dan_sydd Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 Dear all, I am a student at Northumbria University currently in my Fianl year of Transportation Design. As i am on a Lotus forum i can assume you all love cars and Lotus especially, which happens to be a very well designed car! I specialise in exterior design and the 'looks' of a car in my course. For my final project i am designing a concept Lotus 4x4 vehicle. I was wandering if anybody had any initial views on Lotus having a 4x4 in the range. I see Lotus as a specialised, niche sector of the automotive industry, and probably one of my favourite car caompanies. I want to diversify the range and design a new type of Lotus that will appeal to the kind of thrill seeking individual that may buy a Lotus. I didnt want to design a next generation Lotus, i wanted to challenge myself and try to succeed in desiging a whole new Lotus, a different type of sport, equally as fun... offroad driving. I want the vehicle to encompass all types of offroad driving from slow, extreme offroading to fast high speed endurance events etc. The vehicle will be at the top of its game, as Lotus is usually, outperforming any competition. If anyone has any views on my project please contact me, i would appreciate any feedback. My main reason for posting on a Lotus owners forum is to understand why you choose to buy a Lotus and what it does for you as a brand. Does the car fulfill expectations and why? What is it about a Lotus you like and why did u chose a specific model of Lotus cars e.g. Exige, Elise, Elan etc... Any info you can provide will be usefull and if anyone wants to hear more details on my project and see design and model pics please contact me and i can email you them. Thanks for your time, Daniel.
nordberg Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 Lotus to me is a sports car. Porche have come up with a 4 x 4 and its shite! Good luck in your diploma or whatever you are doing and I really do hope you get good design qualifications. Please don't feel there is a need for a 4 x4 Lotus in the days of low fuel consumption and green ethics. Shoot me if Lotus develop a 4 x4!!
Snapper Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 Lotus cars are all light wieght fiberglass and are known to rattle at the best of times, christ knows what they would be like off road.
kimbo Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 I agree with the 2 previous comments i.e. Lotus produce brilliant sports cars but the thought of a 4x4 doesn't gel but Dan best of luck on your course and congrats for having the initiative to post on this forum. When you qualify and start work in Modena remember us poor guys running around in fibreglass cars. kimbo
Steve J Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 Perhaps a super light, economical small 4x4 with great handling might create a new niche market. The Panda 4x4 seems well received. Have to say though that a 4x4 concept doesn't have to be an SUV or off-roader. Why not a performance 4x4? Porsche have the Carrera 4, Audi the quatro, Subaru, Evo etc Don't forget Lotus already has the VVA platform which already included a SUV concept.
Ladders Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 Some sort of Lotus beach buggy thing could be intereseting. Overall though, I think an SUV is totally against Lotus and Chapmans principles IMO.
Daniel Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 I'm trying to find teh Elise 4x4 that was on PH last year as an April Fools things but PH seems 1/2 broken.
Chorlton Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 Some sort of Lotus beach buggy thing could be intereseting. I like your thinking.
Jonathan E Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 As above,Lotus did show a prototype 4x4,I think it was called "apx" could be wrong though. Lotus Sports Wagon anybody ....Hope thats the one you wanted Dan. Regards Jon
Daniel Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 Nice one Jon! I was actually thinking of this one, never saw your before. it's cool! http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=13546
Jonathan E Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 I remember the Lotus pick-up now,caused quite a stir and very funny. Regards Jon
gerags Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 Aren't Lotus developing a SUV / people carrier with Proton as the next phase of development ?
dan_sydd Posted March 12, 2007 Author Posted March 12, 2007 Hiya, thanks for the interest everyone! To answer a few questions, Lotus did develop a crossover vehicle with Proton called the APX, google it, it doesnt look good if u ask me, at least not like a Lotus should look. The Lotus on PH isnt really a 4x4, more like a jacked up Elise thats just been edited in photoshop to have a pick up style rear which would be useless! I want to design a new Lotus that would be like a beach buggy/fast offroad-leightweight-well engineered car that has all the characteristics of a Lotus in it, even the rattles! I think Lotus could do with a new exciting car that offers a different driving experience. I got in contact with Russel Carr head of design at Lotus but he's obviously busy cos he takes a while to reply. Keep the comments coming, Cheers, Dan.
Mark A Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 Hiya, thanks for the interest everyone! To answer a few questions, Lotus did develop a crossover vehicle with Proton called the APX, google it, it doesnt look good if u ask me, at least not like a Lotus should look. The Lotus on PH isnt really a 4x4, more like a jacked up Elise thats just been edited in photoshop to have a pick up style rear which would be useless! I want to design a new Lotus that would be like a beach buggy/fast offroad-leightweight-well engineered car that has all the characteristics of a Lotus in it, even the rattles! I think Lotus could do with a new exciting car that offers a different driving experience. I got in contact with Russel Carr head of design at Lotus but he's obviously busy cos he takes a while to reply. Keep the comments coming, Cheers, Dan. Not quite correct, the APX was purely a showcase for the VVA (Versatile Vehicle Architecture), it wasn't a lotus. it had no Lotus or Proton badges on it, it was an opposite to the Elise which is seen as the standard bearer for the VVA extruded aluminium chassis'. As for what Lotus have developed, I think you may be surprised how many 4x4's have a Lotus tweek on them or had quite a bit of Lotus involvement, they do this all the time. A Lotus 4x4 would be a commercial disaster, Lotus are all about sportscars and 'supercars' with vehicles from the Elan, the seven through the Europa (original) to the Elise, the 2+2's in the middle and the Esprit at the other edge of the market. The reason the Cayenne worked commercially is because it had a Porsche badge on it, Lotus don't have that market impact and market following, they are more about enthusiasts and people who want to drive for enjoyment. Porsche have that in their range as well (GT3RS etc) but most cars they sell aren't really in that marketplace. Yes the Cayenne works well on road, to a point, similarly the X5, but I don't see why anyone would want a SUV sportscar. A sportscar is all about handling response and driver feel, and raising it up in the air moves the CofG up and reduces the handling capabilities, no matter how good electronics are getting (and they ain't there yet) physics is still the overriding factor. Sorry if this seems negative but I think you may have picked the wrong badge for your project. This is the only 'official' 4WD Lotus I've ever heard of.
dan_sydd Posted March 13, 2007 Author Posted March 13, 2007 Well i didnt decide to do a 4x4 project and stick a Lotus badge on it, i started out wanting to design a Lotus, but it deosnt take much design flare to do a new Lotus sports car. I wanted to do somehitng different. You referenced Porsche a lot and the Cayanne, but my project is going to be a small leightweight extreme offroad Lotus, not a SUV that is luxury and essentially driven on the road most of the time. For example I see the Lotus Exige as a track day car, which can be used on the road. I want to design an offroad car that could also be road legal but it built to go fast on rough terrain. If you look at the Bowler Wildcat, this is a similar style/spec vehicle to what i want to acheive, only better because its a Lotus. You also mentioned about Lotus not having a big market following and is meant for enthusiasts, I never intended to design a mass produced Lotus, it will be an enthusiasts car, but aimed more at offroad enthusiasts, not racing car enthusiasts, or whomever buy exiges's etc. Thats why i wanted to choose a new area for Lotus, because they are pretty much sorted for sports cars at the mo.
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