2002 Lotus Esprit on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lotus Emira delayed for the U.S. while allocation amount and prices rise

It's Lotus' turn to catch the production and pricing virus, an ailment that's caused almost every automaker to lag on delivery timetables while increasing prices for reservation holders. Last October, Lotus Emiras intended for the UK home market were already trailing delivery estimates by six months. Early last year, Lotus expected to get Emiras tagged with U.S. plates as soon as fall of 2022. Now, CarBuzz reports that Emira V6 First Edition units destined for the U.S. will land on our soil this summer but won't be released to customers until between mid-October and mid-December. According to a letter sent by Gator Motorsports' franchise Indy Lotus in Indianapolis, Indiana, the holdup is U.S. certification.    On top of the delay, prices are going up for all U.S. and Canadian reservation holders except those who have completed paperwork for the initial North American V6 First Edition allocation. Lotus said the various troubles and quagmires around the world have increased the Emira's unit cost by around $14,400. Folding that into the MSRP would make the price $108,300 before destination. We say "initial" about that allocation because Lotus has upped the North American allotment by 600 units, making 1,300 in total to come to come to NA, the U.S.-specific number slightly smaller. When the second tranche becomes open for reservations, they will cost $105,400 in the U.S., that price already on the U.S. retail site configurator. Anyone who reserved the AMG-powered four-cylinder Emira I4 First Edition is going to see their cost rise from the $85,900 announced before. The new price MSRP be revealed until later this year, deliveries not scheduled to commence until Q2 of 2024. Of course, we should expect the cost of the regular series production cars to rise as well. The situation varies by market, so anyone on any of Lotus' lists should check with their Lotus dealer. A lively thread on Emira Forum that started in February is up to 26 pages as global Emira buyers try to figure out who needs to confront what increase. Part of the ire comes from Lotus having promised none of the pricing challenges would be passed on to reservation holders, saying, "The price you're being quoted is the price you'll pay for your Emira."     Ready for the good news? There will be more options to spend your money on.

Lotus confirms new Emira will be its last car powered by gasoline

Lotus is four years into the 10-year Vision80 plan that it announced at its 70th anniversary in 2018, and according to Matt Windle, managing director of Lotus Cars, the brand is "on track" to completely revitalize its line of sports cars as it branches out into profitable new automotive segments. Windle also confirmed the name of Lotus' upcoming new vehicle: "The spirit and passion that gave the world the Elise, Exige and Evora will live on in the next generation of cars – cars like the all-new Lotus Emira." The British company's sports car replacement, previously known as the Type 131, will make its virtual debut on July 6 before being shown in public at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that begins on July 8. Lotus confirmed that the Emira will be offered solely with internal combustion engine options and will not offer hybrid power, and that the powerplant comes from "an exciting new powertrain partnership" with options that are "new to Lotus." The company's Elise, Exige and Evora used four- and six-cylinder engines sourced from Toyota and tuned specifically for high-performance use. The Emira, which will be priced similarly to the Evora, will be the last production Lotus powered by gasoline, and it will be built atop a brand-new "Elemental" platform that relies on the brand's familiar extruded aluminum-intensive chassis. Three more platforms are currently in development, and these four architectures will provide the basis for the company's planned expansion. The next we expect to see in production is the Hypercar architecture that forms the basis of the upcoming Lotus Evija. The electric Evija and its "Extreme" platform will start rolling out of the Hethel headquarters later this year. Lotus' "Evolution" platform is next, and it will underpin "an all-new range of lifestyle vehicles" that "will catapult Lotus into a new era of higher retail volumes and significant revenues." We take that to mean SUVs. This Premium architecture was reportedly designed by Lotus in the UK with collaboration from other brands under the Geely umbrella in China and Sweden and Germany. Finally, Lotus and Alpine have consummated their recently announced partnership and will launch an "E-Sports" platform that will be "will be flexible and modular." We expect a range of electric vehicles on this architecture that could include everything from sports cars and hatchbacks to crossovers and other utility shapes.

Lotus chief promises upcoming SUV will be true to brand

Lotus isn't the first sports car manufacturer getting into the crossover game. It's just the latest, and perhaps most surprising. That's because the British automaker made its name by keeping things as light as possible, and SUVs are anything but. Still, the company's chief executive is adamant that the crossover will be very light... and very Lotus. Speaking with TopGear.com, Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales asserted, "If Colin Chapman was alive I believe he would have done" a crossover. That's a pretty bold claim made in the name of the man known for his featherweight sports and racing cars, but Gales may not just be blowing hot air. "It will be the size of a Porsche Macan but only 1600kg, and will be the most agile and fastest of that class on a track," Gales told TG. "It's logical for us to make one in the Macan segment - the rest are all two tons, even a BMW X3. They take a normal car platform with big tires and brakes and transmission. We will use a four-cylinder engine." Keeping it light will be a vital part of the equation for Lotus, but it won't be all. It'll also have to bring up the quality, because quirks that owners might forgive in a sports car might not be tolerated to the same extent in a more mainstream product. Fortunately, Gales has been working on that ever since he took charge of the company just last year. He'll have that much more time to get it right by the time the crossover hits the Chinese market in 2019 or 2020. The vehicle is being designed principally for that market, and will be built locally. The design and engineering work is being carried out, however, at the company's headquarters in Hethel, England. Two designs are reportedly being considered, each with signature Lotus design traits to convey the image of light weight, with a profile reminiscent of the Elite four-seater from the 1970s. If the model proves a success in China, it could make its way back to the UK and Europe, though North American availability remains a question mark, and Lotus spokespeople have been cagey at best about plans to expand their US offerings. Gales also told TG that the crossover will end up only helping the company's sports car offerings, not hurting them. Increasing its quality will be one part, but developing more robust components (like air conditioning systems) will be another. At very least, it will help Lotus stay profitable and fund future sports car projects that may not be possible based on their own revenues alone.