Popular Post NedaSay 825 Posted August 15 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 15 Yeah there's very little love or consideration given to Gavan Kershaw, I understand the lineage behind the Love for Matt and Roger Becker. But Kershaw joined the company at that same time and he is still here knocking the dynamics of the Lotus cars out of the ballpark... 4 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post Bibs 10,834 Posted August 16 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 16 Gavan is incredibly knowledgeable and a thoroughly decent guy too. Hell of a racer as well, best driver I've ever been in a car with 3 Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to post Share on other sites
yeller77 93 Posted August 16 Report Share Posted August 16 No disagreement about Gavan. All other points apparently missed. Sorry. Oh well. 20 hours ago, Stubox said: Er..... Gavan Kershaw... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geartox 575 Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 Any news regarding the new Lotus car model ? Volvo engine ? 4, 6, 8 cylinders ? release date ? It seems that the dealership network will change drastically with the new strategy. This is the feedback I got in France without more details. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bibs 10,834 Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 From the article in Autocar... Quote Popham says there will be versions of Lotus’s new car that can fit all of the company’s existing price ranges, depending on specification, starting at today’s £55,000 and reaching £110,000 for the best-equipped and fastest. Existing models will be phased out in the medium term but will overlap “for a while” as Lotus monitors and shapes demand for the new car. It’s not yet clear whether a four-cylinder version will be offered, but Lotus looks certain to use the Toyota-sourced, Hethel-supercharged 3.5-litre V6, presently good for up to 430bhp, from current models. Popham says Geely’s willingness to allow Lotus to use rival group engines is “surprising” but very welcome. 1 Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to post Share on other sites
LotusLeftLotusRight 1,143 Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 We knew a while back that it would be a V6, but I think the market will be a bit underwhelmed if Lotus sticks to the old “Toyota Camry” unit for the next generation of cars. I would have preferred a Geeley Group in-house engine and gearbox. Now that we are told it will be the Toyota V6, are we safe in assuming another transverse layout? Again, I hope not. Otherwise it will probably just be regarded as a re-body of the already long-in-the-tooth existing products. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geartox 575 Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 I hope that Lotus will always consider their old/legacy customers with their old Toyota engines (4 or 6 cylinders). My experience with the Lotus service network in France is not really "outstanding". It's complicated, more than I expected, to find qualified technical guys. So my concern is what will happen with the new Lotus strategy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gold FFM C8RKH 5,924 Posted August 17 Gold FFM Report Share Posted August 17 Is not the issue in France the "volume" of cars sold and numbers of owners in that it is very small so how will/can the dealers / independents survive? It's an issue even in the UK with some dealers probably struggling to sell 1 new car a month! Quote Alcohol. Sex. Tobacco. Drugs. Chocolate. Meh! NOTHING in this world is as addictive as an Evora +0. It's not for babies! The first guy to ride a bull for fun, was a true hero. The second man to follow him was truly nuts! Link to post Share on other sites
TdM 146 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 21 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said: We knew a while back that it would be a V6, but I think the market will be a bit underwhelmed if Lotus sticks to the old “Toyota Camry” unit for the next generation of cars. I would have preferred a Geeley Group in-house engine and gearbox. Now that we are told it will be the Toyota V6, are we safe in assuming another transverse layout? Again, I hope not. Otherwise it will probably just be regarded as a re-body of the already long-in-the-tooth existing products. Agree that the old engine is getting a little long in the tooth for a new car it must be suffering on emissions by now. I do wonder though if Geely have anything that would be suitable at this time without electrification.The only other engine they could provide I think would be a 2.0l supercharged/turbocharged engine from Polestar that produces in the high 300's hp I think. It's probably a bit big with all that hardware onboard to fit amidships and may not be able to reach the top end figures they want, let alone the driveability characteristics they are looking for. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LotusLeftLotusRight 1,143 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 I think somewhere back in this thread Nedasay told us that there is indeed a V6 in the Geeley portfolio. Lotus and/or Volvo Polestar could have had a fiddle with that to see what figures they could achieve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PAR 267 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 As I understand it, performance had been much more limited by gearbox issues than by the engine. there are many versions of the Toyota V6 currently in use so emissions would not necessarily be an issue. I imagine they would want to minimise costs and maximise reliability by using something they know as much as possible. There is also a 4.0l version of the Toyota engine so it could be handy as well to have some chassis that can welcome different versions. it is pretty clear that a car over 100k will need a 500+bhp engine. That should be possible with the Toyota sourcing (I would not be surprised if this means not manual gearbox though). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TdM 146 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 On investigation you are correct, there is a Geely V6. Not sure how advanced it is vs the Toyota block (not a lot of info about) but the car it was in was FF so I presume that it's also designed for transverse installation. As PAR alludes to, Toyota engines have always been tough and capable of taking huge power if you fancy doing the work on them and I suspect the current engine is fully capable of some serious numbers with a suitable gearbox attached. Looking at the 4.0 it looks like it's got a longer stroke making the engine a lot 'squarer' so might not have the character of a sports car engine being a bit more lazy. Bigger 'charger on the 3.5 maybe? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bee 85 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 Whilst it would be fantastic to see 500+bhp, I suspect the Achille's heel of the Toyota engine set-up is indeed the gearbox; if they believed that the current gearbox could have been strengthened enough to reliably handle it, then we would surely have seen a 500bhp Evora/Exige (instead of the 430 variants). They would have been incredibly desirable propositions! I can only assume that there is no easy answer to the gearbox issue or Komo-Tec et al. would be offering it, even if it was not viable for Lotus themselves? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TdM 146 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 I do have some concern about whether this car is going to be confused and what market it's targeting... But we shall see! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Likuid 119 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 Yes this information is a bit perplexing. While I have no issue with them continuing to use a Toyota engine, using the exact same engine currently is confusing. If this car is a successor to the Evora then IMO it needs 500HP if the price is going to be $100k+. Since Lotus stopped at 430 and only made limited amounts at that power level I don't think they are confident to go past that with the current setup. I was hoping with it possibly being their last ICE that they would do something a bit different. I have a feeling this is going to end up being a re-skinned Evora. That isn't a bad thing if the price drops, but I don't see that working at current price considering Evora barely can sell at that price. That being said this could be a red herring for all we know. I am excited to see what they do, I just hope they do it right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gold FFM jep 771 Posted August 18 Gold FFM Report Share Posted August 18 I thought it was public knowledge that the next car is Evora based, I assume that means platform. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Likuid 119 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 I think most people assumed it meant mainly the chassis was going to be shared, not just a re-skinned Evora with another name. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TdM 146 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 The Lotus Evira will start at 55k for a 3.5v6 'Evira 280' and move on through the supercharged 'Evira 401' all the way up to the 'Evira 430.5' at the top end... You can get it in 2+0 or 2+2 configuration. I hope it doesn't happen, but I'm worried. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
62dave 84 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 I like the sound of an entry level Evira 280 - where can I put a deposit down? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mark030358 587 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 2.0l 4 pot turbo.... no brainer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post comem47 209 Posted August 18 Popular Post Report Share Posted August 18 Instead of an Evira, how 'bout an Elvira 2 pot ? (salt & pepper shakers) 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvan 159 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 That's a unique setup - Twin Hemi. Quote Mike '97 V8 '73 Europa TC '10 Elise SC Link to post Share on other sites
Nexus 29 Posted August 19 Report Share Posted August 19 (edited) The Type 131 has been announced! Autoexpress - New 2021 Lotus Type 131 to join line-up between Exige and Evora Edited August 19 by Nexus 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LotusLeftLotusRight 1,143 Posted August 19 Report Share Posted August 19 Autoexpress = yawn. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonwat 379 Posted August 19 Report Share Posted August 19 Autoexpress Quote Cheers, John W http://jonwatkins.co.uk Link to post Share on other sites
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