Lotus Elise to End Production This Year, New Models on the Way

[ProjectWHaT]

Emira review embargo dropped

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I think the design of the Emira has already aged, and it's barely been released. There's just too much going on, it's overstyled - the lower side treatment is particularly tropey to me. I think it will look really dated in 5-10 years in a way the A110 and Cayman won't.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Emira with the AMG inline 4 and auto first impressions

 

[Keef]

Emira with the AMG inline 4 and auto first impressions

Literally nobody is going to buy this engine in the US. I still haven’t figured out why they’re even bothering to offer it.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Radford is developing a car based on the Lotus Exige and Button is helping to develop the chassis. The new Radford will be a hardcore road legal race car that will look like a Lola (probably a retro-styled Lola thing).

Ant Anstead Speaks Out Amid His Company's Bankruptcy Filing, Fraud Allegations (Exclusive)

The TV host and automobile expert's supercar company Radford Motors filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, Oct. 23, amid several lawsuits from business partners

people.com

https://www.motor1.com/news/738610/radford-motors-chapter-11-bankrupcty-filing/

Jenson Button-backed Radford files for bankruptcy

Radford is undergoing a restructuring, but its celebrity founders remain committed to the company.

www.motorauthority.com

Radford filed for bankruptcy with allegations of fraud

In a statement to People, which first broke the news on Wednesday, Dan Bednarski, who serves as chief financial officer of Finest Coachbuilding Group, the private company that owns Radford, said the bankruptcy and ensuing debt restructure will enable a new ownership structure that will help the company gain new investment.

He also said the company will continue to operate as normal during the bankruptcy, which means continuing to build and deliver the various versions of the Lotus Type 62-2 coach-built by Radford sports car for customers. The sports car debuted in 2021 as a modern take on the Lotus Type 62 race car of the 1960s, using the donor chassis of the Lotus Evora.

In a separate statement to People, Anstead said he and Button are both committed to the company.

According to People, the bankruptcy comes after some fellow owners of Radford's Finest Coachbuilding Group parent made allegations of mismanagement of company funds, and filed civil lawsuits earlier this year. However, in a statement to Motor1, Bednarski said a judge has cited insufficient evidence for the mismanagement allegations.

 

[Keef]

Ant Anstead Speaks Out Amid His Company's Bankruptcy Filing, Fraud Allegations (Exclusive)

The TV host and automobile expert's supercar company Radford Motors filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, Oct. 23, amid several lawsuits from business partners

people.com

https://www.motor1.com/news/738610/radford-motors-chapter-11-bankrupcty-filing/

Jenson Button-backed Radford files for bankruptcy

Radford is undergoing a restructuring, but its celebrity founders remain committed to the company.

www.motorauthority.com

Radford filed for bankruptcy with allegations of fraud

Interesting. So the bankruptcy restructuring is a way to get rid of people that were accused of fraud?

 

[EngieDiesel]

Interesting. So the bankruptcy restructuring is a way to get rid of people that were accused of fraud?

Or possibly the accusors, depending on who holds the majority. That said, not too surprising that they're doing so. Companies usually undergo a management restructuring when they're dealing with bankruptcy so they can bring in people who are better suited to right the ship, or at least appease the creditors for a while until they can figure out what to do next.

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Lotus could keep the Emira on sale for longer - and hybrid power is a possibility... | Autocar

As Lotus adds range-extender options and pushes back EV sports car, Emira could live on with electrification

www.autocar.co.uk

Lotus delays their transition to full EVs so a hybrid Emira may eventually come

Lotus could electrify the Emira and extend its lifecycle as the brand moves to hybridise its line-up and pushes back the sports car's long-awaited electric replacement.

The move marks a reversal of Lotus's plan to go all-electric by 2028 and raises questions about the future of its last remaining sports car, which was due to be effectively replaced by an EV equivalent in the coming years.

The firm has never put an end date on Emira production, but under its now-axed plan to go all-electric, it was due to usher in an EV successor known as the Type 135 in 2027, and it was expected that the Emira would be phased out in kind.

Now, however, Lotus's new European CEO Dan Balmer has suggested the Hethel-built coupé could live on with an electrified powertrain instead.

Asked about the prospect of an Emira hybrid, he said: "In today's world? 'Never say never' is the current rule, because we have to be open-minded and understand what the marketplace wants and also what technology is available to us at the time.

"So the potential for hybrid powertrains is there. Equally the potential for all-EV platforms is there. It's just a question of what technology is available for the attributes that we spec in a Lotus."

I think a lot of manufacturers will soon follow and cancel full EV transitions

 

[EngieDiesel]

I think a lot of manufacturers will soon follow and cancel full EV transitions

Unless a revolutionary breakthrough in battery technology for range and cold weather performance happens in the next year or two, it's all but guaranteed they'll be backing off. EV development has pretty much hit a plateau until the point when/if that can be resolved.

 

[MIE1992]

I think the design of the Emira has already aged, and it's barely been released. There's just too much going on, it's overstyled - the lower side treatment is particularly tropey to me. I think it will look really dated in 5-10 years in a way the A110 and Cayman won't.

Yeah, I just never got used to the way that the front of it curves under itself. It sometimes makes it look like it's been damaged even when it's clearly in pristine condition.

 

[Tornado]

bad news for fans of 6000 pound rebadged Chinese SUVs, I guess.