to remember on the "Lotus Elise Inside Story" video that the target MRSP was £20,000 - in 1996.The rumours are that there will be an S3 Elise to be revealed early 2010... heard it from an employee at Hethel (I may have mentioned it before) but don't come after me if it doesn't end up coming true!!!
There was a link on SELOC a while ago with what claimed to be Lotus' product plan and that had the Elise S3 in 2010 some time if I'm remembering right. Assuming it's based on the VVA (and it would be strange if it wasn't) rather than just another facelift like the S1->S2 transition, that must mean they're well into development now.
Base product was circa £20,000 but by the time you added the rather standard optional extras, which as I recall (rough prices in brackets) were;
Leather seats/sill pads/seerign wheel (£595)
Front spotlights (£295)
metallic paint (£495)
pre-wired for audio (yes a hole in the dashboard was extra!) (£185)
mats (£45)
number plates
+ VAT
the total came to a few pounds under £25,000 and yes a base boxster was about £10k more
Leather seats/sill pads/seerign wheel (£595)
Front spotlights (£295)
metallic paint (£495)
pre-wired for audio (yes a hole in the dashboard was extra!) (£185)
mats (£45)
number plates
+ VAT
the total came to a few pounds under £25,000 and yes a base boxster was about £10k more
kambites said:
Leather seats in an S1 Elise? Did anyone actually bother?
Don't think I've ever driven one with front spots either, although I've seen them around.
In an S1 I think it was quite common, foglights too. I think at the time you were nervous to de-select options in case it seriously affected the resale value..... little did I know back then that almost everyone of those items (excl. paint) would have been changed by the time I sold it 9 years later... Don't think I've ever driven one with front spots either, although I've seen them around.
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 7th October 20:32
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