KennyN

I needed to gain a bit more headroom in my Exige and rather than lower the seat, I had the front of my seat raised on two spacers then used longer bolts. This tipped the seat back lowering the rear section of the seat whilst providing more under thigh support without losing the back and forth slider, which helps with getting in and out of you're tall. This improved things for road use, but I could have done with a bit more room when wearing my helmet on the track and other than going down the Tillett route, I didn't find a decent solution. I did find alternative rails called Tall Rails but, unfortunately, they seem to have been out of production for some time. Good luck on avoiding the call of the Tillets...they are nice!

27 April 21 - TomE - UK - V6 manual 28 April 21 - JamesDG - UK - V6 manual 30 April 21 - Pugwash - UK V6 manual 15 May - JCR - Undecided 17 May - DarrylV8 - Undecided 20 May - Evotion - V6 Manual 20 May - Evotion - i4 22 May - KennyN - V6 Manual 4 June 21 - DJW - undecided 23 June 21 - KJD - V6 manual 25 Jun 21 - scotty435 - V6 manual 28 June 21 - DaveC72 - i4 6 July 21 - Duncs - V6, but cost dependent. 7 July 21 - freefall_junkie - V6 manual UK 7 July 21 - glen8 - i4 7 July 21 Al_C - I4 7 July Neilread - I4 7 July Philnotts - V6 Manual 8 July 21 - MJON - i4 8 July 21 - Wake - i4 (V6 cost dependant) 8 July 21 - Johnhoward - V6 Auto 8 July 21 (Goodwood Thursday) - JimH - i4 9 July Beady - I4 (probably) 10 July Washy - undecided 10 July Al - completely undecided. 12 July 21 - emstan - V6

I paid my deposit to Lotus when instructed by B&C back on 7th July, with an immediate acknowledgement email from Lotus and I have since received my B&C deposit back. It was all very straightforward. I understand that not all dealers were as on the ball as Jamie at B&C, but if the date that you placed your dealer deposit is honoured then it should not be an issue.

@ramjetI expect you'll need to use a VPN to make it appear that you are in the UK. There are plenty of free options, but I wouldn't guarantee how secure they are.

My A45 was one of the original versions, which I think was 360bhp as standard. I had it mapped to 420 which made it savage from a standing start using launch control. It felt like all four wheels did a single revolution of slip as the weight transferred to the rear then it just hooked up and went. I cannot recall the lag being annoying, although the DCT box was excellent, so this may have masked any lag issues by ensuring that the correct gear was selected for maximum progress. The only issue I had was an occasional clunk when selecting reverse, it was a real mechanical clunk a bit like selecting 4x4 in an old Land Rover. The dealer tried software updates and reset the box adaptation a few times, but it was never fully resolved. It wouldn't do it every time, but it seemed to be more repeatable if the car had been in park rather than going from drive to reverse. It was a known issue with stock cars too, so it didn't appear to be caused by upping the power level. It will be interesting to see how Lotus tune the AMG engine, as it certainly has plenty of potential and with Lotus handling it should be a great combination.

I'll be there, although I'm Lotus less at the moment.

It worked well once you got the app orientated properly, it was pretty smart in a geeky sort of way. I expect many visitors had no idea what it was all about or the existence of the app, despite signs etc.

@EvotionCup 2's get a bit lively if there's standing water or cooler temperatures, brilliant otherwise though!

The way the Emira was described to me today by Scott Walker (UK Sales Manager)... "Your current Exige is like a stunt plane, the Emira is like a Learjet." If I miss the raw edge of the Exige, I will pick up another one and enjoy the Emira as a daily.

Anything Lotus has delivered to date. The quality of the materials and the fit and finish on what was described as a development car was significantly better than what we see in the models that were at a similar price point before being retired. The Emira is easily comparable with other prestige marques in this respect.

Lotus have done a great job of grabbing in the limelight at Goodwood, the stand was busy all day from what I could see and the Emira was getting a lot of positive attention. I was lucky enough to get a seat in the grey LHD car they're using to blast up the hill and to describe it as a step up from what we're used to would be an understatement, it's in a completely different league. I look forward to locking in my spec in September and everything going to plan taking delivery April/May next year.

I look forward to having a closer look on Thursday and hearing a bit more about the detail, but I'd say my deposit will be staying with the dealer based on what I saw tonight! Thank you for organising the invite @Bibs 👍

I just got my Zoom call invite from Lotus to join another 130 fans tomorrow evening!

Nope, no isolation messages here, thankfully! It was a good night, many a laugh and not all at Kevin's Christmas attire when he was flashing random people in the street 😂

Sounds good, see you Wednesday at 7.

I've been attending for years, it's a great event...if it's not raining! To be fair, it has only been a complete washout once. It's always well attended and there are some great cars on and off the track. Just don't get carried away at the auction 😉

@Simon Gooding @Techyd I'll be there just before 10:00 for an hour or two. See you later!

Good morning Simon, It is looking decent for tomorrow, thankfully! Yep, I'm still on for the 07:15 rendezvous. A 2 day pass might be a bit ambitious, but if I can escape down to Eastleigh for a bit I will put in an appearance.

Has he driven a 355? They're a huge step back from a 991.2 GTS, sure they are prettier to look at, but they are not the best driving experience compared to the newer stuff and the bills can soon become eye watering compared to a relatively modern 911. One of the jobs to keep on top of are the buttresses that need doing every few years...I've seen quite a few with a less than great job done in that area. Lotus wise, an Evora would be the current closest option to the 991, although the new Emira promises great things and should be much closer to the standard of the 991 interior. We will find out virtually on the 6th July and in person on the 8th

You could have saved that one for £250!

It was great to see everyone last night, I had just about thawed out by the time I got home. @Simon Gooding Here's the Castle Combe track day prep centre on the left and the meetup lay-by on the right... @Techyd If you fancy joining the convoy of Kevin, Simon and myself we were aiming to meet at the lay-by in the pic above (just before Ludgershall) at 07:15.

Isn't the 21:00 curfew just for the kitchen?

No problem, thanks for trying @peteyg Hopefully it'll be possible soon.

Count me in, please!

I'm glad to hear that the Mayfly meetup was fun. Thank you for the kind wishes, I'm back in the land of the living today. I was on the ropes yesterday after the full effects kicked in around 02:00. I kept going between freezing to sweating and shaking uncontrollably. I started feeling better around 18:00 last night and had a decent night's sleep, which seems to have got everything back to "normal". I'm hoping that round 2 will be easier!