This weekend saw the latest dealership in the UK network open its doors to Lotus owners, future customers and enthusiasts. With a full complement of the current range of Lotus cars available to test drive, Lotus sent ex-F1 driver and Brand Ambassador Martin Donnelly to accompany customers and offer real hands-on advice on what these cars were capable of. Lucky visitors even had a chance to be driven by the man himself, a real privilege which isn’t to be passed up on and although tame on the roads, a taste of the talents of an F1 driver! The new Exige S was very well received, as was the Evora Sports Racer and Lotus Motorsport sent an Exige V6 Cup along for display. Also available was the supercharged, chargecooled Elise S packing 217bhp in Chrome Orange, a popular car at the event for test drives too. As well as new car sales, Lotus Hedge end offer full aftersales service and merchandise sales as well as used cars, the full range of services.
The car park was full with owners cars, there being a good number of Elise’s turning up, many Esprits in 4 and 8 cylinder form, the odd Europa, a few Evora’s and even a 2-Eleven thanks to the excellent weather. Feedback from those attending the event has been very positive and with the showroom being very highly appointed, the whole operation comes across very professionally. Dealer Principle Alex Domone said:
” ‘I was delighted with the level of turnout and enthusiasm shown by the local community and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to meet so many like-minded people, whose unanimous support for our new Lotus Centre was truly heart-warming. The weekend was a huge triumph and was a testament to the hard work and commitment made from our staff and Lotus cars – we really couldn’t have asked for a better start to our new venture, or welcome from the Lotus community, and it further strengthens our reserve and commitment to become the best Lotus franchise in the UK’
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Also there to welcome the company into the dealer network was Lotus Chief Operations Officer Aslam Farikullah who travelled down from Norfolk on Saturday in a ‘Naomi for Haiti’ special edition Evora. We had a chance to catch up with Aslam and discuss current events in Hethel and talked about the company’s communications strategy from an end-user/enthusiasts/customer’s perspective, the new Esprit, the Evora convertible and GTE editions. Overall we were left with positive impressions and thoughts regarding the future for Lotus, more of that on our forums here.
The addition to Hedge End to the dealer network is excellent news for Lotus and a showroom to be proud of. It sets the bar high and from what we’ve seen so far, they’ll bring nothing but value and benefit to the brand, and to us as owners and enthusiasts. Good luck to the team at Hedge End and we look forward to our next visit.
Photos: GKP
