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02/09/2011
REVIEW By EWAN KENNEDY
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In recent years Lotus, the British maker of niche sports and racing cars has been averaging just one sale a week in Australia. You could say it has been moving its minimalist sportscars out of the showroom at a minimalist rate.
So it comes as no surprise that Lotus has stood down its previous importer and signed up with Ateco Automotive. Ateco is a long established company best known for its stable of Italian sportscars: Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Abarth and Fiat, so is no stranger to the high-performance market.
Ateco has begun its campaign to lift Lotus sales by using a time-honoured method - slashing prices. At the same time if has added extra equipment to further enhance value.
Every Lotus has had its price cut significantly, with the range now starting at just $67,990 for the Lotus Elise, a price drop of $8000. Elise SC now comes as standard with a Sports Pack that was previously an option. In this guise the SC is $23,000 cheaper, with a rrp of $77,990.
Before you rush down to a Lotus dealer to grab a bargain, we should make one thing very clear: if you put comfort and luxury ahead of dynamic performance, then don’t even think about buying a Lotus.
If you enjoy pure dynamic performance ahead of everything else then a Lotus is guaranteed to put a huge smile on your face.
These lightweight sports machines really do seem to read your mind and act at the merest suggestion that you want it to change direction. It’s been said so often about lesser machines that it has become a cliche, but when you’re driving a Lotus man and machine do seem to become as one.
Many Lotuses are taken to race tracks at weekends where you can test yourself to the limit, chasing down those elusive tenths of a second in lap times during practice. Then pitting yourself against others in a variety of racing machines for the thrill of getting that chequered flag.
Owners are proud of the racing history of Lotus, the British team’s golden years the 1960 and ‘70w, saw the cars taking no fewer than 79 Grand Prix victories and seven Constructor’s Championships. The Lotus name is present in the 2011 F1 racing season, but is mired in legal arguments in a situation that’s changing almost by the day. We won’t get involved in that discussion here.
Ateco has struck it lucky in its timing of the takeover of the importation of Lotus, being helped by the increase in value of the Australian dollar over the British pound.
The fact that Lotus Cars has undergone a major revival since 2009, when a former senior Ferrari executive, Dany T. Bahar, took the reins as Lotus head honcho has also aided the price war in Australia. Bahar is building a strong team around himself, with iconic names like Bob Lutz, Gordon Murray and Tom Purves being amongst those on the Lotus advisory panel.
The complete Lotus range, with prices (excluding dealer and government charges) and previous prices is:
Elise 1.6-litre six-speed manual: $67,990 (was $69,990)
Elise SC 1.8-litre supercharged six-speed manual: $77,990 (was $94,990)
Exige S 1.8-litre supercharged six-speed manual: $79,990 (was $104,990)
Evora 2+2 3.5-litre six-speed manual: $119,990 (was $146,990)
Evora IPS 3.5-litre six-speed automatic: $124,990 (not previously sold)
Evora S 3.5-litre supercharged six-speed manual: $139,990 (not previously sold)
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