Low-cost Lotus blooms

By ALASTAIR SLOANE motoring editor

The firm aiming to boost the niche market for Lotus sports cars in New Zealand has signed a deal with the factory which will cut the cost of a new Elise by up to $20,000.

"Basically, what we've ended up with is a new marketing system for New Zealand," said Roger Phillips, a partner with longtime Lotus specialist Ken Woodburn in Lotus Cars NZ Ltd.

"We'll operate under the auspices of the Australian distributor, which has the rights to New Zealand, but we'll now deal directly with the factory in Britain. This will allow us to specify cars that suit the New Zealand market, and at the same time, save on freight.

"It costs the same to get a car from Britain to New Zealand as it does from Melbourne to New Zealand.

"In this case we've cut freight costs by 50 per cent."

Previously, Phillips brought in Lotus cars from Australia. But he said they were "over-specified and too expensive for New Zealand".

"The Elise is an enthusiast's car and its parameters, being lightweight and super-sensitive, means it doesn't need any frills and weight encumbrances.

"Air-conditioning adds another 40kg to the weight of the car. Most of our customers would see that as a detraction.

"It doesn't have a fixed roof anyway, so air-conditioning isn't that essential.

"It doesn't need electric windows, or ABS (anti-lock brakes) or airbags for the role it is designed to play, which is to get driver enjoyment on New Zealand roads."

Phillips said his new link with the factory in Britain would allow him to price the standard 90kW (120bhp) 1.8-litre Elise at about $75,000 - $17,000 cheaper than the Australian-spec model landed here.

A moderately optioned Elise will now cost around $80,000. Ones with higher spec will cost between $82,000 and $86,000. The top-line Sport 111 Elise will cost $89,000. It used to be $110,000.

"It is a derivation of the current 111S," said Phillips. "It has the high output 156bhp (116kW) engine and a no-frills aluminium and carbon fibre Lotus body weighing 720kg. It is a stripped-out sports racing car. It will be perfect for New Zealand."

The first of the new-price cars will be fully-optioned Australian models.

"It was a deal between Lotus UK and Australia to unplug the clogged-up Australian system and get these cars on to the New Zealand market," said Phillips. "It was subsidised by the factory."

Phillips joined forces with Woodburn last year, after 25 years overseas. He left New Zealand in the 1970s with a Diploma of Agriculture from Lincoln College and headed to Perth.

There he made a name for himself - and reaped two Australian design awards and a worldwide patent - building farm spray equipment and motorhomes. All the while he dabbled with designing and building cars and racing in mostly classic events.

He expanded into Canada and America and into the tractor industry before moving to Britain - and more car design and racing at Silverstone and Brands Hatch and Le Mans.

A role developing Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Lotus, Cobra and Holden Special Vehicles franchises in Britain followed before he took over the Lotus franchise in California.

He turned the franchise into the number one Lotus outlet in America - on the way selling top-end luxury marques to celebrities Rod Stewart, Nicholas Cage, Jack Lemmon and Shaquille O'Neil - before leaving for Italy as director of operations for coachbuilder LaForza International Spa, makers of the world's most exclusive off-roader the LaForza Magnum.

His experience with Lotus in the US helped seal the factory deal for New Zealand. That and a word in the right executive ear by old friend Arnie Johnson, the president of Lotus Cars USA.

"I approached the factory on the basis of, did they want to sell one or two cars a year as a curiosity in New Zealand - because that's all they were going to sell at a price of around $100,000 - or did they want to sell some volume," he said.

"I said that if we could get the starting price of the car down to about $75,000, with options adding up to around $80-85,000, then we would sell some vehicles.

"They were very receptive. Negotiations took about four weeks. That shows the factory's response to the potential of the New Zealand market."

Phillips expects the Elise to create much interest in the niche market.

"I'd go as far as to say that it's probably the only car available in New Zealand where you can be having lots of fun at the speed limit."

The new arrangement for New Zealand comes as Lotus prepares to expand its presence in America.

The carmaker says there is demand for a lightweight, high-performance sports car there and it is preparing to launch a 2005 model Elise called the Federal next year.