Journey back in time to Hethel, in 1984. A factory tour. Mainly on the Esprit. See how they made these great cars. This is the full version, from two parts I linked and edited the start. If only I could go back in time.
Пікірлер: 77
@TheSimonhammond4 жыл бұрын
1980's+synth music+wedge shape+pop up headlights. Yep it's all there.
@matthewgodwin3050 Жыл бұрын
Grew up watching Dianna Rigg driving an Elan in the Avengers (though it was the black leather that did it for me really) and Roger Moore as James Bond in his Esprit. Lotus has had a special place in my heart ever since.
@spinjennies5 жыл бұрын
I actually own an 84 Esprit Turbo. This is truly fascinating. Thanks for posting!
@jackthehatphoto Жыл бұрын
Me too 🙂
@mattgrant94792 ай бұрын
Partridge
@Muckyfellrunner2 жыл бұрын
Enjoyed this very much. Went on a factory tour a few years before this video. Also met Mike Kimberley a couple of times at motor shows. I was a young kid and so in awe of it all.
@frankpineda18324 жыл бұрын
I owned 3 lotus 77 S1, esprit, Eklat and elite, I love them all, I still miss them to this day, they are the best cars ever
@branon65657 жыл бұрын
That Lotus Elite really is a beautiful car....
@paul100183 жыл бұрын
"The real test is when the new Lotus owner takes over." AKA the R&D department! I'd kill for a Giugiaro Esprit though - a timeless beauty. Still looks modern in a Gerry Anderson way ;)
@DrPittenstein10 жыл бұрын
My favourite line is about the wiring harnesses: 'Space age research has given them outstanding reliability.'
@1blisslife8 жыл бұрын
Don't forget about the top quality carpet!!!
@edgarbeat2757 жыл бұрын
Chuckle :)
@MrGTO-ze7vb5 жыл бұрын
Lucas wiring.. a perfect start to a HOT FIRE
@blakeriley66904 жыл бұрын
@@1blisslife dont be talking smack about my carpets boy! Just kidding, the engine bay ones make me sad~~
@joevarga59822 жыл бұрын
I owned mine for 19 years, put on tens of thousands of miles and never had a single electrical issue.
@scott65042 жыл бұрын
Probably the most incredible car ever made.
@MAR0DEUR Жыл бұрын
// I used to own an ESPRIT _V8_ biturbo (1999 model in Nautilus Blue).. Always had problems with this car. Still, I loved this car. The _V8_ was also very fast. Unfortunately, I had to sell the ESPRIT because I had problems with my knees. I miss this lotus.. There will never be a car like this again.
@ibrennan3 жыл бұрын
Excellent music!
@frankpineda18323 жыл бұрын
I owned 3 lotus a few years back, esprit, elite and eklat, I miss them to this day, I love the video 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
@colinsharland-brown62573 жыл бұрын
Fantastic,brings back memories when I used to visit factory every couple of weeks back in 80's.I wonder if Phil and Mel still thier .Thanks factory for many rides around test track in 300 sport L Carlton, and many others.
@doorserviceofmt6 жыл бұрын
L-O-T-U-S Lots of trouble, usually serious. I fell in love with the Esprit when i saw one featured on the cover of Road & Track magazine in Jan. 1981. I bought a 93 in June of 2017 and love it!
@awacs874 жыл бұрын
I have a V8 Esprit, and the meaning is "Lots Of Torque, Usually Sideways"
@johnwh10396 жыл бұрын
As is the passing Austin Allegro Estate passing in virtually the end sequence, one of its handbrake cables dragging on the road beneath it!
@adam1othman10 жыл бұрын
i look at lotus as a porsche killer and i like that. if someone didn't have the money for a ferrari (cost isn't just the main issue theres also maintenance and insurance) then they usually look at porsches which are radioactive vw's. I would rather have the lotus in that case
@klistarf5 жыл бұрын
I gotta say that i found this quite intriguing, having done a lot of work on many different Lotus' over the past nearly 20 years. It's really interesting to see where the vast majority of these vehicles where 'born'. Ok, so Lotus cars have their own unique problems/foibles, but hey, isn't it fair to say that every single marque out there does...?! Yes, i know: Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious. Lol! And yes, they have given me much stress over the years (again, as have all the different manufacturers vehicles i have worked on, and continue to work on), but i actually do have a bit of a soft spot for these little 'shits'. Ha! There really is something quite endearing about 'em... \m/ (:o)
@Paspicky Жыл бұрын
Did I see the late Barry Day. He was a top man
@DrPittenstein10 жыл бұрын
Best video on youtube! Nice one Eddie!
@afriend94282 жыл бұрын
*English and James Bond car* ⭐️
@SachiGortchi3 ай бұрын
LOVE the whole style, especially the nice building & entrance; would have been so smart to keep some bits & pieces alive; to display experience & tradition; regrettably all companies renew everything -- including logos & letters -- sad (and unsmart)
@p.istaker88624 жыл бұрын
Paint drys faster than the carousel on that machining centre.
@_Ben48103 ай бұрын
Must have been a then recent acquisition because Colin Chapman & Tony Rudd were unconvinced & just too old school as engineers to take the plunge & invest in CNC centres when the first engine shop production machines were specified & they signed-off on the Marwin units.
@cyborgbadger10156 жыл бұрын
There's only one standard. perfection. cue beardy man with clipboard.
@christopherstein20244 жыл бұрын
Perfection? Check
@TwoLotus23 жыл бұрын
Nowadays hes called a "Hipster". Rides his skateboard into work.
@DL-ls5sy2 жыл бұрын
"the real test began when the new Lotus's owner takes over"...it's true
@James-nl6fu7 ай бұрын
"Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious" but a few looked 👌 OK 👍
@Eddieboote7 ай бұрын
Oh Please James, if I had a pound for every time someone said that…These cars are easy to maintain. If the service plan is followed then you have a very robust car, but a truely rewarding car to drive like no other... Have you ever driven a Lotus?
@splint30487 жыл бұрын
4:38 slowest tool change ever.
@doorserviceofmt6 жыл бұрын
My thoughts exactly, all that for a drill bit!
@klistarf5 жыл бұрын
This was nearly 35 years ago. Technology has progressed a long way since then! It was clearly quick enough for the company's needs at the time. Although i do appreciate where you are coming from, i was actually quite impressed, given it was 1984. Lol! \m/ (:o)
@MrGTO-ze7vb5 жыл бұрын
The machinist set it up to be slow. It can go much faster.!!
@_Ben48103 ай бұрын
Must have been better than the old cassette tape controlled Marwin machining centres Lotus used to run...& probably didn't crack the floors & sink either...!?!
@airindiana6 жыл бұрын
I forgot crinkly leather was an actual thing in the 1980s. Makes the car interior look like a nasty sofa from a never ending DFS sale. Ugh.
@hanniffydinn60196 жыл бұрын
So retro
@airindiana6 жыл бұрын
I feel this program should’ve been presented by Swiss Tony
@SachiGortchi3 ай бұрын
[Swiss who ? anyway, I like your comment ;]
@DrPittenstein10 жыл бұрын
Or maybe: 'there's only one standard - perfection.'
@kungfusing14 жыл бұрын
Lol this is amazing.
@lotusman19742 жыл бұрын
Yeah, well how do you think I got my name? Now owned 40 years, a Lotus Elite, second gen, 4 seater with American running gear all aluminum V8 (same weight, 2250 lbs ) but much more robust and powerful. Chapman was introduced by Dan Gurney to Ford, and fairly quickly the two together, a Ford V8 and a lotus race chassis were the fastest in the land for a good spell before C. Chapman died and it was a Ford V8, in the Lotus that really put Lotus on the map. The winning-est F1 car, the Lotus 72 with the Ford Cosworth power, the DFV 3.0 l, , And the engine (Ford DFV 3.0 ) with the most wins in F1 with 155. I am sure the Lotus factory doesn't look too much like this video with way more modern machinery, nearly 40 years later.
@francico734 жыл бұрын
It is the car of my dreams I have been persuading 23. I do not know if I will get it one day, I hope very soon that it would be time that I am already 46 years old.
@Marie579 Жыл бұрын
God the factory looked so dark dingy and adhoc, but they produced them! Compare the building of yesteryear to assembly of today!
@_Ben48103 ай бұрын
Colin Chapman was very set in his ways on certain things, & one of those was that the Hethel factory should not change from that of the original architect's design. Some internal factory walls were requested to be built by one of the production department managers & Chapman firmly said No, no alterations were to be made (even if it did help or speed-up line production) & bizarrely the reason he gave was if the Lotus Cars business did actually fail, then he could clear out Hethel at minimal cost & without any building alteration works & rent out the factory easily to a new tenant...!?! 😲😲😲
@SAULQUIJAN03 жыл бұрын
Saludos saludos desde México saludos muy buenos autos tengo 50 de esos
@joebarone32729 жыл бұрын
this video reminds me of my dads old porn movies Behind the green door
@JetFire92 жыл бұрын
I’ll take two
@lotusespritdecorps3 жыл бұрын
Nice vid. Sorry about the motor.
@sg88888886 жыл бұрын
LOTUS is POTUS and vice-versa.
@weallfollowmanutd Жыл бұрын
space age research wasn't enough on the reliability front
@hilarainisheain67194 жыл бұрын
Hi Eddie, I work for a classic car restoration tv show called Car SOS and want to get it in touch about this video - do you have an email address I could reach you on, please? Thanks
@jonremmers772310 жыл бұрын
10:24: Yeah right :) !!
@adam1othman10 жыл бұрын
lotus didn't pioneer the mid engine car Lamborghini did the first one
@wigs109810 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure pioneer is the right word since both the Lambo and Lotus were introduced in 1966. The Lambo probably was released earlier in the year though.
@adam1othman10 жыл бұрын
wigs1098 not gunna lie it would have been easy for lotus to build the eruopa as they only had that backbone in the chassis. the lamborghini was introduced in 66 at geneva. then ferruccio parked the prototype outside the monaco casino after that the car was readied (@ very fast pace) for production and was released to the public in 67
@alfisti937 жыл бұрын
Still years behind the Deutsch & Bonnet (Matra) Djet from '62. Or the DeTomaso Vallelunga in '63. Or the Ferrari 250LM... However, first was probably the Porsche 550 race car in the 50ies.
@adam1othman7 жыл бұрын
alfisti93 well of you wanna get technical then it's the auto union silver arrows
@alfisti937 жыл бұрын
Adam Othman In the world of race cars, Mercedes had a rear mid-engined car even earlier, the so called 1923 Tropfenwagen ("teardrop"). AutoUnion just copied it from there... And Mercedes got its inspration fom the 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen. However the Rumpler wasn't a sports car by any means and sadly wasn't very successfull either (although it also was one of the first streamlined cars ever).
@johnwh10396 жыл бұрын
Awful ruched leather interior....soooooooo 80s!
@user-qx8mf8uj8w3 ай бұрын
Dude can't you dorks Not have the f_in music on instead of the car?