Regarded as one of the automotive highlights of the year, the Hagerty Festival of the Unexceptional has enjoyed sell-out success since its launch.
Today ticket availability for the 2021 Festival of the Unexceptional, the seventh event of its kind, goes live.
As with previous years, tickets to Festival are strictly limited and highly sought after. A first batch of 1000 tickets will be offered completely free of charge, with a further 1500 tickets available at just £5.75. Children up to the age of 12 go free.
Taking place on Saturday 31st July at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire, Festival showcases much maligned and long forgotten ‘ordinary’ classic cars and commercial vehicles of the late 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s, and remains the only concours to give merit to a Merit, sees a Popular as a plus and has a brim-full of passion for a (Yugo) 45.
Grimsthorpe Castle is a 1516 architectural masterpiece, showcasing a mix of Tudor and Baroque splendour, originally given as a wedding gift by Henry VIII to William, 11th Lord Willoughby de Eresby. In addition to providing space for a large number of unexceptional cars, Grimsthorpe also offers expansive grounds to enjoy with lakeside walks, formal gardens, and a children’s play area, ensuring the 2021 Festival of the Unexceptional will be a great day out for all the family.
2021 will also introduce improved show facilities with a wide range of food and beverage outlets, more display cars, comfortable seating areas, increased interaction, and entertainment as well as entertaining judging and award ceremonies.
Once again, Hagerty’s annual Concours de l’Ordinaire is open to classic cars, motorcycles and light commercial vehicles built between 1966 and 1996, but spaces on the coveted concours lawn are limited, and owners of eligible vehicles are encouraged to nominate their entry at the earliest opportunity.
Potential entrants are reminded the Festival, as its name suggests, celebrates the unexceptional. Spaces on the concours lawn will be awarded to a cars with more blanking plates than buttons and to cars with the lowest levels of frippery. Hagerty seeks the cars few would see benefit in saving, and while many luxury or sporting models from the past still have a strong following, it’s the lower trim levels that will catch the judges’ eye.
For tips on how to win the 2021 Festival of the Unexceptional, watch
Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional is a classic car show concept utterly unique in the UK that for the past seven years has successfully showcased the best examples of some of the most mundane cars ever built.
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Make Beaulieu your destination for Father’s Day, as the Hot Rod & Custom Show on Sunday 20th June brings retro motoring fun to the grounds of the National Motor Museum for a packed day out.
Always a family favourite summer event, Hot Rod & Custom Show will bring together impressive customised cars and hot rods, American motors, awesome motorbikes and trikes and pre-1980 classics to form a vibrant display, held in association with the Solent Renegades club.
Solent Renegades Chairman Dan Potter said: “Whenever people ask me what great shows there are to look forward to this year, I always mention Beaulieu’s Hot Rod & Custom Show first. We’re so excited to be returning for this year’s event, which is always a favourite with our club members and one that we’re always delighted to be involved with. As always, there are sure to be stunning cars on show.”
The show has always gathered some of the most eye-catching cars on the roads, from cool, colourful customs, stripped-back hot rods and monster-engined trikes, to immaculate Stateside classics, with 2021 sure to bring together an equally impressive selection. Prizes will be awarded for top machines at the Covid-secure show, with trophies for Best Custom, Best American, Best Hot Rod, Best Bike and Best in Show.
The retro experience at the Covid-secure show extends beyond the amazing motors. Head over to the Vintage Pop-Up, a selection of retro traders offering high-quality wares, from vintage fashions to homewares of the past, while motoring trade stands will be the place to browse automotive accessories.
Get your feet tapping to brilliant music throughout the day, with The Bandits and Company B performing rousing retro tunes on stage, while also returning for 2021 will be Mariachi el Mexicano, delighting showgoers with their upbeat renditions as they stroll around the event. Then get dancing, as show favourites Jitterbug Jive return to get people dancing in a socially-distanced way.
With Beaulieu’s beautiful grounds and gardens open to visitors once again, followed by the planned reopening of the attraction’s indoor spaces on 17th May, there will be plenty for event-goers to explore for a packed New Forest day out.
All tickets must be bought in advance, with carefully-managed capacity limits in place. Event participants, planning to take part in the show with their qualifying vehicle, can book their tickets with confidence thanks to Beaulieu’s Covid-19 refund policy*. Visit www.beaulieu.co.uk/events/hot-rod-and-custom for further details and to buy your participant or visitor tickets.
With plenty for all the family to do at Beaulieu, together, Hot Rod and Custom is just one of the exciting motoring events planned for 2021. Rescheduled are Simply Vauxhall on 17th July, Simply Audi on 1st August and Simply Aston Martin on 21st August, while coming soon are Simply Jaguar on 27th June, Simply Land Rover on 11th July and Simply Ford on 18th July.
Visitor and participant tickets include entrance to all that Beaulieu has to offer, including the National Motor Museum, Little Beaulieu, World of Top Gear, On Screen Cars, the ancestral Montagu home Palace House, Secret Army exhibition, 13th century Beaulieu Abbey and the stunning grounds and gardens. Visit www.beaulieu.co.uk for more information.
* Book with confidence, knowing that we’ve got you covered with our Covid-19 refund policy. If the event is unable to take place due to Government guidance, we will happily transfer your ticket to a future event or issue you with a full refund.
An original, right-hand drive 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Mk1 Volante to Vantage Specification
1999 Subaru 22B-STi Type UK – one of just 16
The May Sale will showcase a variety of exceptional modern cars and iconic classic cars, all of which will be offered on Saturday 22nd May.
One striking supercar going under the hammer, with just 1,000 miles from new is this 2018 Ford GT. This UK-supplied left-hand drive is offered from single ownership and is superbly finished in a subtle shade of Liquid Grey with Ingot Silver stripes. This is number 2 of the first 11 production cars which were allocated to the UK-market. This striking example was ordered from new and registered to Alan Mann Racing – a legendary name that’s synonymous with racing GT40s and Le Mans.
Believed, but not confirmed, to be possibly one of eight produced by ATL on the shores of Lake Como is this beautiful 1965 Alfa Romeo 1900 ATL Sport Coupe. The stunning handmade Aluminium bodywork is laid over the top of a ‘Superleggera’-style steel tubing framework. Silverstone Auctions are offering an unmissable opportunity to acquire an artisan-built sports Coupe created to celebrate Italian styling at its very best.
Gary Dunne Sales Controller for Silverstone Auctions added “We are delighted with our superb, confirmed line-up with more going live on our website in the coming days. The countdown to our catalogue closing has begun; to be a part of our printed catalogue which reaches thousands of customers, entries need to be submitted by the 4th May. Entries submitted after this date will still be a part of our e-catalogue if they are submitted prior to the 10th May.”
Also confirmed for the sale is this 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Mk1 Volante to Vantage Specification. The very pinnacle of British open-top motoring in the 1960s, this beautiful DB6 Volante has, at some point, been fitted with a manual gearbox and upgraded to ‘Vantage spec’ ensuring that, once returned to the roads, this will be a real driver’s car to use and enjoy. This original right-hand drive Mk1 was originally delivered in Sierra Blue with a lovely grey interior and a matching convertible roof, specified from new with Borg-Warner automatic transmission.
Also going under the hammer in The May Sale is this 1999 Subaru 22B-STi Type UK. One of just 16 of the Subaru UK officially imported examples, this is believed to be the 16th car; with just 10 or so still remaining – this really is the ‘Holy Grail’ of the 22Bs. This exceptional example has been owned by Silverstone Auctions’ vendor for the last 18 years with two previous owners and just 49,000 miles. This specific car is very well-regarded within Subaru circles, appearing in ‘Car’, ‘Auto Express’ and ‘Modern Classics’ magazine. The car won Best OEM example of the day at JapFest/TunerFest at Brands Hatch last September. Silverstone Auctions are privileged to offer for sale such a rare and special car, considered by many as the ‘ultimate Subaru’ for the road.
Silverstone Auctions are offering in person viewings of the cars by prior appointment, contact the team to book your inspection. The Silverstone Auctions team can be contacted on 01926 691141, by emailing enquiries@silverstoneauctions.com or via their website if you would like to join their growing lot list.
“The thrill of immediate torque, coupled with a lively rear axle and recognisable Lotus agility, makes Evija an unbelievable package already, and that’s just a prototype” – Matt Windle summarises his driving impressions during Evija prototype testing
“We’re now 80% through the development programme, and the last 20% is where the magic happens! Refining attributes like ride, handling, steering feel and ultimately, full power. It’s an amazing machine at 80%, at 100% it is going to be truly mind-blowing’ – Gavan Kershaw
As the Evija hypercar programme approaches the final straight before entering production, the Lotus testing team and Matt Windle, Managing Director, Lotus Cars, give their impressions on EP1 – one of several prototypes and the most developed in terms of performance attributes.
Matt Windle said: “We have different prototypes focusing on different areas of development. One for build and tech, another for battery management, the other for motors and so on. EP1, which I have driven most recently, is the performance prototype and it does not disappoint. We are still some months from entering series production, but already EP1 has that unmistakable Lotus ‘feel’. Unquestionably a unique and extreme hypercar, but still, somehow, a Lotus. I’m so excited and extremely proud of what the team has achieved.”
Gavan Kershaw, Director of Product Attributes and Lotus’ legendary chief test driver, said: “We’re 80% there – in terms of power, in terms of batteries, motors, body. Now, the remaining 20% is about adding the magic, for everything to work in harmony in that unique Lotus way, to deliver the driving experience that we want and that we can be super-proud of. And by proud, I of course mean, mind-blowing. It is a hypercar.”
James Hazlehurst, Lead Vehicle Dynamics Engineer, added: “As we enter the final straight of the development programme and start to unleash full power and torque, we are fast-completing the base vehicle dynamics and turning on the active systems one by one – torque vectoring, active aero, traction control and so on – to confirm everything behaves and works together as expected. Then we start to tune the drive modes, delivering the distinctive characteristics for each of the settings. We’ve been doing some of this virtually, working with a simulator partner, and now, as the world is beginning to slowly open up, we’re able to put these learnings into practice in the physical world.”
Louis Kerr, Chief Platform Engineer “We’re lucky in that we have our very own 2.25-mile test track, FIA compliant, literally 50 yards from where I’m sat in the all-new Evija assembly hall. I’m not sure many other manufacturers in the world can say that. The car has been designed without any constraints. We have pushed the boundaries of technology and materials at every opportunity, used the best technical partners, applied the latest technology – some of which is only currently available on a Formula One car – and on top of all that we have the most power-dense powertrain in a car. Already it is the fastest road car around the Hethel track, and some legendary cars and drivers have been setting records around here for many years. We’re already going quicker than expected, and in addition we’re looking to exceed the targets we’ve set ourselves on the project in terms of power and torque capacities to absolutely maximise the performance envelope of the car.”
Concluding, Gavan Kershaw said: “The Evija is an absolutely phenomenal drive. It has Formula One accelerations but in a closed cockpit, so it’s like a little Group C racer but with the torque and instant delivery of all the power, all the torque and the very latest toolbox of electronic aids. You genuinely start to believe you can defy physics – it fires you around corners like a catapult.”
Emira means ‘commander’ or ‘leader’ – highly appropriate for this new Lotus sports car
Name had been ‘hidden in plain sight’ in social media teaser film in recent days
All-new Lotus design language inspired by the Evija all-electric hypercar
World debut of Lotus Emira on Tuesday 6 July
Lotus has today confirmed the name of its eagerly anticipated all-new sports car will be EMIRA.
The news was confirmed during the Driving Tomorrow global digital conference broadcast. To date it has been known only by its codename, the Lotus Type 131.
The name had been teased by Lotus in a film on social media in recent days. It was ‘hidden in plain sight’ as part of a pattern of dots and dashes designed into the central line on a road. Those with knowledge of Morse Code could have spotted that it spelled Emira. Today, 27 April, is the anniversary of the birthday of Samuel Morse, inventor of Morse Code.
Pronounced ‘E-meer-a’, the word features in numerous ancient languages and often translates as ‘commander’ or ‘leader’. It’s highly appropriate as this is the exciting new sports car leading Lotus on a journey to a thrilling new future.
The Emira will be unveiled on Tuesday 6 July at Hethel, Norfolk – where the Emira will be built – and will make its public dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 8-11 July.
Lotus has also confirmed that, contrary to media speculation, the car will not be a hybrid. The Emira will be powered by a choice of internal combustion engines – the last time Lotus will launch an ICE car – with an exciting new powertrain partnership. The additional powertrain option will be new to Lotus, highly efficient, use cutting edge technology and be tuned to help deliver that distinctive Lotus experience.
With a distinctive new sports car design influenced by the Lotus Evija hypercar, Emira marks the acceleration of the brand’s product-led offensive into a new era of contemporary design, highly efficient powertrains, and everyday usability coupled with explosive performance.
Speaking about the Emira, Matt Windle said: ”It’s the most accomplished Lotus for generations – the perfectly packaged, powered and formed sports car. Beautifully proportioned, shrink-wrapped, but with comfort, technology and ergonomics built in. With a design inspired by the Evija all-electric hypercar, it’s a game-changing Lotus sports car.”
More details on the Lotus Emira will follow in July when the car is revealed.
“Results to date have seen the expansion of our global landscape, while remaining true to the original intention and foundation of the brand, namely that we are ‘For the Drivers’. Now it’s time for more people to enjoy more products and more services from Lotus.” – Mr. Feng Qingfeng, CEO, Group Lotus
“Now in its fourth year, our transformational Vision80 plan is very much on track and we are making great progress” – Matt Windle, MD, Lotus Cars
Lotus reveals further details on transforming the business, revolutionising the product range and delivering results every year
Eagerly anticipated new Lotus sports car, codenamed Type 131, is named and will be unveiled on 6 July
Thrilling new Lotus performance cars will be built on four new platforms – Hypercar, Sports, Premium and E-Sports – as brand’s product-led offensive accelerates
Performance, Intelligent Technology and Sustainability are core values driving the business forward
Lotus Engineering consultancy revitalised with new HQ, new collaborations and all-new technology roadmap – EAS-IP –revealed
Four new vehicle architectures, a technology roadmap, a fresh global retail identity and the name of an all-new car.
Lotus has delivered a series of major news announcements about the ongoing transformation of its business and brand.
Heralding a new dawn for Lotus Cars and Lotus Engineering, the news was broadcast across the world via Driving Tomorrow, a global virtual conference from Lotus at www.DrivingTomorrow.LotusCars.com.
Outlining strategic direction and including new product announcements, it is a status update on Vision80, the plan launched by Lotus in 2018 soon after the company’s 70th anniversary. Based on three key pillars – transforming the business, revolutionising the product range and delivering results every year – Vision80 commits Lotus to meet its transformational targets by the time of its 80th birthday in 2028.
And the verdict could not be clearer. As Lotus enters the fourth year of that plan, the transformation is on track and the company has emerged from a challenging 2020 intact and making great progress.
Matt Windle, Managing Director of Lotus Cars: “Our ongoing Vision80 plan to transform Lotus is on track. This year is a pivotal one for Lotus, particularly with our sports cars we reach the end of one era and begin another. The spirit and passion that gave the world the Elise, Exige and Evora will live on in the next generation of cars – cars like the all-new Lotus Emira.”
Lotus Emira: making its world debut on 6 July
Lotus has confirmed more details of its all-new sports car, to date known only by its codename Type 131 and now confirmed to be the Lotus Emira. Pronounced ‘E-meer-a’, the word features in numerous ancient languages and often translates as ‘commander’ or ‘leader’. It’s highly appropriate as this is the exciting new sports car leading Lotus on a journey to a thrilling new future.
The Emira will be unveiled on Tuesday 6 July at the Lotus Advanced Performance Centre, Hethel, Emira’s production home, and will make its public dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 8-11 July.
Lotus has also confirmed that, contrary to media speculation, the car will not be a hybrid. The Emira will be powered by a choice of internal combustion engines – the last time Lotus will launch an ICE car – with an exciting new powertrain partnership. The additional powertrain option will be new to Lotus, highly efficient, use cutting edge technology and be tuned to help deliver that distinctive Lotus experience.
With a distinctive new sports car design influenced by the Lotus Evija hypercar, Emira marks the acceleration of the brand’s product-led offensive into a new era of contemporary design, highly efficient powertrains, and everyday usability coupled with explosive performance.
More details on the Lotus Emira will follow in July when the car is revealed.
Four new Lotus architectures to deliver thrilling new Lotus cars
The Emira is being built on one of four new Lotus architectures. Working collaboratively with colleagues in Europe and China, Lotus engineers have developed a dedicated family of structural platforms for the brand. Exclusive to Lotus within the Geely group but available to other OEMs through the Lotus Engineering consultancy, these four architectures will underpin the eagerly anticipated next generation of Lotus performance cars.
1) Sports car architecture: Referred to internally as the Elemental architecture, this is the platform on which the all-new Lotus Emira will be built. Flexible, lightweight and featuring the signature Lotus extruded aluminium technology, this sports car platform is a massive step-change technically. Every dimension is different to previous generations of Lotus sports cars.
2) Hypercar architecture: The Lotus Evija is the first vehicle to be built on this Extreme platform and goes into production later this year at Hethel. Despite travel restrictions limiting testing opportunities around the world, progress on the car has not stopped. Several thousand kilometres of engineering development and validation testing have taken place in the UK. Lotus is also working with an advanced simulator company, allowing the Evija team to run endless simulations in the virtual world. This enhances confidence in passing project milestones with real-world development vehicles and creates programme efficiencies.
James Hazlehurst is the lead dynamics engineer on the Evija and said the team has been focused on making this most extreme and unique of cars feel like a Lotus. James explained: “A key marker for any Lotus is the ’50-metre test’, where within the first 50 metres of driving any of our cars you can feel the immediacy of the steering response and the connection to the road. Damping that’s perfectly balanced between handling and ride comfort, and a powertrain that responds directly and proportionally to your throttle demand, are key elements of this. All of this should be before you’ve travelled faster than 30mph or above 0.1g acceleration in any direction.”
Evija owners will be the first Lotus customers to benefit from what3words (W3W) technology available on the car. W3W divides the world into 3 metre x 3 metre squares and gives each a unique combination of three words: a W3W address. For example, ‘hotspots.punters.race’ is the W3W address for the entrance to Lotus HQ at Hethel. The Lotus Emira will also benefit from this system, which is a far more accurate location system than the traditional postcode.
3) Premium architecture: The first ever truly global automotive architecture from Lotus, the Evolution platform will be the basis for an all-new range of lifestyle vehicles from the company. Building on the launch of the Emira, these cars will catapult Lotus into a new era of higher retail volumes and significant revenues. The architecture has been defined and designed in the UK, supported by collaborative work with teams in China, Sweden and Germany. It is ‘born British, raised globally’.
4) Electric sports car architecture: In January this year Lotus and Group Renault’s Alpine brand announced a new partnership. The Lotus Engineering consultancy is leading development work on a new vehicle platform – known internally as E-Sports – and from that will come new products for Lotus and Alpine.
Matt Windle commented: “The E-Sports architecture will be flexible and modular, and will generate an exciting new sports car for the Lotus brand, with contemporary styling, class-leading ride and handling, explosive performance and that unmistakable Lotus character – a pure dynamic experience that is ‘For The Drivers’. I have challenged our teams to target the same weight as our latest combustion engine sports cars.”
Lotus in 2021: Performance, Intelligent Technology and Sustainability The ongoing transformation and expansion of Lotus under Vision80 comes from a position of confidence in Lotus’ identity as a vital brand with its eye firmly on the future and global growth. In 2021 there are three core values driving the business forward – Performance, Intelligent Technology and Sustainability.
Performance The heart and soul of Lotus has always been driven by a dedication to class-leading performance, proven wherever possible in the motorsport arena. It is part of the Lotus DNA and will always guide the company’s progress in developing new technologies for its cars and for those of other brands. Performance of Lotus cars has always come from the first principles set down more than 70 years ago – innovative thinking around light weight, exceptional ride and handling, and advanced aerodynamics.
Intelligent Technology Consumer demand for technology is a fact of today’s automotive landscape, and Lotus is embracing that completely. Richard Moore, Executive Director, Engineering, Lotus, commented: “Technology is the currency of luxury and desirability in today’s new cars. Lotus will re-set what it means to be a British premium automotive brand through development and adoption of innovative and intelligent technology.”
An all-new technology road map of five principles – dubbed EAS-IP – has been created by Lotus to guide this work:
Electrify: A pure electric future for Lotus, as first demonstrated by the Evija hypercar, has been part of the Vision80 strategy from the start. After the Lotus Emira, every new Lotus car will be electric.
Amplify: Lotus is committed to delivering innovative and engaging technologies. It will dial up the importance and prevalence of technology in its new product range. In tandem with performance, this will drive the desirability of future models.
Simplify: It was Lotus founder Colin Chapman who famously said the key to performance was to ‘simplify and add lightness’. Nothing has changed. Lotus technology will be an enabler, and will simplify the driving and ownership experience for customers.
Intensify: Lotus is fast developing a reputation as a world leader in Human Machine Interface (HMI), User Interface (UI), and User Experience (UX). With every new product launch, the role of innovative new technology will be intensified.
Personify: Lotus will use technology to give its new models an identity, a brand character that will become part of the company’s DNA. Lotus cars will be customisable through technology, mirroring and adapting to each customer’s tastes.
Sustainability In addition to the principles of sustainability in terms of environmental and corporate responsibility, in which Lotus is making great strides through accelerated electrification and a journey to net-zero underway with energy partner Centrica, sustainability as a business is also a critical part of the strategy.
Thanks to Vision80 and the progress made since its launch, and the support of its shareholders Geely and Etika, the long-term foundation and sustainability of the Lotus business is taking shape. As the company progresses towards its 80th anniversary in 2028, the health, stability and sustainability of Lotus will successfully deliver the three key priorities of Vision80. Lotus will transform its business, revolution its product range and deliver results every year. The growth of Lotus is already sparking a new generation of Lotus cars, which will lead to an increase in vehicle sales worldwide.
Being part of the Geely group of companies gives Lotus access to a vast range of skills and expertise. Hubs spread across the globe create the new Lotus map of the world, allowing the company to draw upon deep resources and skill bases as part of the Geely group:
Hethel: The Norfolk site in England is the home of Lotus, the heart and soul of the business. It is the location of the Lotus Advanced Performance Centre, where the brand’s sports cars are designed, engineered and manufactured.
Wellesbourne: Announced last year, the Lotus Advanced Technology Centre is on the Wellesbourne campus of the University of Warwick. The UK’s Midlands region is a focal point for automotive and engineering innovation, and is the perfect location for Lotus’ high voltage development and testing centre and the home of the Lotus Engineering consultancy.
Gothenburg: Home of the Geely Innovation Centre Sweden – Uni3 by Geely Campus, CEVT and of Geely Design.
Frankfurt: Geely Auto Technical Deutschland (GATD) research and development facility focussing on new propulsion systems and next-generation mobility technology.
USA: The world’s largest market for sports cars, with strategic bases for Lotus in Detroit and Los Angeles.
China: The home of Geely, the operational headquarters of the entire group of companies and the world’s leading market for vehicle electrification.
A new Lotus retail strategy and enhanced multi-channel customer journey In addition to the development of new Lotus models and technologies, Lotus is also transforming how it takes its innovations to market.
The most obvious example of this is the launch of a stunning new Lotus retail identity programme, now being rolled out in showrooms across the world. The first location to feature this exciting new Lotus look and feel is complete and open for business in Manama, the capital city of Bahrain, in the Middle East.
Uniquely Lotus and defiantly disruptive, the new retail identity draws directly on the brand’s design and engineering prowess to create a bold and original new showroom environment that’s sculptural and artistic in its execution.
The new retail identity is integrated into a 360-degree Lotus digital brand experience for customers, part of a seamless multi-channel retail strategy. Working with new retail partners, it will take Lotus to more global markets than ever before.
Geoff Dowding, Executive Director, Sales and Aftersales, said: “Launching an all-new visual identity for our retail partners is another hugely exciting step in our transformation of the Lotus brand. The inherent flexibility of what we have created will be perfect for all environments, whether they’re solus or multi-franchise, urban or out-of-town, high street or shopping mall, single or multi-storey, pop-up, seasonal or permanent.”
By adopting a multi-channel approach in its new retail strategy, Lotus will embrace the full spectrum of interactions and transactions with the brand, from the traditional and physical to the modern and digital.
Geoff Dowding explained: “It’s about offering a combination of online and offline retail experience. Looking, feeling, seeing, interacting and at the same time having the ability to do this 24 hours a day and maybe even conclude a transaction in the middle of the night, anywhere in the world. New generations of buyer and different models of ownership are bringing about this change and fast, particularly in some of the newer markets for Lotus such as in China. It’s about layers of choice, over and above what we are offering today – in different markets, in different cities, in different stores. Our customers will have their relationships with the brand, and they will have their relationships with the retailers – multi-channel and all about choice.’
Concluding the Driving Tomorrow conference, Matt Windle said: “Our transformation is well under way, and this year it really begins to accelerate through a product-led offensive. Evija goes into production, Emira is launched, and a new suite of four dedicated vehicle architectures is confirmed to further catapult Lotus into new markets, new segments and new volume territory. Our global expansion is continuing at pace, with Hethel still very much the heart and soul of the brand, but with a whole new Lotus map of the world to draw upon and to capitalise upon. And finally, new relationships with customers old and new get underway through the evolution of our retail strategy as we embark on volumes, markets and segments never seen before in the Lotus business. Lotus has a famous history of fast-paced exploits and successes on the racetracks. In the future, that fast pace of change is translated to the roads and to the global automotive market of tomorrow.”
