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The Evija was a Marketing success : it made the Emira having the look of the Evija supercar for the price of a sportcar. And the success of the Emira made Lotus the brand it always wanted to be. Even if the Evija never happens, it had already done the most important : Having people talk about Lotus new design and have them buy the new line of cars. You're right that the Evija might not happen, but Lotus now reached the point where they don't need the Evija anymore to exist.

@andrewgurney6019

Жыл бұрын

100%, it did exactly what it was supposed to do.

@richardharrold9736

Жыл бұрын

​@@andrewgurney6019 if that was what they wanted, they should just have called it a concept and said they had no intention of producing it.

@Mr.Marbles

Жыл бұрын

@@richardharrold9736 but then nobody would have cared

@jonathancollard3710

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely…. 👍🏻

@richardharrold9736

Жыл бұрын

@@Mr.Marbles nobody cares anyway. They wouldn't have cared any less if it had just been a design concept.

The Evija is seeming more and more like a great way to please investors enough to give the go ahead for the Emira, the car they actually wanted to make. It was never intended to be a volume seller, so even if they meet the bare minimum obligations, it's been a successful marketing strategy.

@jerehada

Жыл бұрын

Which investors ? owned by Geely for who dev budget would be peanuts.

@TML34

Жыл бұрын

A fraudulent marketing scheme.

@pistonburner6448

Жыл бұрын

Investors? Don't you understand who owns Lotus? It's all about the PLA plan to conquer the European market with their nation's cars and tech.

If they ever make a saloon, I hope they call it the Carlton.

@dobo2232

Жыл бұрын

Same and make it the fastest four door saloon and at a relatively affordable price

@syscoord195

Жыл бұрын

Hear me out: toyota camry-carlton with the 430 engine, suspension configured by lotus, maybe some fancy carbon body parts. Would absolutely kill sales. You only have to look at the yaris and supra.

@richardharrold9736

Жыл бұрын

​@@syscoord195 there's already a fairly hot V6 Camry and it's barely selling.

@Only_Ameen04

Жыл бұрын

Vauxhall has enter the chat

@syscoord195

Жыл бұрын

@Richard Harrold a TRD spec but not a GR spec. It's only putting out 300hp. I think it's just being killed by the corolla that's a better offer.

Ello Jay, it's my first time to comment on your vid. As a "local", whom born in China and witness the rise of our local brands. I have some opinions based on our brands behavior and local market state, to maybe explain to you why Evija is not really important at all for Lotus. 1: Lotus means an opportunity for Geely, not a unicorn for petrol-head. Geely product structure in China right now is kinda like VW; Geely themself deal with enter-level market. Then their Lynk-Co tackle the premium market, against with Merc, BMW & Audi. Alongside with Zeeke, a brand focus on up-market EV only (like relationship between Volvo & Polestar). But they miss a Luxury brand to head on with Porsche, Lambo, Bently and etc. This is where Lotus to come apart. Even though Lotus is more underwhelming than it was in the globe, as a new comer into Chinese market at this time is perfect. Our local brand spent 20 year to catch up foreign competitors, to persuade custom they're great. They did it so well, now any new EV brand that nobody heard can sold bucket-loads of cars. Now BYD with their Yangwang U8 & U9 push the boundary into 10k, while Sweden being quaky and just want to take the matter on their own hand. A company with some deep racing history and charging by one of the automotive big head in China, selling luxury EV make lot of sense right now. So Lotus is perfect for this spot. 2: Lotus was never really want to sell the Evija and they don't care. Clocking time back couple of years. 2017, a company called NIO launch their first car, it's a Formual E engineering team designed, track only Electric Hypercar -- EP9. That car did a hotlap in Nürburgring with a time of 6:45.9. This big, flashy toy caught everyone's eyes almost immediately. With the success of EP9, NIO catch the heat and make a hit with their electric SUV in both China and some European countries. BUT! Did they sold any EP9? Even with the ridiculous price tag of 1.2 million pounds？ Answer is No, They even didn't plan to push it into production. Same story with the Evija in 2019, they just clam it is great, make media praise the car, than build couple of example to some rich dudes, Happy End! Than 2020 hits.... with Automotive world evolving rapidly into electrify, no way they will spare more time and money onto a car that essentially is a marketing stunt, just to make it even faster. But that doesn't mean they just gonna call it a day.... 3: Evija need to be deliver in this year, it had to be. Fun fact, Evija was displayed on Shanghai Auto Show, alongside with Lotus Eletra that already starting deliver to Chinese customers.Actually, there are people already taken the delivery of Eletra couple days ago. Why Chinese get first and is there anything to do with Evija u might ask? Well, right now this is the perfect time for Geely to push Lotus into spotlight. Because at Shanghai Auto Show, there are 2 brand launch their supercar, one is the Yangwang U9 i just mentioned, another one is the Arcfox GT by Arctic. Both car have well over 1000 hp, loaded with tech and aim to be "track weapon", which I highly doubt about. Evija on the another hand, with its several years development and done by Lotus in house, Pretty sure it can smoke both "track weapon" in ease. That would be a good topic for car enthusiast or normal person, with their Sporty, Luxury SUV, to build up their brands in short period. Thus,those are my opinions on why Evija being like this, hope these idea can provide another angle to view. Hope u have an amazing day and good luck with your production ey o/

@1BenjaP

Жыл бұрын

This is some really interesting insight, thank you @betodo99. James is completely right (as always haha) when we look at Lotus’s rebirth roll out from a UK / EU perspective, but with Chinese owners and with the Chinese market as the focus for all manufacturers nowadays there could well be several components to the launches that don’t make a bunch of sense over here but are highly relevant to building Lotus in the worlds most important marketplace… here’s hoping that’s the case because Lotus deserve to be playing a far more significant role in the sports/super car market. I think the question for me is whether they maintain their ‘passion first’ approach and there’s a lot of worry that Geely will squash them into badge engineering … I think we’re all just hoping, having deep pockets and a wide folio of brands across income generating sectors, that Lotus might just be allowed to be a just-into-profit jewel in the crown… for me part of the passion that makes a brand endearing is that this nature does mean there are some foolhardy mistakes (and maybe Evija is one of those). It’s the over analysis of every action that squashes serendipity and thereby the creation of the new and truly engaging outputs so I just hope that Geely continue to let them play a bit

@captain_context9991

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, but it represents a big investment. And it was supposed to be the flagship that would grab all the headlines in all the media and announce the return of Lotus, the brand. Then it got delayed several times. And now the 2 cars it was supposed to promote, are already out. So now the Evija is becoming pointless. And the money put into it is kinda lost.

@coalhouse_walkerjnr4735

Жыл бұрын

@betodo99: Many thanks for putting forward an alternative perspective to the way we view Lotus product market here in the UK. Your suggested approach gives me food for thought. 👍

@TheNobleLoyalist

Жыл бұрын

Well spent write up, and I agree with most of your comment. I also think China is a great market for Lotus, and the best contender to rival the same old-same old offerings from Porsche etc. And let's not forget the 90s, and the success of the Elan M100 that went onto become rebadged as a Kia if I remember correctly. I may be wrong, but I may be right, based on how the Chinese build cars, I think unlike Europeans and Americans, they prefer smaller more straight to the point built vehicles, with simple (non fussy) yet elegant designs.

@TheNobleLoyalist

Жыл бұрын

In my opinion, there is no better sportscar manufacturer better than Lotus to dominate the new EV market. It goes hand in hand with their philosophy.

I remember reading in Evo magazine about 10 years ago that Lotus had no restrictions on Toyota's parts bin, which even included the V10 in the Lexus LFA. With growing appreciation for the LFA and now Lotus is under Geely's ownership, that arrangement has obviously now changed. I think the Evija is the best looking hypercar out there, but can you imagine how brilliant the Evija could be with that LFA engine in the back of it? Sadly another opportunity lost to create something amazing.

@MaticTheProto

10 ай бұрын

Boo hoo

I think you’re right, the only thing I will say which I think Lotus should be given credit for which I think you missed (but apologies if I didn’t catch it) is that it is a truly fabulous piece of design. I think it looks absolutely mega and am so glad that it has informed the Emira’s styling.

Somebody hasn't figured out that the New Lotus business model is about selling cars to people who have never purchased a Lotus before. Given how small the group of existing Lotus customers is, it actually makes more sense than at first glance. As for the Evija, when we heard about the bust up with Williams, it was obvious that this project was going to see major delays. None of the delays we are seeing on this model is much of a surprise really, it was simply never going to arrive as quickly as originally promised, simply too much tech Lotus had not played with before. The new product going forward is as based architectures that Geely, under the skin for all the Geely Brands (Lotus, Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, Zeekr.). The investment into lotus is not as large as it first appears. The business model appears sounds, but will Lotus retain any of its old charm, probably not , but they will sell a lot more cars than under the old Business model.

@carmadme

Жыл бұрын

The "lifestyle" cars from lotus are their own cars entirely and not sharing a platform with other cars It is true that the 3 upcoming cars will be based on the same platform

@pistonburner6448

Жыл бұрын

It's all ONLY about selling 🇨🇳 cars to Europe.

@pistonburner6448

Жыл бұрын

@@carmadme Haha, what are you talking about? "Lifestyle cars"? No, the Evija was something they managed to quickly cobble up with what they already had in usable Evora parts, and with Geely engineers putting a nice veneer of a "new" car on it. Evija means nothing, is nothing, it's only a placeholder to keep the brand alive until they flood the market with purely 🇨🇳 Geely EV stuff rebadged as Lotuses. From 2028 on they've promised to only sell EVs, and ALL of those will be 🇨🇳Geely stuff.

@tastypymp1287

Жыл бұрын

TLDR

I sat in this car at the Quail during Monterey car week back in 2019 lol. Was quite the experience. The lotus guys were very friendly

I think you've summed the Evija up really well James. I'm seeing a lot of similarity with the Jaguar XJ220, which also missed the market at launch. But I still wouldn't mind having one.

I am a car enthusiast but as soon as I see the price tag of a million - I clicked it off, I let the non-enthusiast rich people click it on ! Bring back the Esprit !

Im with you on the looks of the T50. Front is great, but that fan at the back totally spoils the look at the rear. Its a shame because the fan could easily have been hidden. The T33 however, especially the Spider looks amazing. and it uses a variant of the same V12

No, Geely is using Lotus R&D of EV to be used for their own brand. Smart, very smart.

Harry on Harrys Garage had the perfect explanation for why the Emeras price went up. Parts & distribution costs have skyrocketed. Chip-shortage, all those things. They simply had to follow the market. Not at all their fault.

The Evija release process sounds a lot like the rumoured process the UK Armed Forces follow when developing new hardware - the spec keeps changing, which creates complications in the development process, which results in increased costs and delays. Hoping the Evija does actually get a spec freeze at some point so it can be released - it looks gorgeous!

@wpjohn91

Жыл бұрын

Yep, 100%. The new mod one chasis multy purpose warrior platform that made driver sick from vibrations?

@v4skunk739

Жыл бұрын

@@wpjohn91 MOD is money laundering. Truth will come out one day. So many big money projects fail after big money spent.

@BlatentlyFakeName

Жыл бұрын

I suspect COVID lockdowns slowed progress down a lot, like many things

@joshuanishanthchristian5217

Жыл бұрын

@@wpjohn91 the Ajax light tank, right?

@skierpage

8 ай бұрын

The Evija _had_ to be dramatically better than a $130,000 Tesla Model S Plaid and now the $250,000 Lucid Air Sapphire. And now the Rimac Nevera at the same $2M price is in production and set 23 world records and a 'Ring record. As JayEmm points out, a very expensive EV Lotus that isn't "the fastest" in some way has limited appeal; it's probably not enough to look gorgeous. So if Lotus is changing the spec to beat competitors, they're probably doing the right thing.

You forgot the Pininfarina Battista. Which also sourced their battery and el-tech from Rimac. With all the same numbers as the Evija.

Agreed, it was mind blowing when it was announced but due to the delays it's now not as ridiculous as it was. EV development had sky rocketed in recent years, we now have 1000hp saloons somehow. A EV hypercar just doesn't have as much appeal/as sought after as their ICE (or even hybrid) counterparts, they just feel disposable & forgettable.

@DapperHesher

Жыл бұрын

It's not even EV powertrains in particular. Trying to make sports/super/hypercars into drag racers is where the plot got completely lost. Motorbikes got over it decades ago. Superbikes don't care if they can't quarter with a Tesla Plaid OR a Demon Redeye. That's not their purpose.

@theorderofeli

Жыл бұрын

EVs are devices and utterly disposable. I actually have nothing against EVs, but they are what they are - they aren't "cars"

@sneaky_krait7271

Жыл бұрын

Disagreed. Rimac actually makes it and absolutely amazing. I’d dispose loads for that one

@MaticTheProto

10 ай бұрын

@@theorderofeliyou are an utter waste of air if you think that. Then again, it seems like your brain does not get enough oxygen, sooo

@Journey_Awaits

8 ай бұрын

Every car is disposable. McLaren 500 600 700 who cares.

Yeah when I saw the Evija announcement I was really confused, being electric and a hypercar meant it has near to no appeal to Lotus fans even if they could afford it, and Lotus just doesn't have the brand recognition to sell well to non enthusiasts.

@bmstylee

Жыл бұрын

That is the big problem. The people who love the Lotus name is a small and honestly aging demographic. Not a good thing for the brand as a whole.

@theant9821

9 ай бұрын

​@@bmstyleei think thats irrelevant, like all hypercars its essentially a publicity stunt. What name its got doesn't matter, what does matter is the cars that follow it bearing the same name.

@skierpage

8 ай бұрын

Rimac seems likely to sell all 150 Neveras despite having even less brand recognition than Lotus. The key difference is that car entered production, and despite being overweight it actually is the quickest production car and set 23 records recently. Lotus seems to have failed to deliver.

Lotus never change whatever the ownership and management.

I haven’t looked at this through these points, and I gotta say I agree with you mostly. Great discussion James 👍

Oooooo my Emira got a wee feature there too :) Thanks James! Good discussion points raised!

I was only wondering recently what had happened to this car. It had such a fanfare then seemed to drop off a cliff. Not good. Great video James, sadly I think you’re right too.

@JayEmm you’re a phenomenal car journalist! In my opinion the best!

James, I'm appalled that you called the T-50 weird. It's a very pure purpose driven design by a very skilful team. And by Mr. Murray. In your list of alternatives, you forgot to mention the Evija's main rival, the Rimac Nevera. Which is already being delivered. I do agree with most of your reasoning, Lotus were not aware or underestimated the challenge they have.

@beautyisontheinside

Жыл бұрын

It is a complete gimmik and marketing car. No race driver takes it serious

Brilliant rant today, James! Enjoyed it 😉

Lotus is not a monolithic organisation, there's Lotus Cars and there is also Lotus Engineering, the former often acting as the advertising for the latter. The Eletre is a product of Lotus engineering and from what I've heard, the Evija didn't even start there, but originally came from a Geely project. I think this is its primary purpose, to show off the capabilities of the engineering section.

@imnotamechanic3491

Жыл бұрын

Yes, my understanding of the upcoming EV's is that they're essentially Polestars, and really EV is their expertise, so whilst making a goodbye to ICE sounds like a great idea, Lotus don't have that expertise, and so sticking a big electric motor in with handling from Lotus seemed like an easier (and more appealing) option, and it's worth remembering it preceeded any other established supercar company announcing something similar. But as James points out, the problem with EV is that its really not hard to make an EV astoundingly powerful, and so it's figures aren't impressive any more.

@pistonburner6448

Жыл бұрын

Lotus IS a totally monolithic organisation...the organisation called Geely, which is also known as the government of 🇨🇳

@Boardwoards

Жыл бұрын

@@pistonburner6448 whew thank christ major western auto companies are separate from gov, no billions going around there

@Boardwoards

Жыл бұрын

@@pistonburner6448 buddy, the point isn't for people in government to gain power, it's for them and the companies to service the wealthy for a kickback, who don't have to care about maintaining a monolith cause their only involvement is protecting procurement.

@pistonburner6448

Жыл бұрын

@@Boardwoards What an absolutely unintelligent, weak, illogical, invalid argument. Straight out of the "Cowardly diversion" handbook. Whataboutism at its finest. Above all, go ahead: name "all the major Western auto companies" that are government-controlled! Tell me which Western car companies are controlled and part of a geopolitical strategy led by the military!! You absolute clown!

I lament the demise of the ICE engine. Let's hope we can stave off the regulations for classic cars at the very least. I wonder if synthetic fuel will save the day...?

Love your logic man. Keep up the great content.

It did what it was meant to, it got people talking about Lotus and the success of the Emira has proved that. And on the prices increases on the Emira, it was under priced to begin with, then followed a global increase in the price of energy, Lotus simply had no option.

This is car is probably just for research or marketing. Also there is how Lotus now fits into Geely, they maybe focusing on core and far more important markets. Very interesting video. Keep up the good work.

This car looks awesome. I would buy one if i had the money, even if it is electric.

Great piece of journalism.

Lotus should have deepened their Toyota relationship and took the new Prius (o-60 7.1 stock) driveline, flipped it for RWD, and beefed up the performance a little and given it an elise style body. $50k plug In sports car unlike all competitors

Happen to agree all the way through.... £2million for an electric car is miles too much when other hyper cars have already beaten by Rimac etc.

God... I'd totally forgot about the Evija and placing my deposit.

Beautiful from every angle.

Love the PC setup on the wall Jay. Awesome mate.

@JayEmmOnCars

Жыл бұрын

Cheers. I will be doing a video on it soon, I promise

The Evija exterior design is absolutely stunning from every angle - If I had the money I would definitely consider it.

@JohhnooTheBeast

Жыл бұрын

But even this is a problem, the fact that if you had an imaginary £2m, you still would only consider it. I bet there aren't many people with the actual £2m that commit to purchase

@sidrens1047

Жыл бұрын

@@JohhnooTheBeast I would buy a McLaren P1 like a friend of mine did last year 😁

@JohhnooTheBeast

Жыл бұрын

@@sidrens1047 the P1 is top of my list too. If I had unlimited funds I'd have a P1 and RS4 (you know, for the kids and shopping) 😂

@sidrens1047

Жыл бұрын

@@JohhnooTheBeast nice! My friend purchased a P1 last year in Volcano yellow - it’s incredible!

I spoke to the guys at the factory when I collected my emira. The first customer Evija are nearly done, first or second is jensons car so they are genuine

Many good points made. Main one for me would be obsolescence (and therefored depreciation), compared to an ICE hypercar like the T50

Excellent. I love these office rants.

Love the videos, and this one is no exception. Great content as always, have to say though I really liked the Emira. Harry Metcalfe over on Harry’s Garage has put out a good few very informative videos on his personal purchase of the Emira. Maybe a conflict of interest there considering he’s bought one. Might not be the most impartial review but still informative as always and seemingly in terms of performance the Emira would be competitive with similarly priced rivals…

The only undeniable thing about the evija, it looks beautiful

The Evija did for the Emira what the XJ13 did for the E-type V12. It got people looking in that direction to see the tech drip down into something more attainable and affordable. I remember Lotus announcing the Etna in the 80s and a whole new range of model line-ups in the 90's/2000s - there have been many false dawns before. And Lotus aren't the only ones to play this game but they've got to show themselves as a game player. Hence the Electra. Another beneficially of the Evija hype. The Evija cannot be the fastest thing round a track now. Tech doesn't stand still and 4yrs is a long time (and now there is the McMurtry Speirling) but if they do produce it then it'll still be a helluva thing - just not as important as it once was...

2 things, coming from a Lotus employee. 1. The Evija is still being built. Very slowly, but it still exists 2. The Emira isn't a reskinned Evora at all. The chassis is different. I believe the chassis' are even slightly different between v6 and i4

If this Car ever sees the light of day it will be a small miracle 😂

Jay you are spot on not just the Elise, but going back across their history Lotus have been known for light mid priced, great handling cars, they have always used small engines (except ths V8 Esprit), in light bodies that handled like it was on rails. Right from the Seven, Elan, Europa, Elite, Eclat, even the early Eprits were only 2ltr, they just don't have the hypercar history, and outside the UK theh wil always be a bit of a curio, even within the UK they would be considered niche.

Jay, I'm sorry to say this, but; you are pretty damn perceptive and logical. And, most likely right. Keep up the good work (and analytical thinking!). 👍

Battery technology IS advancing. Especially if you don't need them to be Tesla-cheap or give you thousands of charge-discharge cycles. Evija can indeed be made, and be a really good car, much lighter than Rimac Nevera, but it needs some strong head to lead development. I'd be talkin with Lucid, their motors and converters seem to be pretty light and compact. Both are import. Rimac' stuff has been a bit bulky still, so a heavy car with limited flowthrough aero. Koenigsegg works on optimized direct drive motors, ideal for AWD. RPM range designed to match the wheel size and speed range desired.

I was talking recently to the head of Lotus America. Great guy! He told me, after driving one, that the new all electric Lotus SUV was amazingly good looking and fast! for such a large vehicle.

Spot on James, agree with every word

That PC on Your wall looks great!

You forgot to mention the drama behind the scenes of the Evija development The break-up and lawsuit from Williams delayed this thing indefinitely.

They have had to redo the entire thing at least once. They had a partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, who made EV Aston Rapide prototype, then lotus showed the Evija, then actual press releases saying Williams partnership was terminated

Drove the Evija in Nov 2022 on the Lotus track, amazing handling and speed.......but as you say not for long. There is room to upgrade the Evija as tech changes and would be no shock to see many return to the factory to be converted to H2 or something other than pure EV

The main problem I have with these electric hyper cars, is the lack of perceived value… analogy: digital Vs. analogue watches, the former is undoubtedly more modern and advanced, but people spend the really big bucks on the old fashioned ones that tick, where the craftsmanship and value is plain to see…..

@Adam-M1

Жыл бұрын

Very well put.

Yep the car will be brought our again for the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year

The Evija I dont think is a mistake. It is without a doubt the most beautiful, elegant design in a Looong time, of any car. Lambos and Ferraris seem to look more and more like transformers. The Evija is a simple yet superb design.

I remember James may in one, and either the electric windows or doors took about a minute to open and close. He said 'they will be sorting that before it goes into production'

Cool insight there thanks

There is no Lotus anymore. You mean Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd yea?

@LarsAgerbk

Жыл бұрын

sad but true

@onespeedyboi9835

Жыл бұрын

Correct.

Thanks J, I hope it does do well & gives more marketing to the Emira cars which are still based in the UK. 🙏🙏

Once again great video

The T50 looks like a late 70s kit car that dad n lad would put together in their garage. T50 also sounds like a Soviet era tank.

When you say to yourself “do you know how many Lambos I can buy for the price of that EV”… you know someone has missed the mark.

Claims of the Evijas potential seems almost reminiscent of when Lotus claimed the 3-11 would set the fastest lap times on all tracks.

Totally agree James. One big problem with the Evija is that it makes the Emira look less special. They should definitely have made it a £200k petrol/hybrid halo car The technology for a full EV sportscar is not there yet.

And so it is. I think most Lotus fans found the Evija curious, a statement of intent rather than a product to consider. It would have been better as a one off or concept car than anything offered for sale. And that’s almost certainly what it will become. No doubt Lotus would rather forget it. You read the marque perfectly. I still thoroughly enjoy my Evora 400, on which yours was always a welcome perspective. Congratulations on the channel’s continued success. It’s great to see! About Lotus, hope springs eternal!

I don't mind Lotus referencing their old F1 glory days with a special edition. Mercedes has made reference to very old cars multiple times with things like the silver arrow edition or the sterling moss edition

I love the way J always says it how it is - while saying it the way we were all thinking 👍- unfortunately in todays world investment potential is ruining everything from whiskey to watches to cars to sports memorabilia. Prices have gone skywards . Plus I personally feel these new all electric cars are really going to push people into more debt - the prices of them currently are just not justified

If that car with its amazing styling had a more interesting powertrain and was lighter it would be forever remembered.

all valid points. they should have thought of them as well and as hard as you have

My head will explode if the Evija turns out to be a covert R&D project for the next generation Esprit.

We have an Elise which is used as a daily and love it. As most owners we have a few more, one of which I would be afraid to park in a public carpark. Whatever it takes for them to survive and be able to produce relatively cheap sportscars is completely justified. Cheap Lotus exotics are in a market of their own. Also I need to have a parts supply to keep Lottie on the road.

Mind you, the original Tesla Roadsters (based on the Elise - massive clue Lotus) are fetching good money.

Great video.

A good example for conparision would be the Lexus LFA and the Nissan GTR R35. The LFA was announced in 2001 at Tokyo Motor Show but didnt actual go into production till 2010. GTR came along in 2008, stole their thunder, their sales and their limelight.

Lotus since 1958: simplify and add lightness. Lotus in 2020: ELECTRIC POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR will lump around any battery! I like to add that the promised development of BEVs will not only hurt investors, but also the common man! If technology progresses as promised (which I highly doubt), there will be no interest in today's BEVs and values will plummet.

I think it was basically a concept car to sell more emiras. But. If it's the fastest car in the world there is a market for 130 buyers. Even if they only sell 50 saying 130 provides a limited number that also allows them to sell more if the demand is there.

Aston at Pebble a couple years ago told me the Valkyre won't be setting a ring record as it's too low with too much downforce for that track. It would bottom out hard. They said they anticipate the Valhalla will set it around 6:30 based on their simulations. Thought you might find that an interesting statement.

Regarding the million pound plus hyper-cars you have to remember to a billionaire they are almost free if not actually profitable. Billionaires do not spend there own money, they get loans at fractions of a percent against their assets. A hyper-car counts as an asset too and so a billionaire can essentially get another loan on the car they have just bought with a loan especially is its considered to be an asset that is increasing in value. I think more likely is that it keeps blowing up.

Great video

Completely agree with everything said, very on point. Should have built something at 150 to 200k max with an awesome engine, handling etc. Perhaps bring back the Esprit but on steroids.

It looks awesome, I like lotus, it should be twin turbo 6c, manual, AWD 500hp, for about 200k sounds good

The thing is: if Lotus delivers the Evija just barely as promised, it's still one step ahead of the competition on some aspects: more powerful (no other has reached the 2k mark yet, not even Rimac, and the Tesla Roadster II is... well... somewhere), and more importantly, LIGHTER. It's going to be a 2k hp car with 1700 kg of weight. Ariel with their Hipercar and "only" 1200 hp can only go down to 1500 kg. The Rimac Nevera is heavier than a Bugatti Chiron, and even with nearly 2000 hp, it's far from the 1 to 1 power-weight ratio. The Evija though dips well below this target, and just for that, it's mind blowing. Only a handful of gasoline cars have delivered that, and I don't think it has yet happened with EVs. So, we shouldn't let Hypercar fatigue distract us from real achievements, even on the EV front... if indeed they eventually happen. Which I hope will, because the Evija looks amazing and promises much. The world will be a better place with that car in it, I believe.

hollly crap your PC build is cool as hell

I 100% agree on all points, anything remotely decent, rareish and with a v6, v8, v12 or better is going to be hugeley desierable in about 10-20 years.

Another excellent, informative, and honest discussion Jay. Lotus’ new ethos, “add weight and complicate” is not going to end well

I really like your idea of a $300,000 petrol car for Lotus.! IMO, the Emira is too small for its extreme design. It would look a lot better a bit larger.

You hit the nail on the head with this one Jay. With the speed at which performance "improves" hanging a car's hat on being the fastest is a mistake. Remember when the R35 GT-R was a "giant killer"? Today its performance level is almost common place (0-60 in the mid 3s, 1/4 mile trap around 115-120). There has to be something more to the story.

@skierpage

8 ай бұрын

Yet Rimac is seemingly successful with the Nevera. There clearly is value in being the quickest (and with a decent 'Ring time) and it's not clear who's going to surpass it in the next two years before their Porsche Mission E if not the Lotus. Actually delivering cars to customers is a good way to diminish armchair criticism.

The rimac and others got there first. So what would of its usp been. ?

About as likely as a new TVR

I was at the launch for this at goodwood

Hate to say it James but your totally right again about both the Evija, yep gone very quiet on that front and about Emira looking tonight there’s all ready quite a few first edition cars on the market at or under list, and the price going up regardless sours the deal even more certainly thinking of cancelling now

Ohhh didn't know you were into PC's. That system in the back is mad. who did you get to build it? So so few wall mounted watercooled builds turn well, and this one's fantastic.

According to the Lotus rep I talked to in September they've already sold all 130 Evijas and have a waitlist of 3x that. Entirely agree with your points but I reckon Lotus has achieved its marketing goals with the Evija.

@carmadme

Жыл бұрын

I've heard the same

@TML34

Жыл бұрын

A Lotus rep. 😂😂 No bias there.

I didn’t know lotus was Chinese. Thanks for the heads up!! #hardpass

I think the T.50 is just lovely, and certainly my lotto fantasy, sorry to lotus

Great video that does raise some good points - not just about the Evija but EV hypercars and EVs in general. I'm lucky enough to be an Emira owner and it is a fantastic car and achivement by Lotus. It looks every inch the supercar and gives a large portion of supercar experience for 'sportscar' money and Lotus, despite the delays and price issues should be applauded. Now, the Evija. I saw one at FoS in 2021 and another at the London Concours last summer and it looked completely fantastic. My dealer has videos running non-stop in their showroom and it is still the 'halo' car. It's like the Rimac - stunningly fast car (nowhere near as good looking as the Evija) but are they selling lots of those? They're in the lucky position of being owned by VW and partnered with Bugatti where I bet the last of the line Chirons had people fighting over them. I really think that when it comes to super/hyper cars buyers STILL want internal combustion engines or at least hybrids (like Lamborghini and Ferrari) as they are ultimately petrolheads and are NOT into electric powertrains. The Cosworth V12s in the Valkyrie and GMA cars are incredible feats of engineering as are Koenigseggs latest engines and gearboxes. The motors and battery packs in these EV hypercars, while incredible performance-wise are not in the same league for 'specialness' and like you say will almost always be immediately out of date. You could say the same about ICE powered cars but it doesn't matter so much because the engines provide the cars with so much of their chracter that is a big part of the reason buyers of these cars want them. If I was in the market for an Evija I think I'd go to Lotus and say: here's £3m. I want an Evija but can you stick a twin turbo Mercedes AMG engine in the back of it. I know there are Teslas that will easily out perform my Emira (acceleration-wise) but I bet they don't give you anywhere near the same experience. I really want Lotus to do well but your video does make me wonder if they've gone down the right path. Might not have been their decision. Probably Geely's!

@pistonburner6448

Жыл бұрын

You don't feel guilty about supporting 🇨🇳 against Europe, supporting and funding all the evil 🇨🇳 does and intends to do? You don't feel bad literally supporting the strongest pusher of the EV-only policy and the "destroy all ICE cars" -policy and going against the companies which still support ICE cars?

@tastypymp1287

Жыл бұрын

TLDR

@jtothepmusic

Жыл бұрын

@@tastypymp1287 🤣

@skierpage

8 ай бұрын

The Rimac Nevera is in production and is NOT immediately out of date! The only car i know of that might surpass it in the next two years is... the Evija. The 23 recent records, the 'Ring record, the attention to detail, the quality have made Nevera an apparent success despite Rimac having even less brand cachet than Lotus and the Nevera ending up overweight. Lotus simply failed to execute (so far...) despite having the resources of Geely behind them. "Engine = character" is just nostalgia, soon combustion fans will be saying it the way other retro fans rhapsodize about the hiss of a steam engine.

@jtothepmusic

8 ай бұрын

@@skierpage it is not NOSTALGIA. It IS character and drama. Driving is more than just drag racing. The visceral sound of an ICE screaming does something if you are really into cars. Do you go to supercar events? The number of kids (and adults) that are there just to hear the engines and exhaust notes is unreal. If they were all EVs these events just wouldn't happen. Why do guys love driving theor supercars through tunnels?Why do guys put loud exhausts on their cars? They're not going to mic up and amplify the sound of their whining electric motors are they?

Can we get a pc build tour. That thing looks sick