Lotus Boss Quits

[Eagle7]

The article didn’t quite go there, but I’ll call it now: there will be no Type 135.

Depends on why it's delayed. If it's because of problems with the car and/or meeting it's target goals, then the delay is worrying. If it's because they realize they'd be stupid to shut down the Emira just to build the Type 135, and decided to delay it to get the return on their investment out of the Emira before switching, that's another story.

Johnstone was the one who declared the Emira would be discontinued in 2028, and I find it interesting that all of a sudden he's leaving, and the Type 135 is "delayed". Looks like there may be some kind of struggle going on inside the company. Hopefully it turns out well.

 

[Lotustoronto]

I hear ya.... The leadership is either leaving or not inspiring any confidence.

As far as Type 135... I think it will come out. 2028-2030 release. I personally believe that battery technology (solid state) is about to be introduced within the next 2-3 years. This will make today's EV's look like blackberry's. I think it is a very good idea to postpone type 135 until the new battery tech get's there and keep pumping out Emira's, which actually sell. The more they make the better it will be for all of us owners! Keep them going!

 

[JimH]

Depends on why it's delayed. If it's because of problems with the car and/or meeting it's target goals, then the delay is worrying. If it's because they realize they'd be stupid to shut down the Emira just to build the Type 135, and decided to delay it to get the return on their investment out of the Emira before switching, that's another story.

Johnstone was the one who declared the Emira would be discontinued in 2028, and I find it interesting that all of a sudden he's leaving, and the Type 135 is "delayed". Looks like there may be some kind of struggle going on inside the company. Hopefully it turns out well.

Probably not the only reason, but Lotus were supposed to be building three new factory units at Hethel - one of which was to be the Type 135 assembly line, and the others a logistics warehouse and staff building - but there has been a bureaucratic delay (sound familiar?) in the granting of planning permission to start the builds....

2023/2037 | Hybrid Application: 1) Outline planning application (including access and scale) for the development of modern facilities to support Lotus' production requirements. Proposals include new manufacturing (B2), production (B2

info.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk

 

[ameeriklane]

@Eagle7 - It is possible that Carr and the Emira design team is just moving locations. My guess is that the new Coventry studio is much more upgraded and using better, newer technology and updating Hethel would just cost more money. Converging the two units is a good idea, as long as the majority of the design teams stay intact. I see this as more as "we built all this new stuff at Coventry, come work over here and use it" - more so than firing Carr and associates.

It's a good question. The Hethel facilities (I've visited) are out in the countryside. You have to drive down these narrow, shoulderless roads to get there -- I have no idea how the trucks going to and from the factory navigate it. They are located there because it's the site of an old WWII-era airbase so it came with a runway to use as a test track, and the hangars could be easily converted to a factory. They chose that part of England because there was a government scheme to encourage business (and thus job creation) in certain regions of England.

But that was all decades ago. If you need to find great design talent, perhaps Coventry is a better place in terms of attracting talent, being a bigger metropolitan area generally, and the Lotus design center there isn't out in the countryside.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

1. Coventry (LTCC) is a state of the art design centre that was opened in 2019. It has four full studios and over 100 designers, engineers and modellers. It makes sense for Lotus to move to one consolidated design department instead of two.

2. The TYP 135 conceptual design will be largely finalised by now so it could be a decade before the tiny Hethel-based team needs to design a new sports car. There's not much point having them sitting in Hethel twiddling their thumbs.

3. There are also the usual corporate politics at play. Peter Horbury was Vice President of Design with Russell Carr (Hethel studio) and Ben Payne (LTCC studio) reporting to him. Peter sadly died in mid-2023. Ben was then promoted to Vice President of Design. It's no surprise to anyone who has watched Game of Thrones that Ben now plans to fold the Hethel team into his broader group.

 

[digilotus]

The article didn’t quite go there, but I’ll call it now: there will be no Type 135.

But Type 136 is about to enter production in Italy next month.

 

[digilotus]

But Type 136 is about to enter production in Italy next month.

I wasn't joking. Type 136 FE is available to order from Lotus now: https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/type-136

 

[Porter]

I wasn't joking. Type 136 FE is available to order from Lotus now: https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/type-136

This is such an absurd distraction. I get that it's a marketing exercise, but they are apparently devoting actual engineering resources to it.

I'm a bike guy, so I really find it interesting on an academic level, but as an Emira customer watching the company fail to address basic challenges like, "is our car sufficiently weather-resistant for road use," it makes me want to just scream wordlessly at the upper management at Lotus HQ.

 

[Nova]

This is such an absurd distraction. I get that it's a marketing exercise, but they are apparently devoting actual engineering resources to it.

I'm a bike guy, so I really find it interesting on an academic level, but as an Emira customer watching the company fail to address basic challenges like, "is our car sufficiently weather-resistant for road use," it makes me want to just scream wordlessly at the upper management at Lotus HQ.

Yea, the wire loom failure is a multi point failure. The engineering failed, design reviews failed, prototyping failed, weather testing failed, and after production started and the issue started occurring, they failed to immediately implement some type of short term correction even as they waited for the new cover to be made.

 

[Drambeenie]

Think Lotus need to follow

Stellantis is open to putting a gas engine in its EVs to meet demand - Autoblog

Stellantis builds many of its cars on multi-energy platforms, so it can turn an EV into a gasoline-powered model with relative ease if needed.

www.autoblog.com

 

[Fasttoys]

Yea, the wire loom failure is a multi point failure. The engineering failed, design reviews failed, prototyping failed, weather testing failed, and after production started and the issue started occurring, they failed to immediately implement some type of short term correction even as they waited for the new cover to be made.

My concern is that the Emira has been out for a while and in very wet climates for years. It's manufactured in a very damp environment too, I am so complex about how this can happen. Many in the USA are now getting their cars and some experiencing these issues. I laugh when I read the post I will be careful when I am in the car and never drive it in the rain, seems very funny to me. I was hoping Lotus would have turned a corner when it comes to communications. If you watch this video on the Emira I feel they are spot on. My 2011 Evora was pretty much problem-free.

 

[lynchy73]

My concern is that the Emira has been out for a while and in very wet climates for years. It's manufactured in a very damp environment too, I am so complex about how this can happen. Many in the USA are now getting their cars and some experiencing these issues. I laugh when I read the post I will be careful when I am in the car and never drive it in the rain, seems very funny to me. I was hoping Lotus would have turned a corner when it comes to communications. If you watch this video on the Emira I feel they are spot on. My 2011 Evora was pretty much problem-free.

What’s so funny about leaving your weekend/fun car at home on wet days?

 

[Porter]

What’s so funny about leaving your weekend/fun car at home on wet days?

Not sure if you're missing his sarcasm, or if I'm missing yours... 🤔

 

[lynchy73]

Not sure if you're missing his sarcasm, or if I'm missing yours... 🤔

Yeah, I missed the sarcasm. A Direct statement isn’t sarcasm. Regardless of whether there are question marks around water ingress issues on the Emira or not, this is a weekend fun car for me, so it stays at home if it’s wet. If I get caught out or am doing a trip where it’s raining, so be it, but I’m avoiding it.

I’ve had zero issues on my I4, and I qualify that by sharing that I don’t drive it on rainy days, and additionally I follow the suggestion from Lotus to avoid high pressure water into inlets. This I feel is relevant information to share.

Others are free to do whatever they like with their Emira (free of any smart arse comments from me), just like I can do whatever I like

 

[Nick in Sydney]

The article didn’t quite go there, but I’ll call it now: there will be no Type 135.

Delaying the 100% BEV Type 135 and instead launching a hybrid version of the Emira would actually be a pretty smart strategy for Lotus.

 

[ADC]

Yeah, I missed the sarcasm. A Direct statement isn’t sarcasm. Regardless of whether there are question marks around water ingress issues on the Emira or not, this is a weekend fun car for me, so it stays at home if it’s wet. If I get caught out or am doing a trip where it’s raining, so be it, but I’m avoiding it.

I’ve had zero issues on my I4, and I qualify that by sharing that I don’t drive it on rainy days, and additionally I follow the suggestion from Lotus to avoid high pressure water into inlets. This I feel is relevant information to share.

Others are free to do whatever they like with their Emira (free of any smart arse comments from me), just like I can do whatever I like

It is nice that many are not having problems, and your usage pattern sounds perfectly cromulent to me, but surely you have to admit that, on the face of it, it is faintly absurd for owners of any modern car to have to even think about whether simply getting the thing wet (setting aside the issue of high pressure blasts into intakes) will cause it to break.

Like others, it bugs me that Lotus don't really give the outward impression they're methodically getting a handle on things like this (or if they are, they are just bad at communicating it in a way that instils confidence), and just continue ploughing forward according to The Grand Electrification Plan ™️

 

[lynchy73]

It is nice that many are not having problems, and your usage pattern sounds perfectly cromulent to me, but surely you have to admit that, on the face of it, it is faintly absurd for owners of any modern car to have to even think about whether simply getting the thing wet (setting aside the issue of high pressure blasts into intakes) will cause it to break.

Like others, it bugs me that Lotus don't really give the outward impression they're methodically getting a handle on things like this (or if they are, they are just bad at communicating it in a way that instils confidence), and just continue ploughing forward according to The Grand Electrification Plan ™️

Of course it’s far from ideal that it’s a thing (water ingress). However, I’m not entirely convinced water ingress is an issue, or if it’s more of an issue on 1 version or another…. The more information people share, the better IMO.

Agreed, I think Lotus should hang onto ICE a bit longer.