Simon Bateman

You're right.......my wife always says it's best to leave me be when I pack the car at home as I spend ages filling every gap or space. On the camp site, despite the extra food and beer space, I always pack in half the time and even quicker if its lashing down.

I was at Donnington for the GTs, but parked my 400 in the main car park. Yours looked good, but had a tough job against all the exotic cars around it 😀 Love a bit of camping out of sports cars. We did Le Mans 6 times with a 350z and 370z, a 911 and a Cayman. We haven't been since we got the Lotus, but each time managed a tent, gazebo, sleeping bags, folding chairs small table and a large cold box. Packing to go is easy.....its not so good for the return journey if the usual rain has soaked your tent etc. Enjoy.....

A mate of mine is on his second 720s.....amazing cars. Both cars were/are not without issues, although I think the 570s model does seem to be more reliable. Personally I wouldn't run one without at least a Thorney warranty and I'd want to make sure that any car I was interested in, was free from corrosion around the doors etc, as both his cars have suffered with that and have required warranty work as a result. They are proper supercars and actually good value by comparison to a 488 or Huracan, so go for it, but with the usual buyers caution.

I have to agree regarding the rear view. I want to really love the car and from most angles it's very good, but for me, the attempt to carry over the rear design language from the Evija doesn't work so well with the smaller dimensions of the Emira.

I think the Eagle supersports will offer enough performance for occasional trackdays. My understanding is that they were developed as a direct competitor to the Michelin PS4s. We have recently put a set on our Civic type R and I'm more than happy to recommend them.

Who knows....possibly. I certainly dont follow him. He does seem to resent Lewis getting one more than Schumacher.

You may want to read Bernie's Twitter account from yesterday. 100% the opposite.

I don't think Masi set out to favour Max. I suspect he would have done the same if Hamilton was the second placed driver, but that doesn't make his actions correct. It was a clear case of manipulating and contriving the rules/circumstances to produce what he and his paymasters would perceive to be a more entertaining conclusion, when in reality it demeans the sport and efforts put in (on this occasion) by Mercedes.

It's really soured F1 for me. Clearly Liberty Media are pushing to make F1 more 'Hollywood' and indirectly (I suspect) has had input in how these type of situations should be 'managed'. Sport should not be artificially made to appear more exciting. Sometimes it's boring and predictable. Sometimes teams and individuals are so dominant that races or events seem one sided, but that's sport and it has to be rule based. Mercedes/Hamilton were so far ahead of RBR yesterday, that the contrived end result was bordering on criminal. What about those people who had a bet on the outcome.....have they been robbed? I'm not sure where F1 goes from here. It's a highly tech based sport driven by technical regs and rules. It's not WWE.

The digital speedo on my 400 reads 2mph more than the GPS on my phone (at 70mph). The analogue speedo does appear to less accurate, but I don't pay much attention to it really.

Same here. It's tuned to run on super unleaded and based on the typical mileage of a Lotus owner, is not much of a cost uplift in the overall scheme of things. My understanding is that all UK sold cars 'can' run on 95 octane, but I suspect it won't run as sweet or to it's optimum performance. Lotus also state they will run on E10 but why bother. I did the sums a while back and for 5000 miles per year, super unleaded was the same cost as a curry for me and wifey 😀

Probably run out fuel given the current situation 😀

A mate of mine loves a gadget. He gave me a go on his 'chipped' electric bike and its bonkers. He reckons he's clocked it above 30mph on the flat and has overtaken mopeds on it. Still seems like cheating to me.

We also drove up the Col de Iseran, (highest paved alp) which had some lovely views. I'd like to have a go on my bike, but in truth I'd need need to drop half a stone and also change my rear cassette for at least a 28.

At the top of the Stelvio in 2019. I've been up both sides and actually prefer the less twisty side in the photo, which was a ball ache when we did it and was full of moterhomes and cyclists 😫😫

I think Lotus are a bit fixated with taking Cayman sales and as such, around 416ps is comparable with even a GT4. The consensus seems to be that the engine as standard can be coaxed to around 475ps, which would then compete with a GT3, but thereafter, it would need 550ps + to be a true junior supercar. In between 475ps and 550ps, it's sort of marooned between a rock and hard place in terms of market placement. Clearly at that point the investment required to source a new engine or modify the internals of the current one, just don't stack up.

I'm not sure I'd agree that the V6 is 'woefully' short of torque. I had an RX8 and the torque on that was woeful 😫 Clearly Lotus have had to manage the torque of the engine to work within the constraints of the gearbox, but IMO that's a reflection of the gearbox and not the engine. To me, a supercharged engine feels closer to NA than it does to a Turbo, despite being forced induction. That gives a less stepped and a more linear performance. My 320ps type R often feels quicker than the 400, but has around 10lbs/ft less torque, but as you said, they 'feel' quicker and turbo engines always do, because even the recent ones still have a small lag before the shove, but the sudden push is what we experience. I think it comes down to what people want. I've no doubt the AMG 4 pot will feel quicker than the V6. Around a track I'd expect the V6 to 'maybe' be slightly quicker, but in the end, its whether people want a large (ish) capacity engine, with an almost NA feel, or a 4 pot turbo that is not a million miles different to some of the better hot hatches currently available.

You clearly have good experience of the V6, but from your comments, it seems you are more concerned with its design age, rather than its overall performance. Journos will always fill magazine paragraphs with whatever they want. If it's a Porsche, they would write that it has the 'classic, high performing, proven engine from previous model'. In a Lotus, it would have 'the same old V6 from a Camry' But if the engine has good performance, sounds great, is ultra reliable and returns good mpg, isn't that the most important stuff to focus on?

It will be interesting to see if Lotus can actually get the V6 to sound as good as the current cars, now that they will have to fit a PPF and also (I assume) will no longer be allowed to fit a loud button to the exhaust.

I've got a decent 4 pot turbo in my type R. It puts out 320bhp, but it doesn't sound like the Evora. I'm sure the AMG engine is great, but just about every current hot hatch has a 2 litre 4 pot turbo. They just dont feel special enough for me. We will have to wait and see how many of these engines in the A45 have issues as the miles go on. Either way, I dont see Lotus setting these up with more power than Mercedes are offering in their cars and as for the V6.....get it while you can, is my view.

Do some research on the V6, or better still, drive one! Its design life is a minimum of 300k miles and is bullet proof. Sorry, no offense to anyone, but there is a bit of BS being spouted about the V6. I've driven Porsche and Nissan 6 pots in the last 10 years and have enjoyed the engine in my 400 the most. It's a decent capacity, free reving and very linear. It sounds bloody epic and has excellent all round performance. I did a 75mph motorway run to Leeds at the weekend and averaged over 37mpg. These won't be around for long and in the not to distant future i suspect a V6 will become the engine of choice in many supercars, up to the switch to full electric. I don't care how good the AMG engine is, or whether it's made of exotic materials and is lubricated with unicorn sperm....its still a 4 pot and a fairly well stressed one at 400+ BHP. I know what I'd have.....

I spoke to him earlier and as suspected, work and home life has reduced the amount of usage. He did manage a trip to scotland, so he's actually clocked up 1800 miles, but couldn't really see much usage thereafter. It's now nicely run in for the next owner and has been dry stored from new, so should be a good buy for someone 👍

Sorry, only just seen this..... Interesting......I spoke to him about two weeks ago and he didnt mention it. I know he was a bit frustrated with the lack of use his job and home life was causing. I'll investigate 😉

This is another reason why I'm sticking with Michelins. As well as being great tyres, they seem to last longer, which means less visits to the fitters 😀 That said, the ones I use are actually very good. I always tell them the pressure I want and all I ask is that they balance them properly and don't damage the wheels. I'm happy to wash off the muck myself and would rather do this anyway. I wouldn't even know the correct torque settings, but do always double check a few weeks later to ensure the bolts are still tight.

Visiting friends in Norfolk yesterday. They have a Shelby super snake Mustang. Not quite the Lotus mantra of adding lightness.....they just added power......720 bhp 😀