Lotus back on the road

After maintaining a low profile for several years, Lotus is back to penetrate the Thai niche-car market with two new compact sports-car models: the Elise R and the Exige S.

Imported through authorised distributor Niche Cars, the Elise R retails at Bt4.7 million and the Exige S at Bt5.7 million.

The relaunching of the Lotus brand is also accompanied by the introduction of a newly appointed managing director, Witawas Chinbaramee. Witawas, a second-generation executive of the family-run firm, which also imports other niche brands like Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Hummer, as well as Lorinser tuning parts, said the company had to provide a US$260,000 (Bt9 million) deposit to secure its status as authorised importer.

"We are now the sole importer of Lotus cars from Britain, and we are also the authorised service provider for Lotus cars in Thailand," he said.

The Lotus showroom is located in the auto gallery on the second floor of Siam Paragon. On display are both the Elise R and the Exige S. More recent models like the Exige Cup 255, Elise S and 2-Eleven will be imported within the next 12 months, Witawas said.

"We have six cars in stock: two of the Elise R and four of the Exige S. Apart from this lot, customers will have to wait about three months for delivery after placing their orders," he said.

Both the lightweight Elise R (860 kilograms) and Exige S (935kg) are powered by a 1.8-litre normally aspirated engine. In the Elise R, it is capable of producing 189 horsepower or 181Nm of torque; and in the Exige S, 218hp or 215Nm. That's a power-to-weight ratio of 216hp per tonne for the Elise R and 237hp per tonne for the Exige S.

Acceleration from zero to 100kph takes 5.2 seconds for the Elise R and 4.3 seconds for the Exige S, with top speeds of 241kph and 238kph, respectively.

Witawas said Lotus cars had a good future in Thailand.

"While offering supercar performance, the Elise R and Exige S are priced in the same range as imported Japanese cars, so there is definitely a market.

"However, Lotus customers really want to use their vehicles at maximum performance. These are not luxury cars.

"They are pure sports cars that need to be driven hard in order for the driver to enjoy them fully," he said.

To service the cars effectively, Thai technicians from Niche Cars have been sent to the UK for training. However, they will not be servicing all Lotus cars in Thailand.

"We reserve the right to provide service only to our customers, because of the large number of Lotus-owners who have purchased cars from us," Witawas said.

For sports-car owners, a common concern is the availability of service upcountry.

"We'll also offer a 24-hour emergency service throughout the country," he said. "If you have a problem in Chiang Mai, our service team will be there and parts can be sent to anywhere in the country within 24 hours."

Kingsley Wijayasinha

Ultimate in Luxury

The Luxury LS 460 is a wonderfully comfaortable car fitted with all mod cons, althoough not necessarily the most fun vehicle to drive.