hedgerley

Nice piece about Gavan in the new issue. He's been at Lotus 33 years and has the same garage as me - Esprit and Volvo! Plus an S1 Elise of course. Their big feature is an ask of their staff writers for their personal Top 10 cars (they've driven) No surprise there then - 8 out of 10 placed a Porsche of some flavour as their Number 1. Exceptions are Harry Metcalfe with a Countach LP400 and Steve Sutcliffe with a Ferrari 458 Speciale (Porsche Cayman second). So predictable. Elise S1 featured in quite a few of their lists and came 4th overall in the final assessment, which was something I suppose. Wonder what they will put the Emira up against? Picture because its an Esprit 😁

The actual chair used in the production. I could pick it up with one hand. It went on a tour of Volvo showrooms - "Sky Atlantic sponsored by Volvo" - after the show finished. Wife was a superfan. She was very jealous......

Loving this photo of a (no doubt) smug Tesla driver wafting past the queue for fuel. No wonder there has been a surge of interest in BEVs in the last day or two.

Oh FFS. As I posted that my wife shouts down from upstairs, no unleaded or diesel at our local BP according to the village FB page. Twats.

You would think, after all these years, they would have learned that headlines saying "Don't panic", "There's plenty of fuel/bread/beer/whatever", "Please buy fuel/bread/beer/whatever as you would normally" etc. would have exactly the opposite effect. Numpties. A news blackout about fuel/bread/beer/whatever would have had the desired effect and the rest of the numpties would have stayed at home. @Bibs not sure I approve of your smugness. But I do envy you 😁

Excellent choice and the best colour, but I am biased. Welcome to TLF - I've had the Esprit so long, and one before it, it was the LEF when I joined 😀 Its a great resource with plenty of help when you need it.

5 minute walk from me, who'd have thought. I have seen (and heard) it out and about but this is the first time I've seen it at rest to get a photo. First Lotus I lusted after before the Esprit arrived. And the mini in front is identical to one of my wife's over 40 years ago. Similar reg (H), she called it Heathcliffe. There is also Vauxhall Viva parked up - our first married life family car 39 years ago. Maybe its our younger selves living there? A glitch in the matrix?

I'd second this - very surprised how few I see on the roads these days. Last week I picked up a new daily from Hampton in Arden and drove it back to Scotland. Six and a half hours almost entirely on the motorway, including the 3-lane M6 car park crawl between Birmingham and Manchester. We then spent 4 days tootling round the Cairngorms, getting as far up North as Mallaig before heading back to Fife. In that entire time, some 700 miles, we didn't see a single Lotus, not one. A couple of Astons, a Ferrari 360 and a Lamborghini Hurracan. That was it. I did relish the sight of dozens of bikers though on plenty of interesting machinery ☺️ Having something different and yes, rare, is all part of the Lotus experience. Its why I put up with the pain and expense of my Esprit V8 even after 14 years. I envy the potential Emira owners but I guess the upside is I'm more likely to see one on the road in the coming years at the volumes they are talking about. And while I'm here, we all love the marque. Let's be nice to each other, even when we disagree or want to express alternative views 😍

You might find this interesting @Snorkel https://www.automotiveinteriorsworld.com/news/seating/qa-with-jon-statham-interior-design-manager-lotus-emira.html

The snippet I picked up was Matt's brief comment about his Board meetng that morning - the next car has been approved/signed off. I wonder what's next? The SUV?

Football used to be defined as a game of two halves with 11 players each side. Then Germany win. But guess what, the times they are a'changing 😉 (See what I did there?)

I think you should give an honourable mention to LEF @Bibs, the predecessor to TLF and probably one of the first decent member forums for any marque/model on t'internet. I was proud to be an early member. And well done on the interview Andy, great work.

Ooohh errr. Big teaser, huge..... https://fb.watch/6s1TNQBz0j/

So yes, it was legit, so they say, but was obviously a ruse to get her in to the showroom. I told her not to sign anything but you know what women are like. At least she's inherited my negotiating skills - did a part ex deal on a nice 5 door Corsa, 4 years newer, half the mileage and much better suited to her needs i.e. its unlikely to break down as much (she still has a use for her old Dad....), 12 months warranty for free, old finance deal settled and she's walked away with £15/month less than she was paying for the Meriva. So turned out alright I guess. And the Meriva? Yeah, they'll probably just scrap it they said......

Just had a call from my daughter who has a 2014 Vauxhall Meriva. She's been contacted by someone representing the main dealer in Edinburgh, Peter Vardy who says they are contacting Meriva owners and offering to buy the car for breaking/spares as they no longer make the Meriva and with new parts available they are trying to stock up. Anyone heard of this or similar? Is it a thing or a scam?

Not something you see often in your local ASDA car park. Looked and smelled well used. Lovely.

The Lotus feature in the current Evo talks about prototypes already going down the new production line. I assume this means they are in the 'how do we build this thing' stage so production by the end of the year seems entirely feasible.

Finally succumbed. Catering pack size for our café. Hand for size comparison 😁

Cool. After my post yesterday I pulled mine off the shelf and started re-reading it. Had forgotten how rich the detail was, in particular the number of historical photos many of which I've not seen elsewhere. I actually got mine at a Donnngton Festival, I think, many years ago and had it signed by the author - he had quite a queue IIRC. Which was nice. I see the price has gone up - mine was £35....

Anything by William Taylor and Coterie Press. I've got several of his Limited Edition Lotus books, all excellent. But for a really detailed look at Chapman, you can't beat Jabby Crombac's, above. Peter Ross's Lotus The Early Years is also a good read. And if you are really in to the engineering, Karl Ludvigson's Inside The Innovator about Chapman is a must. http://www.coteriepress.com/subject/lotus/

Having sat in the Evija, my immediate thoughts on the dash took me back to the 340r.

As has been said, I don't get the negativity, especially over on the Facebook groups. I don't believe we were ever promised a full reveal for the 131. My invites clearly talk about Lotus future strategy. That's what we got, delivered by grown ups, not showmen with great hair and a bunch of C-List celebs. To be honest Matt comes across as a little uninspiring, but I'd rather have a man with a plan, the money and his pedigree in charge. And I can cope with confirmation of the name and a few teasers with the promise of a full launch on 6/5 followed by GFOS. Lotus now has a very clear strategy with the full backing of shareholders who have invested over £100m already with over £1B to come. The results of that investment are absolutely clear - I found all that coverage very encouraging. And the future is electric - Lotus have literally no choice in the matter and I'd rather have Lotus delivering compelling BEV driving machines than having no Lotus at all. We all know what Lotus can do with the cash they find down the back of the sofa. This level of investment is unprecedented and must surely be welcomed. Its safe to say Lotus is back and then some. And I for one am very glad.

Love the way that reflection on Stevens studio ceiling gives him a halo. The patron Saint of Esprits perhaps?

All this good news is making me giddy... And a production line of Evijas! Well, three..... https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/lotus/inside-new-lotus-factories/

Funny you should mention the P word. It's not discussed in the overall Elise story (for a change). Its only the Alpine that is compared to "The class leading Porsche 718 Cayman and "it's most deadly and accomplished rival, the Porsche Cayman." For all I love about EVO, they simply can't help themselves can they?