Nathan Pitman

During any period of serious investment in the future and R&D they are bound to be making huge losses. Still find it odd that there’s no sign of any marketing of the current excellent drivers cars, they could be offsetting some of those losses... that said I guess the crux of the problem is if they start a marketing push now they won’t be able to keep up with demand.

That’s the most insightful thing I’ve seen to date. Thanks for the link. That’s a pretty clear ‘sports cars only’ (for now). Surely with the next (affordable) car being as far away as 2021 (assuming no delays) they have to be considering some updates to the existing range?

Yup, I love this too. What we need is a direct line from TLF to Lotus Cars... @Bibs?

Thanks for the in depth reply @NedaSay, a couple of weeks you say?

I don't know much about car design, safety regulations or the such but I've been pondering whether Lotus could realistically deliver anything 'completely new' which gets anywhere close to the analog enjoyment you can extract from the current range without significant compromise? I'm sure that the new car due as a stop gap in 2020 (that's what I heard anyway) will look fantastic.., but how can it possibly measure up to current model range in all other areas? In some ways the lack of investment in Lotus over the years has been a blessing and a curse... Lotus has refined the current crop of models to perfection and have built a kind of timeless aesthetic amongst the Elise and Exige ranges in doing so. To better these machines on driver engagement, performance, cost of purchase and curb appeal is a tall order indeed. What's next is likely going to weigh more, sound less interesting, feel less involving and cost more... at which point, we're not the target audience anymore are we? I'd be delighted to be proven wrong, perhaps Lotus will do a Porsche and offer stripped back more analog versions of their comfortable 'everyone' sports cars, but if the prices are as eye watering as those offerings then I guess we'll just have to 'make do' (hardly) with the incredible cars we are currently all blessed with.

Sounds like you have some thinking to do. I think the answer is to just bite the bullet and buy an Elise, but also keep the Exige.

@TonyKL how did you get on?

Absolutely love my Elise Cup 220, however I do miss the wail of the V6 from my previous Lotus (Evora 400). I love the stripped back feel of the Elise, the low slung driving position and go-kart dynamics. I'd always wondered having owned both an Evora and an Elise, if the Exige would be the sweet spot. Really really enjoyed it but I also remind myself just how much petrol the Evora 400 drank and how the Elise costs me half as much of every associated cost and is definitely more than half as fun on the roads.

I drove 'S33 EXG' (Black Sport 380) at Bell & Colvill today, not the best weather but a rather nice car. I've also been ogling the dark green 380 there with the number plate LJ17 EUR and wondered if either of the previous owners are here?

Sorry, totally missed this and I was busy in the end. Did you go?

The McLaren F1 wasn't available in left OR right hand drive.

Was it your first choice for the job? I’m not sure how spreading the load led to teacup and saucer.

Most intrigued by the purple teacup...

Black just harder to sell?

Retrofit a front lift? Not sure if that’s even possible on an Exige... https://www.kwsuspensions.net/products/hydraulic_lift_system