Battery - Lithium or not?

[emiraspain]

Does anyone know if the car will have a standard battery, ie one which we don' need to tether if we are leaving it more than about 2 - 3 weeks, which was the limit for my new Elise (sold to purchase the Emira).
To save 10-15 kilos, it would have historically been something Lotus would do, but I hope the guys higher up from other companies have convinced them not to do it as it is a small fraction of the owners who would put up with the hassle for such a small saving in a car which already weighs as much and more than its competitors, if we take the caymen GT4 as such a car for example. Bear / bare in mind porsche always understate their official figures on the customers side, ie cars generally go quicker than they publish and generally weigh less than they publish.

Anyway, I got a slight glimpse in one launch in Asia on youtube and the battery seemed to be normal, but not sure.

Also, I am guessing no insurance companies have the car in their data base yet for the UK, or for anywhere else. As I intend to use my car in Spain, this is going to be a HUGE issue, insurance.....

thanks

 

[digilotus]

Nothing I have seen or read indicates that the FE Emiras will come with a lithium battery. I expect they will save those for a GT update with carbon bits in future.

 

[NicolasB]

We had a Porsche come into the shop back in the day for service, and I don't recall the exact circumstances, but the service advisor had the front hood open (battery is there), and the small lithium battery exploded and shot up and dented the hood! Nearly took him out. Made me be question their usefulness.

 

[FlyNavy01]

If it doesn't come with one I'll be swapping it out. Easy and instant weight savings. Been running a 12V lithium battery in my daily for 3 years with no issue. It weights 4.9lbs whereas the OEM AGM battery was nearly 30.

 

[andyss]

Big stack of regular lead acid batteries on the production line at the factory when I was there this morning.

 

[NicolasB]

Big stack of regular lead acid batteries on the production line at the factory when I was there this morning.

We don't care, we just want to know if you saw a green Emira

 

[andyss]

We don't care, we just want to know if you saw a green Emira

Bad news.... Though on the upside lots of smiley people looking productive and cars actually moving down the line.

 

[TomE]

Bad news.... Though on the upside lots of smiley people looking productive and cars actually moving down the line.

Unfortunately only half as productive as they need to be

 

[Eagle7]

Unfortunately only half as productive as they need to be

C'mon Tom, you've been and are a person of influence here. Don't take Leonard's Grumpy Pants, put them on yourself, and become 'that guy' by taking pot shots at Lotus every chance you get. It doesn't make anything better. You're unhappy about how things are going, you've made that clear. I doubt anybody is happy about how things are going, including Lotus and the people you've spoken with.

Everybody who is in it to win it needs to just hunker down, and be patient, or as your ancestors said during much more difficult times in 1939:

 

[andyss]

Unfortunately only half as productive as they need to be

Yep, but seeing so much going focused activity and movement down the line than I'd heard from previous accounts have me some hope. There's positivity in the guys doing the work too, so it'll come. I've achieved peace with not getting mine until into next year anyway (B&C first roadshow deposit so it's probably easier for me to handle delays than you) but at this point I have faith it'll be worth the wait.

 

[PaperLawyer]

We don't care, we just want to know if you saw a green Emira

Factory tour for me, tomorrow afternoon - hoping (against all hope) to see all six colours...

 

[Eagle7]

Factory tour for me, tomorrow afternoon - hoping (against all hope) to see all six colours...

See if somebody knows the weight of the forged wheels vs the weight of the standard cast wheels. I know the cast wheels are used on all the cars as they go through production, but if the tour takes you into the wheels area where they have the forged ones, see if somebody either knows the weight or can weigh them for you.

 

[PaperLawyer]

See if somebody knows the weight of the forged wheels vs the weight of the standard cast wheels. I know the cast wheels are used on all the cars as they go through production, but if the tour takes you into the wheels area where they have the forged ones, see if somebody either knows the weight or can weigh them for you.

Will do - just having a bite to eat a few miles down the road fromthe factory

 

[digilotus]

Will do - just having a bite to eat a few miles down the road fromthe factory

If possible, can you please also take a good look at the leather seats and if the backs are embossed with the three stripes too please!

Have lots of fun - I hope you see all 6 FE colours!

 

[PaulP]

Enjoy the tour, and don’t forget your “hat”!

 

[andyss]

If possible, can you please also take a good look at the leather seats and if the backs are embossed with the three stripes too please!

Have lots of fun - I hope you see all 6 FE colours!

Yesterday they were fitting the latest pattern leather to the frames, and it did indeed have three horizontal bars on the back.

 

[PaperLawyer]

If possible, can you please also take a good look at the leather seats and if the backs are embossed with the three stripes too please!

Have lots of fun - I hope you see all 6 FE colours!

Here's an update following an interesting tour around the factory:

- wheel weights - no one (even Scott who was called after the tour) could clarify the weight difference between the cast and forged wheels. One for a Lotus engineer, I guess. I asked several lotus employees!

- Seats - the back of the seat is apparently a composite - no stripe on the back. [EDIT: Just seen the comment above confirming there is a stripe!]

- ADAS - confirmed (again, through the call to Scott) not on the V6 but will be on the i4 "at some point". None of the V6 cars on the production line appears to have the plastic gubbins above the numberplate plinth (noted on the Chinese i4) .

My thoughts on the colours (at the risk of going over old ground/not adding much to previous experiences posted on the forum):

- Magma red - my key concern prior to the tour is that the paint would appear burgandy but in the flesh it was more like a sophisticated, deep red - plenty of magma red cars around the production facility to see in differing lights. It was only a couple of panels, sat in particuarly shadowy areas, which risked looking too burgandy-like. We also saw one magma red panel hung alongside the forthcoming flat red paint - the magma red was more interesting and the flat red more akin to any sportscar red. In short, my positive impression of the magma red justified my trip to Hethel. I saw several magma red cars without the full black pack and I personally preferred the red roof. However, this is all subjective.

- Hethel yellow - this was also one of my preferred colours but the only car in HY was one that appeared for a few seconds before the tour started. It disappeared behind a truck and then seemed to vanish! However, we did have an opportunity to see a HY wing sat next to a magma red wing and the flat paint of the HY meant the curves of the panel were revealed better by the magma red. This was my concern before the tour and was reinforced today.

- Nimbus - first and foremost, I was glad to see nothing which screamed "bronze" to me, although I totally agree with previous comments about it being a sophisticated silver, almost liquid, and certainly more interesting than, for example, the silverstone silver of my previous Honda S2000. I would be really happy with this colour, too. There were a number of nimbus cars lined up, alongside the magma red examples.

- Verdant green - when we walked into the factory we immediately saw one on the line and my immediate thought was, "it IS green, rather than appearing black". HOWEVER, elsewhere on the production line we saw different panels (and perhaps another VG car) and the paint looked very dark in certain lights. Our guide, Nick (who was excellent) commented that it was a colour which really needed to be kept clean and that the lines could be lost on a dirty example (just like any dark coloured car). I could see it working in a summy climate, with a tan interior, but it isn't for me in the climate we "enjoy". I preferred the lighter green on the S1 Elise in the HQ Reception.

- Shadow Grey. The best example was at the end of the production line and, clean and in strong light, it looks mean and purposeful. However, it struggles in a similar way to VG in anything other than strong light (and, personally speaking again, less interesting than the VG). For me, bottom of the list.

- Seneca blue. No revelations here - as per the car that did the rounds. LOTS of them on the production line, all with full black pack.

Other observations:

- wheels. Nick kindly let several of us get up close and personal with a pile of alloys. We agreed that the plain silver forged wheel was a real disappointment - really doesn't look special at all on the cars that were wearing them (yes, not all of the cars were sat on the cast standard wheels). So, for me, it is a decision between the diamond cut (and the care that requires) or the gloss black.

- interiors. Spoke to one of the lotus team, Sarah, at the end of the production run who confirmed that ice grey (which appeared in a number of the cars on the line) is more easily marked than the other colours (as you'd expect/fear). Saw the tan interior and, whilst I like the configurator combo of magma red and tan, the tan is too light/orangey for my personal taste. So that leaves black leather or, more likely, alcantara with red stitching for my maga red choice (on diamond cust wheels and either silver or black calipers).

- Sub. It has been pointed out on this forum that there is a hole for the sub within the bulkhead (from memory). The position behind the driver (RHD) was confirmed by Sarah.

 

[PaperLawyer]

Enjoy the tour, and don’t forget your “hat”!

View attachment 4649

I itched for the phone in my pocket too many times to mention!

 

[PaperLawyer]

Yesterday they were fitting the latest pattern leather to the frames, and it did indeed have three horizontal bars on the back.

Well that is interesting - I couldn't be shown it but I was told by two different lotus employees that the stripes weren't on the rear - something got lost in communication, clearly! Not doubting you at all - clearly I didn't explain the request properly.

 

[emiraspain]

See if somebody knows the weight of the forged wheels vs the weight of the standard cast wheels. I know the cast wheels are used on all the cars as they go through production, but if the tour takes you into the wheels area where they have the forged ones, see if somebody either knows the weight or can weigh them for you.

Im sure I saw a photo with some orange wheels on the lotus site, maybe even the tour site... for the production line, I have to say they looked pretty good . Not for sale I guess..