Tag Archives: Production

Lotus Builds Its Final Elise, Exige and Evora Models

The final Lotus Elise, a Elise Sport 240 Final Edition, is one of 35,124 built over 26 years.

Lotus built its last the last Elise, Exige and Evora sports cars today in Hethel, Norfolk, U.K. The end of production for the three sports cars comes as Lotus readies its assembly lines for the upcoming Emira, which is expected to roll off assembly lines in the spring.

“We will miss them, but a bit like Christmas, once it’s over, the excitement for the next one starts to build,” said Russell Carr, design director, Lotus Cars, in a statement. “And that’s what’s happening now at Lotus with the Evija, Emira and forthcoming Type 132. 2022 is going to be a great year as a new Lotus generation swings into action.”

End of an era

During the cars’ 26-year run, 51,738 cars were built. Combined, they represent almost half of the total production of the 73-year history of Lotus. From 1996 to 2000, the first-generation Elise and Exige sports cars were built alongside the Lotus Esprit. But the company revamped its assembly operations when the Spirit ended production. Now, the current assembly lines will be dismantled and revamped, allowing for an addition 5,000 units of capacity.

A Lotus Exige Cup 430 Final Edition, the last of 10,497 units.

The final cars will be a yellow Elise Sport 240 Final Edition, the last of 35,124 cars; a Heritage Racing Green Exige Cup 430 Final Edition, the last of 10,497; and a Dark Metallic Grey Evora GT430 Sport, the last of 6,117 built.

The Evora is the only Lotus model currently sold in the United States, with a base price of $99,150. Its supercharged Toyota 3.5-liter V-6 makes 416 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque with the 6-speed manual transmission, or 332 lb-ft with the 6-speed automatic. 

The final models of the Elise, Exige and Evora models will not be sold. They will be placed in Lotus’ heritage collection. 

“(C)ustomers have given our ‘three Es’ true cult status — usually reserved for long-out-of-production classics,” said Matt Windle, managing director, Lotus Cars. “As we say farewell to the last few cars, we look forward to the Emira and Evija.”

The 6,117th Lotus Evora is an Evora GT430 Sport.

The end of production coincides with the recent death of Hazel Chapman, wife of Lotus co-founder Colin Chapman.

What’s ahead for Lotus

The three models are being replaced by the all-new Emira, its name derived from ancient languages meaning “commander” or “leader.” The car will be Lotus’ last gasoline-powered sports car, with a design inspired by the Evija. All future models are promised to be 100% electric powered. Like previous Lotus models, the Emira will employ lightweight construction and massive horsepower, with a bonded aluminum chassis that’s strong, yet lightweight.

It will house one of two engines, the first being an AMG-tuned turbocharged 4-cylinder mated to a dual-clutch gearbox that sends 360 hp to the rear wheels. The other is a supercharged Toyota V-6 with either an automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual. The AMG engine will not be offered with a manual.

The Evija will hit 186 mph more than 3 seconds faster than the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport.

The company is also planning to release the Evija, a new hypercar and its first electric model. Punching out nearly 2,000 hp through all four wheels, it promises a 0-186 mph time of 9 seconds, making it the quickest vehicle on the road. But expect to pay $2 million for the privilege.

But that’s just the start of a line of new Lotus EVs that will include the Type 132 electric crossover, recently teased at the 2021 Gangzhou Auto Show as well as on YouTube. It’s also slated to be released in the Spring. The company is also planning to release the Type 131, the first of Lotus’s three new electric sports cars.

Group Lotus is owned by Chinese automaker Geely, which bought the British automaker in 2017, and Etika Automotive, a Malaysian conglomerate, which owns the remaining 49 percent. 

Rivian Delivers First Electric Pickup to Customer

The race to see what company would build the first battery-electric pickup for a customer is over and the winner is … Rivian. The startup began production the “Launch Edition” of its R1T pickup for buyers from its plant in Illinois today.

First Rivian off line nose
Rivian’s first production version of its R1T battery-electric pickup truck rolls off the line.

The first truck, an appropriately named Rivian Blue “Launch Edition” model, rolled off the line at the company’s facility, the former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois while dozens of plant employees cheered.

“After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal,” Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe tweeted. “Our team’s collective efforts have made this moment possible. Can’t wait to get these into the hands of our customers.”

Getting the first one off the line is a feat, but as the head of another EV maker famously noted, automobile “production is hard.” Scaringe and his group will be looking to avoid many of the same manufacturing issues the previously referenced CEO Elon Musk did. So difficult was the process, he described it as “production hell” at one point. 

Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

First R1T pickup closer
Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe drove the first Rivian Blue R1T off the production line at the company’s Normal, Illinois plant.

Despite the difficulties, Musk and Tesla are the best-selling EV company in the U.S. currently with the top two sellers, the Model Y and Model 3, outselling the next 10 EVs combined — twice. Tesla is currently the most valuable automaker in the world with a market cap hovering around $733.5 billion, with its stock price trading in the low $740 range.

Tesla’s market cap is almost 2.5 times greater than the next closest automaker, Toyota, which is at about $303.5 billion. Its stock is at about $180 a share in early morning trading today.

Rivian isn’t necessarily expecting to approach those numbers, but officials are trying to convince Wall Street investors the nascent EV maker — with vehicles it’s actually delivering, albeit slowly — could be worth as much as $80 billion as it moves toward its initial public offering, tentatively set for November.

Going public

Scaringe after first R1T rolls off line
Scaringe speaks to Rivian employees after the first customer-ready pickup debuts.

That number is a bit more than General Motors is worth, but only by a little at $74.4 billion. Ford is a bit further off the pace at $51 billion. By comparison, Fisker Inc., another startup, comes in at $3.9 billion. However, the most apt comparison is Lucid Motors, which currently boasts a market cap of $31.3 billion.

Lucid’s got some things going for it that Fisker does not, or at least, not yet. First is first vehicle, the Lucid Air is viewed by many as a real competitor to Tesla, in terms of performance. The company’s boasted for some time it expects its top-level vehicle, the Dream, to meet or surpass the performance metrics of Tesla’s top vehicle, the Model S Plaid.

Rivian’s got its own selling points, starting with an impressive group of companies that have already invested billions of dollars into the fledgling company, including Amazon and Ford.

The company is also expected to produce 100,000 battery-electric delivery vans for … Amazon. The vehicle, which the online retail giant helped to develop, is currently undergoing real world testing. There is no finite time frame for when it will begin production. 

However, Rivian is already hunting for a place to build a second factory, which may suggest the time is getting very close. Early betting is on it joining Tesla in Texas, but no commitments have been confirmed by Rivian officials.