Any nice dealers out there?

[[email protected]]

I'm wondering if there are any nice dealers out there who would be willing to offer a test drive for someone with an Evora on order in Australia???

I'll be in the UK in about 2 weeks time and have a factory visit planned to see all of my short-listed colour combinations in the flesh. It would be wonderful to get a chance to drive the car though. I wont have many free days during this trip but will be in Leeds on the weekend of July 4th-5th if there are any dealers nearby and then back around the London area on Thursday 9th July (but could stay another day or so if it meant getting to test the car).

Thanks in advance.

Pete

[Guy Munday]

Hi Pete

I'm about seven miles from the factory and would be delighted for you to drive my car when you are in Norfolk. Great roads to try it on too..!

Just let me know the date and time you are likely to pass through and I will keep the diary clear,

Guy

[scott]

Pete,

We are not far from London, 40 minutes on Waterloo line, and we collect and deliver from station - in fact you could use as a station car...............

If driving, there's loads of parking, the coffee is pretty good, and there's a great pub down the road.

Roads around here are great mixture of Surrey Hills, our own "private" A246, and a section of A3...........

Email me at [email protected] if this helps you.

ATB

Scott.

[[email protected]]

Thanks,

I'll be in touch in the next day or so when I get my schedule finally nailed down. I'm happy to throw in a tank of fuel too since you wont get a sale out of this. Lotus dealers are a rare breed - they are passionate about thier cars. Thanks again.

Pete

[[email protected]]

Hi Pete

If the locations of Guy and Scott are no good to you then i would be happy to help you,we are based in leeds,luckily about 4 miles from the city centre,and easy to find.Just let me know if we can be of any help

email [email protected]

Andy

[alan]

Just to echo Petes comments above - its nice to see so many of the dealers on the forum and that they are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty!

Alan

[[email protected]]

I had my factory visit just over a week ago. Thanks to Guy, Scott and Andy for their offers to test drive the Evora. In the end I only managed to get to Stratton and B&C.

It was interesting to see the production line, but unfortunately there werent too many finished cars in my short-listed colours. I really wanted to see a Burnt Orange car. I guess that one is off the list now. It is too much of a risk without having seen it in the flesh. I havent even seen a photo of it anywhere yet. The colour that really grabbed me was Carbon Grey. That was my wife's favourite colour (on the few square inches of colour sample we saw at our dealer) but thought it might have been too dark to show up those lovely lines. Well I was wrong. It was just beautiful with silver forged wheels. Interestingly it looks like a completely different car to the black one from the rear. There was a Carbon car parked next to a Starlight Black. The Carbon car looked 20% wider at the rear. The black seems to tuck in at the back, but the Carbon looks much wider and more purposeful. This was really striking and black is definitely off my list now - thought it was too dark to show the lines anyway.

After the factory tour I went on to visit Guy at Stratton just around the corner. After a short ride in the passenger seat, he offered me the hot seat. WOW. What a car. So nimble and precise, but so comfortable. My initial thoughts were that it wasnt as quick as I'd hoped. I realised later that night that my mind was playing tricks on me. I'm accustomed to seeing a speedo in km/h. Seeing 90 (mph) after a few seconds of acceleration didnt immediately register that I was doing somewhere just shy of 150km/h. The car is so smooth and there is a wave of torque that just propels you effortlessly. It also handles speed with such composure. It was only when thinking about this later in the evening that I realised how my mind was deceiving my senses.

The only other colour that I really wanted to see that wasnt at the factory was Aquamarine. So I stayed on in the UK an extra day at the end of my trip and went to visit Scott at B&C. My sole intention was to just see the car in the flesh, but he offered a drive as well, so I couldnt turn him down . I've got to say that Aqua really suits the car. Aqua also retains that extra visual width at the rear (like the Carbon), so perhaps it was just the black that seemed narrow??? This time I was more aware of the speed. Scott had also highlighted the dual speed indicator (in km/h) so I was able to instantly see how fast I was going. The car is indeed quick and I was now sure that I was my mind was playing tricks on me earlier at Stratton. It is the overall smoothness and wave of torque that belies its acceleration.

I still wish I could have driven both the normal box and the sport box. My initial thought was that this is a 'must have'. After all, it's a Lotus so it should have the quickest options... To be honest I'm just not sure at the moment. As my car probably wont be delivered until Q4 this year I'll probably have the option and it will most likely be a snap choice.

I can commend both Guy (Stratton) and Sott (Bell and Colville) to anyone looking for a Lotus. They wouldnt even let me put in a tank of fuel - the least I could do after a test drive given that I wasnt a potential customer. I'm also sure Andy (JCT600) would have been equally passionate and helpful but I didnt get a chance to visit. Lotus have some really great dealers, no enthusiasts, so I'd say they are very lucky.

Thanks once again.

Pete

[TomE]

Interesting write up Pete and agree with you about the perception of speed! I'm used to a sports-exhausted turbo Elan and an SC Elise, so have always had plenty of aural feedback about engine revs - and roof off you're of course more aware of speed. The Evora is much quieter (sports exhaust please!) so you may have to be more vigilant to stop yourself going quicker than you think.

I'd seen several different colours side by side at the factory a few weeks ago but they were all parked rear to the wall, so hadn't noticed your point about different colours looking wider from the rear. I'd imagine that because the rear glass surround blends with the body colour only on the black, that it's the one colour where you'd notice a difference.

Sad to say that Scott has just left B&C. He's taking a break over the summer and will no doubt return to the Lotus fold in some other guise in the autumn. It's a mark of his professionalism and love of all things Lotus that you probably got no indication of this when you met him recently. I'm sure we all wish him well - a summer of Spain, an Esprit and a 2-11 is some people's dream sabbatical!

[Bibs]

Peter - Did you get on track at the factory at all?

There was a black car at the Essex Porsche BBQ (great event!) last night...

[Guest EBORA]

Having spent the day in London yesterday I decided I needed my Evora fix and headed towards Park Lane Lotus. At first i thought the dealership had an "by appointment only" policy as the entrance was cordoned off, but this was to eliminate the hoards of tourists that pass by the dealership regularly.

The Black metalic Evora was parked up around the back and John (sales manager) had devoted an hour of his precious time guiding me and informing me about the car. You would assume that this service is normal but i did make it clear that I had no intention of placing an order and if I ever did it would probably be up in the midlands.

So I just want to add my thanks to John for his exceptional service!

[bolly girl]

Nice to see our colour choice in the flesh, or rather photo.

I had emailed Park Lane last month, and previous month, as confirmed genuine purchaser asking to be informed of when they would have thier car in for a closer look at - have I had a reply, nada, zip not a squeak. I had even taken to phoning and leaving messages via their switch board since every time I rang they either

1. Had no idea what an Evora was or

2. The rep I needed to talk to was, out, not in, on hols, late in etc etc. Very Very disappointed by the communication to date.

Thankfully my order is with a diferent Lotus dealership and I'll wait for the delivery to view chosen colour.

[[email protected]]

Hi Bibs,

I didnt get on the track. I was told that they were having an Aussie dealer day in the next few weeks where they get some track time in the car, but I didnt even see the track.

I just got a tour of the factory and a look at some of the finished cars to check colours. Unfortunately there werent that many finished cars. I guess as soon as they are finished they are sent on to dealers. I saw bits of cars on the line but its impossible to make a choice that way, particularly under flourescent lights. As I said, I really wanted to see the Burnt Orange but they didnt have one. There wasnt even an Aqua car finished. Anyway, the Carbon car was there and it is now a choice between Carbon and Aqua - Carbon with silver forged wheels is slightly ahead. The only concern is that it will be a bit hot in our extended summers. But that's the price you pay...

Having only arrived home earlier this week I'm off to my dealer this weekend to find out when I need to spec my car and to see when his car is due in - and what colour he has chosen.

Still keen to see photos of a Burnt Orange Evora if anyone has seen one.

[neal]

thats a great shot EBORA.

I think the Evora is a car that looks far more stunning in the flesh and some photos don't do it justice but I like that angle you've captured there.

[Guest EBORA]

thanks neal, shame the iphone quality lets it down

[jbs]

Here are 2 better pics of John's Evora. He took me out for a spin in it, and I was majorly impressed. Terrific car!

[bolly girl]

Very very nice (in a dark way )

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait - did I tell you can't wait.

Household debate on the 'number plate' positioning has yet to be resolved. Smooth on bonnet or up front across on grill.

[Al]

Household debate on the 'number plate' positioning has yet to be resolved. Smooth on bonnet or up front across on grill.

So we are not the only household holding that debate However our debate was either low down where it looks like Lotus intends it to be by the supply of the fitting kit or where the Aquamarine car at Peter Smith Sports Cars placed it right on the nose above the grill. (hands up who didn't notice! ) We ended up as intended by Lotus and decided don't like the PSSC location.

Is "smooth on bonnet" legal? By that I assume you mean the stick on number plates supposedly for trailers and such like. I thought it was only old black & white number plated cars that were allowed curved, non vertical etc. plates. I can't imagine speed cameras liking the non vertical position so no doubt some killjoy will have closed that loophole. Does anybody know the law for sure? This could mean reopening the debate!

[TomE]

Stick on number plates aren't legal - don't meet the required standard. But it hasn't stopped people doing it on several Elises I've seen. Many haven't been stopped for it but it can be an MOT failure (not an Evora problem initially!) and I guess it gives the police a reason to have a word if you're doing something else to draw attention

Another solution to reduce the visual impact is a personal plate with less characters than the standard seven. Then get a three-quarter size font with the minimum allowable border width - Halfords and FancyPlates do them. Three-quarter plate is also illegal but less noticeable and plenty of Elise/Exige with this.

[amoss]

Al, the pictures I posted of Peter Smith's car showed the number plate above the grill because the car arrived from Lotus without the mounting plinth to go by the splitter. It has since arrived and the mounting has been changed; it is now mounted low down.

[bolly girl]

Thanks TomE - the OH pointed out the 'legality' problem last night also. It has something to do with post 2001 production cars having mounted plates only.

Does anybody know of any dealer cars with stick ons/reduced sizes or alternate mounts

Edited July 29, 2009 by bolly girl