While Lotus would like nothing more than to have Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious consigned to the rubbish bin of outdated witticisms, the firm does appear to be doing its utmost to live up to its age-old billing. Last month, we brought you news that 200 additional jobs were to be lost in the UK thanks to faltering demand; yesterday, thanks to the withdrawal of a finance provider, it was forced to admit to its UK dealer network that it would not be able honour the PCH and BCH deals it had previously agreed with customers currently awaiting delivery. Ouch.
‘We are working closely to minimise any potential changes and resolve this issue as quickly as possible,’ said Lotus in a statement seen by Car Dealer - although that hardly mitigates the blow to buyer confidence it has administered in the meantime. As PH understands it, this ongoing issue only affects the battery-powered models built in China, which feels like an additional nail in the coffin of the luxury EVs that Lotus was struggling to sell anyway. Especially when you consider the eye-popping savings one could make by opting for a car with little more than delivery miles on it - specifically £47,354 in the case of this 2024 Eletre R, currently on sale at Auto100.
The same dealer has done a good job in cornering the nearly-new Lotus market of late - as evidenced by the PH forum thread alerting us to it, and the 47 examples it currently has in stock. Of course, much more interesting than the SUV is the Hethel-built Emira, which, in very recent battle with the outgoing Porsche 911 Carrera T, proved to us again why it’s such a dreamy sports car in the right specification. And for the right price.
Buying brand new, the latter is already troublingly high. The V6 car is now £89,895 OTR with the new road fund licence rates; the 2.0-litre car only just sneaks in under £85,000 OTR - for a derivative, let’s not forget, that was supposed to be the sub-£60k Emira at launch. Given the continuing pressure of inflation more broadly, and Lotus’s narrower predicament, it would be no surprise to see 2025 bring with it even higher costs. At which point the Emira becomes hard to recommend even to card-carrying enthusiasts.
All this suggests that a ‘used’ example (and that term barely applies to some of Auto100’s stock) is worth jumping on sharpish. Especially ones like this. It’s a great spec, with the V6, manual and softer Touring chassis, plus it comes in Hethel Yellow - which is perfect for the downsized supercar design. Perhaps Ice Grey for the leather wouldn’t be our first choice, though it’s hardly the end of the world, certainly not with a £60k asking price after just 500 miles.
Granted, its plate is from last year, but even when prices were first announced in 2021 the Emira was a £75k car. However you cut it, this is a considerable saving off a great sports car, taking the model back into Cayman and A110 territory - i.e. where it should have been to begin with. To all intents and purposes, bar a small crease on the driver’s seat, it’s a new Lotus Emira for 2025 at about two-thirds what a factory order would cost. Some PHers on the aforementioned thread have already struck while the iron is hot. If you’d like to remind yourself what Lotus is historically exceptional at (without worrying too much about its current situation or its long-term future) we’d heartily recommend doing the same.
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