Lotus Elise, Exige Dan Evora Kini Berhenti Produksi Secara Rasmi

Lotus telah memulakan perjalanan baharu bersama syarikat cina, Geely, yang mewarisi syarikat kereta sport Britain itu sebagai sebahagian daripada perjanjian “Perkongsian Strategik Asing” dengan Proton. Dengan cepat, Lotus diberi pembiayaan untuk melancarkan kereta besar elektrik, Evija, dan mengembangkan serta menaik taraf ibu pejabat mereka di Hethel serta membuka kemudahan baharu China untuk berurusan dengan beberapa kenderaan baharu termasuk

Pada awal tahun 2021, Lotus mengumumkan penamatan pengeluaran untuk Elise, Exige dan Evora, semua kereta sukan yang dilancarkan semasa Proton memiliki syarikat itu. Minggu ini, syarikat itu akhirnya mencabut palam kenderaan tersebut, dengan mengakhiri pembuatannya.

Kesan Sejarah Lotus Elise, Lotus Exige dan Lotus Evora

Yang tertua ialah Elise, model yang telah dihasilkan oleh Lotus selama 26 tahun.

3 model tersebut dibuat pada talian pemasangan yang telah dipasang pada tahun 2000. Talian pemasangan ini akan dibongkar dan digantikan dengan kemudahan terkini untuk menghasilkan Emira baharu pada awal tahun hadapan.

Model terakhir ialah:

Edisi Akhir Lotus Elise Sport 240 dalam warna Kuning (nombor kereta 35,124)

A Lotus Exige Cup 430 Edisi Akhir dalam Heritage Racing Green (nombor kereta 10,497)

Lotus Evora GT 430 Sport dalam Dark Metallic Grey (nombor kereta 6,117)

Secara keseluruhannya, 51,738 daripada ketiga-tiga model ini dihasilkan, mewakili separuh daripada semua kereta yang pernah dibuat oleh syarikat itu dalam tempoh 73 tahun. Sebanyak 9,715 kereta tambahan telah dihasilkan menggunakan ‘platform kereta kecil’ Lotus yang sama untuk jenama Tesla dan Opel dan Vauxhall GM.

Berikut ialah siaran media Lotus dengan lebih maklumat.

MEDIA RELEASE

Today, Lotus commemorates the last of the Elise, Exige and Evora sports cars.

The trio were photographed on site with many of the Lotus team who contributed to the design, engineering, assembly and sales of the cars.

Between these three model lines and over the course of 26 years, a total of 51,738 cars will have come off the production line. Combined, they represent almost half of the total production of Lotus in its 73-year history. In addition, 9,715 sports cars were built for Lotus’ third-party clients, including GM and Tesla.

From 1996 to 2000, the first-generation Elise and Exige sports cars were built in a small assembly hall at Hethel alongside the Lotus Esprit. The current assembly lines, which were installed in 2000, will be dismantled and replaced with all-new state-of-the-art facilities in support of the all-new Emira factory. Full Emira production begins in the spring, after the prototype and test phases currently underway are completed, taking Lotus sports car production into an exciting, high-tech and semi-automated era, and increasing capacity up to 5,000 units per year on a single shift pattern.

The last examples of the Elise, Exige and Evora models are reserved for Lotus’ growing heritage collection.

Joining the collection will be the last Elise, a Sport 240 Final Edition finished in Yellow and the last of 35,124 cars; the last Exige, a Cup 430 Final Edition in Heritage Racing Green – number 10,497; and the last Evora – a GT430 Sport finished in Dark Metallic Grey – the last of a production run of 6,117.

The Elise and Exige sports cars are built around the Lotus ‘small car platform’. On the same platform, and also manufactured by Lotus at Hethel were the Opel Speedster / Vauxhall VX220 (7,200 cars built between 2000 and 2005) and the Tesla Roadster (2,515 cars built between 2007 and 2012). Therefore, including the Lotus 340R, Europa, 2-Eleven and 3-Eleven cars, this brings the total Lotus small car platform production volumes to 56,618 cars.

The elder of the ‘3Es’ trio, the Elise, has been part of the automotive landscape for more than 25 years. Click here for 25 examples of the huge impact and lasting legacy of this amazing little two-seater.

Next out of the Lotus stable is the Emira, the critically acclaimed new mid-engineered sports car from Lotus. Launched last July at Hethel and on a world tour ever since, it’s the last petrol-powered car from Lotus. Joining the first electric Lotus – the Evija hypercar and the most powerful production car in the world – will be the all-electric Type 132, Lotus’ first SUV, which will be revealed to the world in the spring.