Lotus Driving Experience

[RyanGphoto]

Hey everyone,

Yes I searched.. I am looking to do this in March.. but wondering if there is anything else to do around there before or after the driving experience (full day).

Also any insights on the best way to get there (cheapest also) from Heathrow. I am hoping NOT to fly to Heathrow and go into London and then just out to Hethel for the day for the academy and then back to London.. Just wondering what else there is to do around there.

Thanks so much
Ryan G

 

[Aero]

Hey everyone,

Yes I searched.. I am looking to do this in March.. but wondering if there is anything else to do around there before or after the driving experience (full day).

Also any insights on the best way to get there (cheapest also) from Heathrow. I am hoping NOT to fly to Heathrow and go into London and then just out to Hethel for the day for the academy and then back to London.. Just wondering what else there is to do around there.

Thanks so much
Ryan G

Did the Intro to Sports cars all day thing last June as a day trip add on to part of a larger trip. Going to LHR and taking the tube to central london and catching a train to Wymondham/Norwich was easy and the cheapest option for us. Gatwick will be similar.
You can fly into Stansted Airport which avoids downtown but is for mostly regional European flights. Can just price out and see.
Several threads on places to stay. etc.
There arent many bookable dates for the academy in March. Book that date first then plan around that.
It starts around 8am and is done around 4-5 so not a whole lot time before or after.

 

[RyanGphoto]

Did the Intro to Sports cars all day thing last June as a day trip add on to part of a larger trip. Going to LHR and taking the tube to central london and catching a train to Wymondham/Norwich was easy and the cheapest option for us. Gatwick will be similar.
You can fly into Stansted Airport which avoids downtown but is for mostly regional European flights. Can just price out and see.
Several threads on places to stay. etc.
There arent many bookable dates for the academy in March. Book that date first then plan around that.
It starts around 8am and is done around 4-5 so not a whole lot time before or after.

Thanks so much..

Now just wondering if it makes sense to stay an extra night in Hethel or head back to London after the driving experience...


Also Is the factory tour really worth it for $100?

 

[GetawayDriving]

You're just heading over for the academy and then leaving? Personally I rented a car at Heathrow. After trains and cabs, it's probably not much of a difference. Hertz has Model 3's with free charging, which is what I did at the time.

Lotus is in a pretty sparse area, and you'll be a bit lagged. The adrenaline won't help, you'll feel pretty wiped after. Allow yourself some downtime for the lag.

It's a 3 hour drive from Heathrow and the driving day starts at 8am so you'll want to get there the night before and stay local. I grabbed a lovely breakfast at Mad Hatter Tea Shop in Wymondham prior to Hethel. That may or may not be on the way for you depending on where you stay.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Thanks so much..

Now just wondering if it makes sense to stay an extra night in Hethel or head back to London after the driving experience...


Also Is the factory tour really worth it for $100?

I thought the factory tour was cool. You really get to see how these cars are put together, and by who. The whole process takes place in like 3 rooms, which makes it feel very small, and you meet some lovely people. It really makes Lotus feel bespoke, friendly and accessible. On several occasions I was able to ask questions directly from the people responsible for what I was asking about. Held parts in my hand. Witnessed process up close. I'd say it's worth it, especially if you're already there. I mean, will you ever go back? Serious question, because I did. lol.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Thanks so much..

Now just wondering if it makes sense to stay an extra night in Hethel or head back to London after the driving experience...


Also Is the factory tour really worth it for $100?

100% the factory tour is worth it - I believe they have a half track day / factory tour option as well. I did the tour and recommend it. I stayed at Dunston Hall, fairly close to the factory. Also second getaways's option of car rental from Heathrow. It's what I would take as well.

As for other things to do - probably depends on what you like. Golf? In all honesty I don't think there is much out there.

 

[Aero]

Thanks so much..

Now just wondering if it makes sense to stay an extra night in Hethel or head back to London after the driving experience...


Also Is the factory tour really worth it for $100?

We went up the day before from London after our flight arrived early that day and travelled to factory. Spent the night close to factory to recover. Got up and did all day program...went back to London that night...got there around 9pm so sorda rushed but not too bad.
Intro to sports cars the tour is part of cost. I was happy/excited to do the tour but I like factory tours in general. I found it worthwhile.
If I had to do again might do advanced program as intro you just focus on handling the car around a track in general. I would've preferred a more tailored program that exposes the real world envelope etc of the car. Or at least communicated that to the instructor. Also repeatedly remind them you want a LHD car.
Seems like I heard of some other driving experiences but not sure that ever happened.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Also keep in mind that if you’re going to be swooping in and out for this, 8am will be 3am for you biologically. Daylight and adrenaline will be on your side, but you’ll be exploring the limits of the car, likely in RHD, on an unfamiliar track on 0 sleep

Your own personal 24 hours of Le Mans. By 5pm you’ll be zonked.

Try to prepare by shifting your sleep schedule at least a few days in advance. Increases your chances you might remember it!

 

[Time2Fly]

Hey everyone,

Yes I searched.. I am looking to do this in March.. but wondering if there is anything else to do around there before or after the driving experience (full day).

Also any insights on the best way to get there (cheapest also) from Heathrow. I am hoping NOT to fly to Heathrow and go into London and then just out to Hethel for the day for the academy and then back to London.. Just wondering what else there is to do around there.

Thanks so much
Ryan G

I'm also going in March, on the 7th. Is that your day?

 

[khamai]

If you're into Lotus history, then take at least 1-2 days to take in:

• Factory Tour (a must)
• Classic Team Lotus (across Potash Ln from the factory, also a must)
• Stay or have a meal at Bird in Hand (near factory - a ton of Lotus stuff)
• Check out the 389th Memorial Museum (USA Bomber Group that was HQ'd where Lotus is located)
• See/visit Chapman's grave site
• Norwich history - lots of churches and the oldest continually operating hotel in England, The Maid's Head (stay there!)

 

[KCMO68_510]

I'm doing the driving experience the first week of April. Initially I thought I'd get my car after the trip, but now it looks like I will likely take delivery before.

 

[ltullos]

I am planning to book the full day 'tailor-made' advanced class in May and want to understand just what is included in the morning skills sessions and afternoon track sessions. I've reached out to the academy to ask some questions, particularly about the structure & format of the experience; but still have questions; so I hope someone who has done the advanced class can shed more light. I did ask them how the afternoon track sessions are structured (# sessions and time of each) and was disappointed to hear that it was only two 20 min sessions in that 2.5 hr period. I was expecting at least twice that with debriefs in between. I did not think to ask how many participants are in each class, how many instructors they have, and how many are on track at the same time.

I'm coming from the US and plan to be in UK for a week with the first 2-3 days in London, then drive to Cambridge for at least one day before going on to Hethel on Thursday for the Friday driving experience. I'm undecided if I will spend Fri evening in Hethel / Norwich or start back to London and stay someplace else for the night. My return flight is Sunday afternoon from LHR. If anyone has tips for things to see and do around London and enroute to/from Hethel I would very much appreciate it.

 

[GetawayDriving]

I am planning to book the full day 'tailor-made' advanced class in May and want to understand just what is included in the morning skills sessions and afternoon track sessions. I've reached out to the academy to ask some questions, particularly about the structure & format of the experience; but still have questions; so I hope someone who has done the advanced class can shed more light. I did ask them how the afternoon track sessions are structured (# sessions and time of each) and was disappointed to hear that it was only two 20 min sessions in that 2.5 hr period. I was expecting at least twice that with debriefs in between. I did not think to ask how many participants are in each class, how many instructors they have, and how many are on track at the same time.

I'm coming from the US and plan to be in UK for a week with the first 2-3 days in London, then drive to Cambridge for at least one day before going on to Hethel on Thursday for the Friday driving experience. I'm undecided if I will spend Fri evening in Hethel / Norwich or start back to London and stay someplace else for the night. My return flight is Sunday afternoon from LHR. If anyone has tips for things to see and do around London and enroute to/from Hethel I would very much appreciate it.

I did the advanced tailored. It wasn't tailored quite the way I expected. There are four 20-minute sessions, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with lunch in-between. I think we had 6 participants on my day, with 2 instructors. There were 4 cars, some are touring and some are sport. All were RHD at the time but this was right when they first made the switch to Emira so they might have LHD available now?

1 session on skid pad
1 session brake and avoid
2 track sessions

Skid pad session you have freedom to just hoon, they want you to break the car loose and do donuts. In Emira, it's actually quite hard to induce oversteer even on a wet pad. Also, this isn't really a full 20 minutes. Once you successfully slide a few times you generally head back to the clubhouse.

Brake and avoid is a high speed run toward essentially a moose test, where you mash the brakes at full pressure and swerve through a set of cones. It's meant to show you how you can still control this car under hard braking. I absolutely murdered some cones here, I blame the fact that they tossed me the key to a car I had never driven before first thing in the morning with the steering wheel on the wrong side and said ok now attack.

You're paired with the same instructor for the day, which is nice. They give you feedback, and at the end you get a "report card" with scoring and ways to improve.


You'll try both touring and sport suspensions but on track it's hard to tell a difference in ride. Slightly more lean in touring I suppose.

When you're not driving you're hanging in the clubhouse watching others run or hanging with the other folks who are awaiting a car.

You have lunch in the Lotus cafeteria, it was finger sandwiches and sweets for me.

 

[ltullos]

I did the advanced tailored. It wasn't tailored quite the way I expected. There are four 20-minute sessions, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon with lunch in-between. I think we had 6 participants on my day, with 2 instructors. There were 4 cars, some are touring and some are sport. All were RHD at the time but this was right when they first made the switch to Emira so they might have LHD available now?

1 session on skid pad
1 session brake and avoid
2 track sessions

Skid pad session you have freedom to just hoon, they want you to break the car loose and do donuts. In Emira, it's actually quite hard to induce understeer even on a wet pad. Also, this isn't really a full 20 minutes. Once you successfully slide a few times you generally head back to the clubhouse.

Brake and avoid is a high speed run toward essentially a moose test, where you mash the brakes at full pressure and swerve through a set of cones. It's meant to show you how you can still control this car under hard braking. I absolutely murdered some cones here, I blame the fact that they tossed me the key to a car I had never driven before first thing in the morning with the steering wheel on the wrong side and said ok now attack.

You're paired with the same instructor for the day, which is nice. They give you feedback, and at the end you get a "report card" with scoring and ways to improve.


You'll try both touring and sport suspensions but on track it's hard to tell a difference in ride. Slightly more lean in touring I suppose.

When you're not driving you're hanging in the clubhouse watching others run or hanging with the other folks who are awaiting a car.

You have lunch in the Lotus cafeteria, it was finger sandwiches and sweets for me.

Thanks very much for your answers! They did tell me that all their cars are MTs and include LHD, so that good news for me. I'm just wondering how much if any they adapt the instruction to inputs given during the instructor goal setting. For example, if I tell them that I want to improve trail braking and mid-corner control, would it make any difference?

 

[GetawayDriving]

Thanks very much for your answers! They did tell me that all their cars are MTs and include LHD, so that good news for me. I'm just wondering how much if any they adapt the instruction to inputs given during the instructor goal setting. For example, if I tell them that I want to improve trail braking and mid-corner control, would it make any difference?

Given that you have a one on one relationship with the same instructor through the day, there is plenty of opportunity to raise these sorts of requests. They might pay attention and give you feedback or notice things that you are not necessarily aware of, and change your focus.

The hard part is, there isn’t really a lot of time near the limit. By the time you get used to the car and begin to learn the track, your time is almost over. I was just getting comfortable enough to have some confidence and begin pushing up to the limit when I ran out of time. I’m sure that in a similar way the instructor spends much of that time getting acclimated to you, and understanding if they need to be concerned about any of the basics at speed before they start diverting their attention to the things that you are interested in improving.

The instructors are going to be paying attention to smoothness, car control, awareness, etc. Unless you’re a pro driver, there’s going to be something fundamental to learn from these guys. I have dozens of track days under my belt, and have received instruction many times before, but still didn’t score above a 7.5/10 in any category.

Part of that also is just there’s just no time to settle in before it’s over.

 

[RyanGphoto]

Also keep in mind that if you’re going to be swooping in and out for this, 8am will be 3am for you biologically. Daylight and adrenaline will be on your side, but you’ll be exploring the limits of the car, likely in RHD, on an unfamiliar track on 0 sleep

Your own personal 24 hours of Le Mans. By 5pm you’ll be zonked.

Try to prepare by shifting your sleep schedule at least a few days in advance. Increases your chances you might remember it!

A little update to the planning.. I will have 2 full days there before the track day.. Plan is to arrive in Heathrow and drive straight to norwick on Thursday AM, stay there a night and then do the factory tour on Friday afternoon and then stay at Bird in Hand and then get up to do track day. After Track day stay again overnight and drive back to london the next morning (I have driven RHD cars IN London so I will be fine driving, but would def want a LHD Emira for the track day).

 

[RyanGphoto]

I'm also going in March, on the 7th. Is that your day?

Can't that day.. Going the 23rd... I convinced a friend to join me and he is thinking of ordering one after this experience.. Change your day and join us!

 

[RyanGphoto]

If you're into Lotus history, then take at least 1-2 days to take in:

• Factory Tour (a must)
• Classic Team Lotus (across Potash Ln from the factory, also a must)
• Stay or have a meal at Bird in Hand (near factory - a ton of Lotus stuff)
• Check out the 389th Memorial Museum (USA Bomber Group that was HQ'd where Lotus is located)
• See/visit Chapman's grave site
• Norwich history - lots of churches and the oldest continually operating hotel in England, The Maid's Head (stay there!)

Thanks.. I will add these to the list of things.. I appreciate the recommendations..

 

[RyanGphoto]

Given that you have a one on one relationship with the same instructor through the day, there is plenty of opportunity to raise these sorts of requests. They might pay attention and give you feedback or notice things that you are not necessarily aware of, and change your focus.

The hard part is, there isn’t really a lot of time near the limit. By the time you get used to the car and begin to learn the track, your time is almost over. I was just getting comfortable enough to have some confidence and begin pushing up to the limit when I ran out of time. I’m sure that in a similar way the instructor spends much of that time getting acclimated to you, and understanding if they need to be concerned about any of the basics at speed before they start diverting their attention to the things that you are interested in improving.

The instructors are going to be paying attention to smoothness, car control, awareness, etc. Unless you’re a pro driver, there’s going to be something fundamental to learn from these guys. I have dozens of track days under my belt, and have received instruction many times before, but still didn’t score above a 7.5/10 in any category.

Part of that also is just there’s just no time to settle in before it’s over.

A little disappointing that you only get (2) 20 minute sessions on the track to learn the car.. I would have thought with there being 3 hours of track time at the end, you would get more time behind the wheel to learn the car and push it a bit..

I have only been on a track once in an elise (well twice).. so I don't have much experience pushing a car to the limits.. I def would love to learn more.. maybe I should do a USA driving school before going over there.

 

[Time2Fly]

@RyanGphoto I wish but I can't move my days. I have vacation for this which I can't move and it messes up the rest of my month. I'm going to go back and do it again when my car is finally getting built. First time with the gf (solo driving), and the second time with my best friend (both driving).